F1 back to slicks in 2007!!!

[motion]

Finally!!! Hopefully a lot of the ugly aero will start to disappear. And, tire changes again for next year! Don't know about this new split rear wing, though. Hopefully that won't make it into the rules.

http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/

[tchanson]

Agreed. Bring back the slicks. And the single tire rule has just proven to be idiotic. Good riddance.

The split rear wing is hideous, and it appears the jury is still out on whether or not it will serve its intended purpose in increasing overtaking? Talk about ugly aero. Why not just ban the barge boards?



I don't think that one will make the cut.

Tim

[Joeaksa]

Have you heard about the new qualifing regs? Going to drop the lowest 5 after a bit, then the next slowest 5 and the last 10 cars or so will have a free for all, together on the track in the last 20 minutes.

Am in Europe now and its on all the papers and television. Guess everyone was not happy with the old situation and this is a move in the right direction.

Glad the one tire rule is gone...

JoeA

[Rodeo]

I just read in AutoWeek that Stoddart is saying that a manufacturer-led breakaway series is a sure bet for 2008. Now we know that he and Mosely hate each other, but Stoddart claims that the FIA will never reach agreement with the manufacturers for a "fair and equitable" F1.

That would suck. Big Time.

You would think these guys would look at the CART/IRL debacle and do whatever it takes to keep F1 unified.

[nostatic]

glad to see the tire rule changed...one of the great things about F1 are the pit stops and strategy that goes along with them.

Split wing is interesting. Maybe they should just go to ducktails...

[jyl]

That picture is disgusting.

Why can't they let the teams put the aero where ever they want, but simply restrict the total area of wing, flap, end board, etc as well as the max height and protrusion beyond the wheels? For example, 4 square feet to use as you wish, and nothing can be more than 4 feet high.

[Az911]

Originally posted by Rodeo
I just read in AutoWeek that Stoddart is saying that a manufacturer-led breakaway series is a sure bet for 2008. Now we know that he and Mosely hate each other, but Stoddart claims that the FIA will never reach agreement with the manufacturers for a "fair and equitable" F1.

That would suck. Big Time.

You would think these guys would look at the CART/IRL debacle and do whatever it takes to keep F1 unified.

The split will be nothing like the CART/IRL debacle because it's all the major manufacturers that want to leave.

The fans will follow the big team no matter were they go.

[GettinHeadStuds]

I like that new design. Reminds me of the A-10.

My favorite plane of all time:

[oldE]

Wart hogs! Man, those have to be the exception to the rule about functional devices being beautiful in their own right. You have to have a lot of respect, though, for an airplane that totes a 'piece' about the size of a VW beetle!
Re the F1 'split wing' proposal: I don't find it bad at all. Dropping the allowable height of the remaining rear elements would keep it from looking like an afterthought. I for one, like to see racing in which a car which has been reeling in an opponent at the rate of 1 - 2 seconds/lap isn't held up until the next pit stop before he can get by. If that means cleaning up the wake of the cars, I would like to see them try it.
Les

[Jeff Higgins]

Real F1 died years ago and no one seemed to notice. If they keep going in the direction they have been it will turn into just another spec series like NASCAR, CART, IRL, and the others. In my life time they have gone from a pretty open format, kind of a "run whatcha brung" climate to ever tightening regulation. It's the old "frog in the boiling water" cliche. Twenty years ago if anyone had suggested mandating the number of cylinders they would have been thought crazy. Mandating normally aspirated motors was unthinkable. Grooved tires? Maybe on the tow truck. Now we will get to see FIA supplied gearboxes and electronics? Selling chassis to teams that can't or won't build their own? Is this F1 or just CART for the big kids?

[tchanson]

Hmmm...CDG analysis from (FIA paid) AMD:



It'll be interesting to see what actual results individual teams find in their own wind tunnels. I would guess that a more signifcant hurdle for the teams would be the reduced sponsor ad space/revenue on the split versus conventional wing.

In any event, like the short lived Williams walrus nose last year, it still looks goofy to me.

Tim

[motion]

Jeff,

The real F1 did die, back in 1994 after the death of Senna and Ratzenburger. The sport has been chocked back ever since. A necessary evil, I suppose

Yikes, looks like they ratified the split wing proposal for 2007. I hope that one is killed.

Came across this photo today, thought it was interesting. Shows how small an F1 car really is!

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by motion
Jeff,

The real F1 did die, back in 1994 after the death of Senna and Ratzenburger. The sport has been chocked back ever since. A necessary evil, I suppose

For me it changed that race and has never been the same.

Will be interesting to see what happens if there is a split of the race teams into another series.

JoeA

[cstreit]

This series was created to advance technology, but then we keep limiting it.

I love the idea of putting the general limits (such as the total aero surface) rather than specifics. This allows the team to get creative and forces them to work hard to gain an advantage using technology, benefiting us all.

[}{arlequin]

most reading this thread have probably seen this vid already... epic battle where Giles and Rene swap positions 3 times and have contact twice, in one lap... fighting for 2nd place:
http://www.sccaracer.com/F1_Gilles_and_Rene.wmv

this is also how I wish F1 races were decided:

[tchanson]

Thanks for the great Dijon '79 clip. You're right that people tend to forget that fight was for second place...

Granted, modern TC has eliminated the lurid GV style powerslides, but I would argue that F1 still has the capacity to provide some pretty great endings.

Case in point were the last laps of San Marino this year. Schumi clearly had the faster car that day, but Alonso (and not aero issues) held him at bay. Perhaps not as much wheel banging drama, but every bit as artful a display of driving by both MS and FA in my opinion.



Tim

[Jeff Higgins]

Yeah Dave, those were the days. Most overtaking is done in the pits today. I'm all for rules to make it more competitive on the track, to allow cars to draft one another and such. I do like the idea of general limits rather than specifics that Chris mentions. Displacement limit without dictating layout or number of cylinders. Total aereo surface area without dictating placement; that kind of stuff.

It's true that the racing has become less exciting as the cars become more capable. They are losing fans because of that. Any new rules should specifically address the traits of the cars that have led to this. They seem to keep losing focus on that and going after cost. I think it can be argued that as the rules tighten the cost goes up. It just gets that much more difficult to find that edge within the rules; the big breakthroughs are ruled out.

[motion]

I believe it was Arrows at Monaco about 6 years ago that ruined the team-designed-aero idea. Remember when they showed up with those huge mid-mounted wings just ahead and above the driver's head? The FIA made them remove them because they were not attractive. Sometimes the most effective interpretation of the rules is not the most beautiful.

[motion]

Edit: It was Tyrrell in 1997.

[tchanson]

Ugh. The short lived "X Wings", that many copied before Mosley banned them in '98 supposedly for safety reasons... although the decision could have been justified on aesthetics alone.





Tim