Quote:
Originally Posted by sammyg2
In a perfect world we could just specify maximum displacement and type of fuel.
Then let them have at it. Best design goes fastest and wins. That's how we get innovation.
This wanna be spec racer stuff with all sorts of gimmick energy recovery BS and a go-zillion restrictions just makes the cars more expensive and less reliable.
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F1 racing is on a different planet from any motorsport spec racer championship. LMP1 comes quite close but everything else is decades behind in the technology, materials, computing power, organisational stakes etc
There has been plenty of innovation in recent years but the public never get to see it as teams don't want to give away their competitive advantage their innovation brings.
Opening the rules would actually make the racing less competitive and kill off the competition very quickly. Keeping the rules stable and unchanged over time bunches up the competition to make better racing.
I'd love nothing more than to work on a race car where the only rules are 'if it fits in this size box and has 4 tyres touching the ground and passes stringent safety tests' as the options are unlimited.
Closest thing today to this nirvana is the Aston Martin road car that Adrian Newey and his team at Red Bull are designing. I'm reliably informed it will active aerodynamics, active suspension, monster powerful engine, very lightweight and so much down force the active suspension has been added to stop the tyres from exploding.
Unfortunately the sad reality is this approach wouldn't work with racing teams that spend 100's of millions. Budgets would get out of hand, teams would quit and there would be no racing.
In a past life not long ago I was paid to look at all the teams F1 cars in excruciating detail but I've not had a chance to with the new cars. From the few pictures I've seen I think the level of detail and complexity has taken a massive leap forward.
Will this translate into closer racing? I'm not sure it will.