Something has happened to me this summer. I can’t explain it. No, I don’t know why, but something has changed.
For the first time in years, I have found myself watching F1 again. I’m getting up on race day Sunday morning and watching it on NBC. I find it unsettling, as I have as recently as this spring railed against the sport, its direction and technology. I have spoken out against the Ecclestone Mafia.
But, I have found myself watching it again, for the first time since Shumacher left Ferrari. I watched the Italian Gran Prix and was enjoying the race for second, and Kimi Raikkonen racing his way through the field for a fifth. OMG! I have become that person who I railed against previously. I am that which I feared. I am enjoying the racing. Now, where did that come from???
Is there room for improvement? Hell yeah! I have been sucked into the F1 soap opera of manufacturer intrigue, 50 position penalties and feuding drivers.
However, here are my thoughts on improvement…..
50 place grid penalties? Really, who do you think we are? Rubes? If your putting someone at the back of the grid, just do it! Or, add a stop and got 10 laps into the race, along with the grid penalty.
Grid Penalties for changing engines, oh, I mean POWER UNITS…. Come on! Teams are going to spend money somewhere. If they want to change the engine 3 times a race, let them. The drive to reducing team spending has only moved that money elsewhere. Renault is not spending significantly less then Mercedes or Ferrari, but their performance requires a reallocation of finances. Mercedes, however is balancing their own budget successfully.
Speaking of Power Units, F1 is a spec engine series with no Balance of Performance, and the spectacle has suffered. While I don’t want to penalize Mercedes for building the better mousetrap, I don’t want Renault suffering from design decisions made when the whole formula was changed. The current state, however, has the potential of Renault quitting because it seems no legitimate way of being competitive. Honda is in the same boat.
I hate live telemetry and the millions of Dollars (Euro’s?) it requires. First, half the personnel at the races are technicians watching live telemetry. While there is a radio ban, remove the live telemetry and all those people at the computers, you will save teams enough money to actually spend on the chase and power units.
Now, I have a thought how to make the telemetry work, though. SD cards! Yes, SD cards. Use it to collect data. Have the technicians review the data. Program the PU and suspension. During the race, when changing tires, swap SD cards. Then leave it to the driver to make the adjustments based on his feel of the car, not a computer tech calling over the radio. No need for a $10million supercomputer on wheels and a team of techs. This will help bring racing back to the driver, with the team only involved when th strategy and giving the driver the tools to compete!
I have issues with the aesthetics of the aerodynamic appendages on the body of the cars. I like simplicity. A wing up front and one at the back, plus the diffuser underneath the car. Everything else, to me, is ugly. Plus, so much of a teams budget is spent on the aerodynamics, which is now concentrating on all these doodads and doohickeys. Eliminate them, bring front and rear wings to simple dual or triple elements, without the art deco waves we see now. This will create a reduction in the need for spending horrendous amounts of money on aerodynamic development.
I would bring back more in season testing, though. Make the testing open to the public and allow tickets to be sold. This would help teams like Force India and Manor Racing create a bigger fan base. Similar to the IMSA’s Roar Before Daytona, where people con go and see the teams up close, meet personnel and buy souvenirs.
I am seeing the light with F1 again. Let’s see what happens during the next few races.