Opinion | How To Fix Formula One?

MJQT · Apr 23, 2020

My two cents: in an age of corporatism and climate change, motorsports as we know them are at risk, to some degree. So to stay alive and thrive, F1 can't lose what makes it unique in today's world. In my book, the fundamental DNA of the F1 product is:

World's premier racing series
- Fastest road course race cars on the planet, at the technological frontier
- Tracks across the globe
Not a spec series, lots of manufacturer variation
Cars with aero: for the last 50+ years (visually) that's meant front and rear wings

Without those ingredients, F1 would have no reason to exist – after all, we have IndyCar, Formula E, WEC, IMSA, GT3, NASCAR, etc. to keep us fans happy. And more importantly, motorsport is soon entering a more and more difficult period financially (never mind the COVID mess right now) where many series won't survive, and it'd be a damned shame (for drivers, fans, and marketers alike) if we lost F1.

However, IMO as long as we keep those ingredients, F1 will be F1. After that, do whatever's needed to get a good racing product and to keep it affordable for manufacturers, be it different engine regs, ground effect... I don't care what. And there's TONS of possibilities to explore – many of them have been raised by others above!

So suffice it to say that I fundamentally disagree with many of Paul's ideas.

Nevertheless, interesting stuff to think about!

***Note: some people might add screaming engines to my list, but personally I think that's largely the ghosts of the 90s and 00s talking. While it'd be nice (scratch that, awesome!) not sure it's 100% necessary to F1 as we know it.

mikeae1 · Apr 23, 2020

Amanda said:
Also, bring back old circuits like the old Hockenheim or even the Nordschleife to the calendar. That would be awesome!

Yes your comments are interesting.
But the "old" Hockenheimring isnt existent through the forest. No Tarmac (I prefer Version - ca. 1981, and yes with less downforce (more than 90 % degrease .-) ) the ostkurve will be a challenging).

Furthermore i noticed that every modern Series drive through Eau-Rouge (Spa) full throttle without problems, this can not be the intention.

But today and in the future it is a "brave new world" - the Formula E for example with this tracks isnt interest for me (absolute no, in Berlin near my home i dont look a Race, if i have the possibilty to get for no Euros, i havn't interest.

We, the fans of vintage Racing are "extinct genus dinosaurs " ???

pitkin · Apr 23, 2020

I'd like to see more Otters driving the cars. There's not enough Otters in sport in my opinion.

Kuckoo · Apr 23, 2020

F1 is now much too over-regulated. From how cars can be built, to how circuits are designed, to "refereeing" races, and yes, even to safety. Need to give more technical freedom and initiative back to the teams.

Formula 1 is all but a spec series at this point, and it is only going to get worse when the new regulations are in effect. There are already too many open-wheeled spec series around. We don't need F1 morphing into yet another.

...and I'm sorry, but DRS is beyond idiotic. Hated it when it was first introduced, and I hate it even more now. In my opinion DRS - and everything it represents - is the single worst thing about F1 today. I can live with everything else, but DRS is just asinine. Another one of the FiA's typical knee-jerk reactions to the mob's cries for "moar action!".

daveclifton · Apr 23, 2020

Agree with many points, but we must remember that petrol will not be a part of our life in the next 20 years. Many countries are banning the sale of new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars from 2035. Electric engines, powered by renewable and sustainable sources, is the only future for motor racing.

Nick Hill · Apr 23, 2020

Michel Bélisle said:
I wonder if an entirely new open wheel series focused on drivers would be a better solution long term? Use the same tracks but with standardized equipment along the lines Paul expressed in his exposé.

Except for the tracks bit, you just described IndyCar! Refer to my previous post for my full thoughts on IndyCar vs F1 (tl;dr: I love them both, but they are two different animals and should remain so).

For those of you who would like to see a more level competitive playing field and more compelling tracks with less runoff and/or more danger...seriously...that's IndyCar. The cars are spec. The two engine suppliers are within a hair's breadth of each other in terms of performance. F1 wouldn't touch the vast majority of the tracks Indy runs on with a 10 ft pole - they are almost all death traps relative to where F1 runs.

Nick Hill · Apr 23, 2020

David DeGreef said:
Love to see an organization (TBD) take the rule book from the early 90's and call it a day and leave it alone. Look at the crowds at the events compared to today and I think it proves out that it was a more popular sport in person.

David, I love reading your thoughts (mostly because I almost always agree with you!

) but in this case I don't agree. As far as the rule book from the early 90's, I don't disagree with that in principle. To me, that was the era when F1 was at it's technological pinnacle (active suspension, ABS, TC, etc).

But the idea that is what was drawing fans then therefore it will draw fans now...I disagree with that motorsports of ALL types were more popular in the early 90's than they are now. I think in that sense F1, like everyone else trying to run a motorsports series, is swimming upstream right now. For whatever reasons (which I personally believe are mostly outside of motorsport's control), It just doesn't hold as large of a % of the public's interest today as it did then.

That is some very wishy-washy disagreement! I am all for allowing more tech (nothing could be "more F1" than that to me), but I am skeptical that is the magic bullet to bring back fans.

zwiss · Apr 23, 2020

Ban corona !

Michel Bélisle · Apr 23, 2020

Nick Hill said:
Except for the tracks bit, you just described IndyCar! Refer to my previous post for my full thoughts on IndyCar vs F1 (tl;dr: I love them both, but they are two different animals and should remain so).

For those of you who would like to see a more level competitive playing field and more compelling tracks with less runoff and/or more danger...seriously...that's IndyCar. The cars are spec. The two engine suppliers are within a hair's breadth of each other in terms of performance. F1 wouldn't touch the vast majority of the tracks Indy runs on with a 10 ft pole - they are almost all death traps relative to where F1 runs.

How about an international version of IndyCar then?

Kuckoo · Apr 23, 2020

Michel Bélisle said:
How about an international version of IndyCar then?

Or just make Indy more international than it is. You don't need to make another international spec series for that to happen. The infrastructure is already in place.

Incidentally, the CART series of the mid-90s was beginning to develop into an excellent international series. That is, until a certain Tony George got involved and put an end to it. Indycar is still in recovery mode and feeling the effects today.

bluepeter · Apr 23, 2020

It doesn't - leave it alone.

Nick Hill · Apr 23, 2020

Sorry, three posts in a row (yes, I have heard of multi-quote!)

Multiple other posters have brought this up, but I just wanted to call this out specifically: reliability.

Reliability in today's F1 I think is badly under-estimated from a couple angles:

1. How crazy reliable the cars have gotten. Engines used to get swapped out multiple times a weekend, now they last for many races. Whether, in principle, you think that is good/bad for F1 as a product in totality, it's an incredible technological achievement.

2. How much this increased reliability has led to a higher percentage of races and, subsquently, championships becoming predictable. Look at 60's F1. Usually around 8-10 races per season with attrition rates that we would consider remarkably high in modern F1. That introduces a lot of randomness and unpredictability.

I think a lot of the complaints about F1 come from the slow burn fatigue we've all experienced with the incredible consistency we've seen in the WDC since 2000. Since 2000:

- Schumacher 5 straight
- Alonso back-to-back
- Vettel 4 straight
- Hamilton back-to-back and then 3 straight, with the only thing stopping him from making it 6 straight being, ironically, a lack of reliability...and his bid at 6 was interrupted by - who else? - his teammate, so it hardly felt like variety in that sense.

So in 20 seasons of F1, 11 times the WDC was the same guy that won it the previous year. If Rosberg doesn't pull of his upset in '16, that goes up to 13 times.

Compare that with the 20 seasons from 1980-1999: that number is 4 (with 2 of those 4 coming in the second half of the 90's alone).

1960-1979? Happened once. ONCE!

The natural F1 solution to this would be to push even harder on the tech front...but that exaggerates the financial disparity between rich and poor, which is the primary reason I am in favor of budget caps. I think they need to strike a balance between pushing the tech and keeping the budgets in check. That's very tricky and I'll be the first to admit may not be possible.

whaletail · Apr 23, 2020

Isaac Chavira said:
I say (and you can hate me)

Single Chassis Constructor like Dallara or Oreca. (This includes everything but the engine and transmission).

Open Engine Configuration Range: I6,V6, F6, V8, W8, V10, W10, V12, W12 (All have a SAE 700hp cap, no turbo's and no hybrid systems).

Open Transmission Configuration Range: 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12spd.

Limited Budget for all teams.

Limited Sponsor Support: One main sponsor and one secondary sponsor. (If the car is a factory car, the manufacturer counts as the main sponsor). The team can still have as many sub-sponsors as the wish but they cannot give money to the team. The Driver is the sole collector of any Sub-Sponsor earnings (i.e. Ray Ban, Nike, Under Armor ect.)

Control Tires with three compounds for dry and wet only: Hard, Medium, Soft.

Steering wheel can only operate: Pit Limiter, Rain Light, Gears and Radio.

Steering wheel may still have a non-capacitive MFD.

Car must have an automatic cockpit and engine bay emergency fire suppression system.

Driver will not do any P.R. or gatherings the 24hrs before the race.

I don't hate your ideas, but I'm not entirely sure what some are trying to achieve/fix (specifically 8 and 10, but also 1-3).

Also, with 1-3 in place, would manufacturers remain interested in participating?

Although I'm no expert, the biggest problems with F1 are, IMO, the performance disparity, followed by the aerowash issues that prevent overtaking.

aka2k · Apr 23, 2020

Maybe the answer would be dropping all the regulations, keep safety standards and let the teams go wild like in the 60's through the early 80s. F1 is stale and the current crop of boring drivers don't help that all. Especially when the sport organizers try to promote them as heroes.

Nick Hill · Apr 23, 2020

So, just a general comment. There is really no way to phrase this where it doesn't sound like a personal attack, but I REALLY don't mean it that way. Some people like vanilla ice cream, some people prefer chocolate. The vanilla fans are no better or worse than the chocolate fans - it's a personal preference; it's what makes the world go 'round.

With that disclaimer out of the way...

Reading a lot of your posts, I think F1 is just not your thing. If we took F1 out of the picture and just created a generic motorsport preferences quiz and then funneled you to a series that fit your interests and preferences, I think the results of such a quiz would steer a lot of you in a different direction than F1.

Hypothetical sample question: "True or false: off-track politics influencing the on-track action would be off putting to me". If you answer to this question is "true"...well, I'm sorry, but F1 never has and never will deliver satisfaction for you on that particular preference.

I think NASCAR provides an excellent cautionary tale. NASCAR enjoyed a tremendous explosion in popularity in the late 90's through early 00's. They picked up a lot of fans outside of their traditional demographic...but then a lot of those people got bored or otherwise lost interest and NASCAR's fanbase started dwindling back down to their original core demographic. The knee jerk thing to do is to try to "freshen things up" - Playoffs! Rounds! Gimmicks galore! Don't go! Stay! Well, those people are still leaving but now you've succeeded in alienating your core demographic. I don't want to see F1 going the same route.

gamer19 · Apr 23, 2020

A Grosjean have an idea
Grosjean solution for fixing the f1

Richard Wilks · Apr 23, 2020

F1 already went the same route as Nascar.

Look at DRS, look at the gimmicky qualy process we have. Now they are thinking about reverse grids even. F1 is going gimmicky at a fast paced, specially compared with MotoGp like i stated earlier, and the problem is exactly because people seem to "think" F1 is about technology, or politics, or MONEY.

F1's true name was "World driver's championship" for a reason. The "World makes championship" was sportscars. But Bernie never liked that, because Makes = Money.

F1 is all about money and keeping the status quo these days, And whenever ratings go down, another gimmick turns up to spice things up.

Brawn seemed to want to go the right way with the new 2021 regs, but the teams pushed back HARD, and are still pushing back, trying to dillute them, and even postpone them to eternity.

Teams have too much say.

nangu · Apr 23, 2020

In my opinion, F1 needs to go back to its roots, but not in terms of the technology applied, but in the regulations.

F1 always was about technology, and a lot of that technology developed for F1 racing, is what we are enjoying today in our daily cars.

I think F1 needs to have a wide open base regulation to allow the teams to innovate year after year again, even developing a brand new car mid season, as had happened a lot of times before in the category.

I would restrict the base regulation in aerodynamics tough, because I think a lot of aero downforce is not good for packed racing, and encourage to drive the innovation on the mechanical aspect instead, including the engines. There is no point in freezing engine development at the start of the season. The recent hybrid turbo era is a proof of that no sense regulation.

I think by letting the teams innovate in order to develop a better racing car, we, the fans, will be enjoying better racing action on track. I remember the days when I was expecting at the next Grand Prix to see what the teams had to bring on track, and sometimes those new ideas changed the status quo of the ongoing season, so expectation always were high.

Problem with that would be the budget necessary today, may be it's prohibitive, I don't know. I think F1 regulator needs to be very creative today, because if not, F1 will be dying slowly in the future if there is no direction changes.