Comments

• Posted by TheChrisD on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 at 07:56 (Reply)

  Let me put something into perspective - in the IndyCar race in Brazil later that Sunday, there were nine lead changes, including two in the last ten laps; a 36-minute red flag after a heavy rainstorm, which necessitated wet tyre changing strategy; and a total of 95 passes for position over the 65-lap race. And that was on a brand new street circuit.

  If F1 wants to have more overtaking to show off a driver's skill they need to have pit strategy with fuel, but they also probably need to do something about the differences in performance with the cars. Maybe it's about time for F1 to become a spec series?

• Posted by Guineapiggy on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 at 08:13 (Reply)

  What are you on about, ChrisD? First, the difference front to back is tiny enough as it is, second, F1 had plenty of overtaking action before refueling, and finally becoming a spec series would utterly defeat the purpose of the series.

  The answers here are simple enough - more reliance on floor aerodynamics. F1 can't turn a blind eye to ground effect forever just because it was employed dangerously in the 80s. Second, simple plane wings. Define the wing bounding boxes as being short, wide and long. Finally the rev limit needs to be removed from engines because it's making slipstreaming someone so much harder it's ridiculous.

• Posted by Madhav on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 at 09:21 (Reply)

  When Refueling ban introduced FIA must lifted the Engine freeze in order to create more fuel efficient engines and to get more power in the rmp limiter. By doing this cars will be more faster so over taking is possible.

  The only overtaking I was interested is between the Virgin and the Lotus.
  Even with skilled driver and high down forced car overtaking doesn't happen because of the current aerodynamic speculation, that will create vibration when you follow another car too closely.
  FIA must give teams more freedom in the aerodynamic area for the future of F1.
  In 2010 there is 19 races but driver can use only 8 engines in season, so they have to preserve their engine and gearbox for next race, and the introduction of slick Tyre also don its part on overtaking.
  Considering the sports Global interest FIA must introduce rules to boost the performance, not to reduce it.

• Posted by jimjones on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 at 12:49 (Reply)

  It's the 1st race. Some people just like to complain

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8pZ8WJNKk&feature=related

• Posted by drycrust on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 at 15:41 (Reply)

  I guess since I didn't watch the borefest it is arguable that I don't have a right to comment, but I am a fan so I guess that sort of gives me a right.
  I think the first point that needs to be understood is F1 is supposed to be the premier or top level of motor racing. The drivers and cars and racing is supposed to be the best, but for too long the racing hasn't been, and now finally everyone has had enough. Even under the previous rules it was difficult for a car to behind to overtake, which meant the racing wasn't very good, and now it is just more difficult to overtake, which makes actual racing almost non-existant.
  Under the 2008 rules I think there was 0.8 of a second between 2 cars when trying to overtake, under the early 2009 (pre-double diffuser) it was 0.2 of a second, after the double diffuser it was about 0.6 of a second.
  Overtaking is essential not because it makes it more interesting (although it does), but because not overtaking is not getting the best from the driver and car. A car should be prevented from overtaking by the inferior perfomance or tactics of the car and driver behind under those conditions at that part of the track, not by the superiority of just being in front, which it is now.
  Rear aerofoils should be banned because they drive the air away from the car behind, I don't believe the double difussers do this, so I don't see why they should be banned.
  One option is to change the qualifying to be a "sprint" test rather than having warm up laps etc. Each car is given, from a standing start, one lap in each round of qualifying. Right or wrong, that is it. "But I went off the track" - "Sorry, to bad". So what is to prevent the cars from being set up for the sprint and then for the race? Simple: same as now: not allowed to change anything between qualifying and the race (except refuel and things like fuel mixtures by the driver from inside the cockpit).
  Another option is to require the removal of any aerodynamic aid that hinders a car from overtaking (e.g. rear aerofoil), although I would qualify that and say under what conditions the car behind should be able to overtake.

• Posted by speed_demon on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 at 00:32 (Reply)

  I agree that overtaking should be difficult.
  It's supposed to be a race not an overtaking competition.

  However, there's no doubting that overtaking has lessened over the years, even if last Sunday's race featured more overtaking than usual.

  There are some excellent stat's here going back to 1983: http://www.cliptheapex.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=822

• Posted by XR8 on Wed, 5 May 2010 at 05:34 (Reply)

  I think you all have valid points.
  However, over the years the designers have got too clever and the driver aids too sophistcated.
  Lets get back to watching open wheeler racing cars. remove all of the fancy aerodynamic aids.
  Lets go back to manual gearboxes, not "girly" boxes, and let the drivers make their own decisions and stop radio coaching.
  Then we might sort the men from the boys and the drivers from the steerers.
  Prohibit the use of wind tunnels, and multimillion dollar super computers. Then see how good the deigners are.
  Back to basics and competitive interesting racing, not just overtaking.
  Get the F1 circus back to a spectator sport and not a corporate spendfest.

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