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What do you guys think of the latest proposals for 2008?
There's talk by Max of not only reducing the downforce by 80% or so, but also giving the teams a maximum downforce figure, thereby bringining the backmarker teams aero up towards the leaders. Also, the FIA wants to allow moveable aero, to promote overtaking in dirty air, outlaw TC, Launch control, etc and allow hybrid systems on the car to regenerate braking energy into a HP boost.
The aero ideas to me sound fantastic. They will allow us to be on par with the leaders (downforce wise) for minimal dollars and wind tunnel time. And the moveable aero will make for more overtaking and better racing. I dont know how we'll go in terms of hybrid technology, but I'm guessing that would most likely be developed by the engine manufacturers, so that's out of our hands.
Roll on 2008! :D
Comments
You really need to remove things from the formula, rather than add to them in order to get something workable. At one end of the scale there is an International sailing class known as the Moth. The Moth rules say that the boat can be so long, so wide, weigh so much, and have such and such sail dimensions. It is a development class (like F1), intended to inspire creative approaches to achieving speed on the water. Here are some of the configurations:
This is real development class stuff. Each of these configurations is in current use and each has its positives and negatives (nothing gets close to the foilers in a fresh breeze though)
Simple rules, outstanding results.
Formula One is a supposed development class where all of the effort going in is about restricting development because it costs so much.
I really don't know the answer to how to make it simple again but it is clear that three things need to be achieved:
1. The racing should be exciting
2. The car should show off the skills of the driver
3. It should not be cost-prohibitive for non-manufacturers to compete
Maybe the answer lies in something like:
- The cars should be so long, so wide, so high, and weigh so much (low end) with the driver included
- The cars should be fitted with load cells that record laterall loads, and these loads should not exceed a given value, say 2.5 G. This sort of rule would in itself limit the development of aero and brakes.
- There should be a control tyre
- You find a way to eliminate driver aids. One way to do this might be to fit an interuptor between the driver accessed electronics and the rest of the car, and another between the pit box controls and the telemetry transmitter. With a half second delay, all of those automatic transmissions, launch control, etc, would not be of much use.
- You find a way to limit cost spent on the car. Perhaps a limit of $50 million on the cars with all costs required to be paid through the FIA and books to be presented for audit on a quarterly basis. Something like that anyway. Oh, and anything provided free of charge gets deducted from the available budget a tmarket rates.
- Any breakage, or failure that results in a loss of control of the car incurrs a deduction of championship points
Then let 'em go to it.
[Edited on 14/7/2005 by Lease]