Soldato
Actually I can't think to any downsides to this?
Japanese Grand Prix 2014, Suzuka - Race 15/19
- Thread starter Shimmy
- Start date
Actually I can't think to any downsides to this?
Man of Honour
http://www.planet-f1.com/driver/3213/9507770/Bianchi-suffered-diffuse-axonal-injury-
Further detail on the injury's Jules Bianchi has suffered. Wiki Doctoring does not bode well for him with 90% of severe DAI sufferers never regaining conciousness
Heres hoping it is mild DAI, sadly though nothing about the crash looked mild
Very strong chance we've seen the last of him in an F1 car, even if he recovers
Man of Honour
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- 21 Nov 2004
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Well that was depressing news
Soldato
JV said some interesting things about yellow flags. He said that yellow flag zones, especially double waved yellows are practically non existent in US racing. Its a full course caution with a pace car. He said that F1 should do the same.
He has a valid point. We hate Safety Cars in F1, but not because the SC itself is a bad thing, but because the regulations around it are so utterly stupid. The lapped drivers overtaking thing, the delta times, loitering about waiting for the leader. It all ruins it or the fans to much, but at the end of the day it does control the race in occasions when they need it to be.
So, while I have been a supporter of slow zones in this thread, how about we also look at improving the SC rules to mean they are less of a ball ache? None of this lapped cars rubbish, have multiple cars dotted about the track so they can always pick up the leader quickly, etc. The result would be a system that would allow a SC to be quickly and easily deployed for only 1 or 2 laps to allow an incident to be cleared, and then pull straight back off and the race can continue. Then anything that requires men or machinery on track can be covered with a quick SC, and the race back on within the minimal time possible. Sound like a good idea to me?
At the moment deploying a SC late into a race to pick up someone's contact lense can result in a 4 or 5 lap procession waiting for all the stupid rules to play out. Its all unnecessary, and the result is is does (and has) put people in danger because they don't deploy a SC.
Edit: Oh yeah, I just remembered next year stupid standing starts rule too! They are going to be even more reluctant to deploy SCs next year!
Don
Not sure how you can enforce a speed limiter safely?
- if it engages automatically and limits revs etc, then surely the cars could suddenly lose downforce as the speed drops?
- if it requires a button press to limit, then there is always the chance someone won't press it
might have misunderstood what you meant though
Its used in WEC and GT racing without issue. The yellow flag zone effectively extends forwards 1 marshal post to allow a slowing down area, and then the drivers have to be on the pit limiter through the zone itself. If anyone doesn't then race control automatically know and penalise accordingly.
It would be really quite easy to put in place.
Don
This still relies on the pit limiter to be engaged though? Whilst penalising is fine, it doesn't stop the unfortunate sequence of events that happened this weekend, if someone fails to engage the limiter.
Man of Honour
Multiple SC's is an idea, to ensure immediate pickup of the leader. Never saw the need to have a dedicated SC driver. I mean it can't take that much skill to drive a specially purposed supercar around a racetrack at 100mph (does the SC even go that fast??), when the car is designed for it.
Just what nonsense are you typing. Any system is like that. A SC does not remove control from the driver either.
Soldato
No different to going into the pits though? Pit limiter still has to be engaged
Driving the safety car is a very skilled job, would you trust anyone except a highly experienced driver to do it? They also go pretty damn quick it just doesn't look it on tv compared to F1 cars
Man of Honour
Please, there's no shortage of drivers who could do it.
Don
I didn't say any system would solve the problem - my response was directly to the how you implement a speed limiter, slow zones seem to be suggested by most here, but it wouldn't have necessarily have changed anything in this instance.
I know a SC does not remove control from the driver - pretty sure there was an incident behind the SC in the first couple of laps this weekend.
Soldato
No one said there was? But it's far from easy. Loads of out of seat drivers about who could do the job.
Don
I remember following a Seat Leon Cupra R on an oval in a Formula car. The Seat driver was a pro racing driver, and I am a noob... He was leading me around the track going faster and faster until he maxed out, everyone else had dropped out and it was just me and him driving around. He was cocking a wheel on the corners and starting to look a bit ragged, whilst I was chilling out and following him closely.
Leading a single seater around in a normal car is far from easy, and that was on an Oval...
Now try it when the drivers are the best in the world, in some of the fastest cars in the world, in a RWD high power Mercedes road car in the wet. That is a very hard job. You are not allowed to make a mistake. I am sure that any out of work world class driver could do it, but then, an out of work world class driver is still a world class driver
Leading a single seater around in a normal car is far from easy, and that was on an Oval...
Now try it when the drivers are the best in the world, in some of the fastest cars in the world, in a RWD high power Mercedes road car in the wet. That is a very hard job. You are not allowed to make a mistake. I am sure that any out of work world class driver could do it, but then, an out of work world class driver is still a world class driver
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Man of Honour
Well when I said it can't take much skill, I meant that Burt whatshisface can't be the only driver in the world who can do it. I don't think I could but I wouldn't say no for trying 
Gary Hartstein complained about GP3 drivers not observing yellow flags a few years back, and he's said similar about the Bianchi accident: http://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/2014/10/07/2271/
Caporegime
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Exactly, how many cars fail to engage the pit limiter, and if a pit limiter fails to work you can still slow down without out. When people get punished for speeding in the pit lane it's 99% of the time for being a few mph over at the very start of the pit lane, not for running through at 175mph like a nutter.
Speed limits through certain parts of the track is embarrassingly easy to do and there is no suggestion by anyone anywhere it should be automatic. setting up the speed zone is easy and should be done automatically, letting the drivers know which corner to slow down and speed up in could be automatic and a computer keeping track of speeds and who has gone through it is very easy. But the drivers would be responsible for slowing down.
Again this is easy, there is literally no speed even suggested under a yellow or double yellow, when it's ambiguous, one guys slows down, the guy behind him slows slightly less, the guy behind him slows slightly less still... the first guy loses out, so you end up in the future with no one really slowing down because they can't afford to lose time to the person behind. If you change the rule, simple to yellow flags mean 100mph max, double waved yellows means 50mph max.
It's not at all unsafe to drive that slow, anyone who thinks it is, is absurd. You lose temp... for like 3 corners maybe, it will be marginal and make no difference. You lose grip... but you're going slower in corners so need less grip, it doesn't matter. In the rain less downforce = higher ride height = less likely to aquaplane.
There is no limit with yellow flags the only real change required is to invoke a speed limit in such zones, it will improve safety dramatically. If Bianchi had only been going 50mph.... he likely wouldn't have gone off and he certainly wouldn't have hit as hard, it still could have been bad, but almost certainly a lot less bad.
Soldato
Not sure how useful something like that would be in F1. It could work better for longer circuits but is probably better suited to WEC races like the Spa 24h and Le Mans.
Driving something flat out to keep the F1 cars following at a decent speed ain't easy, and in the conditions similar to those at Suzuka it becomes very hard to do, even more so with an SLS.
I think along with the change of tyres when going from wet to dry - or the reverse - for Qualifying and Race conditions, you should be able to freely change the ride height to help against aquaplaning in severe conditions.
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