Motorsport Off Topic Thread

Ferrari and Monaco are the two coveted brands that form F1. Without either it's a death knell.

I don't blame the circuit, as posters have said its the cars. It would never happen, make the cars manual boxes, 1997 size, combustion engines - it would be blockbuster.

Also make the pre-race qualifying some form of bonus race where each driver is given same spec ordinary saloon and let the chaos ensue.

TV ratings would go through the roof.
 
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Still annoys me that Aston Martin forced changes in the hyper car rule set to accommodate them, which made it much harder for privateers like Glickenhaus to compete. And then never bothered to join until 6/7 years later after it had finally taken off with a whole host of other manufacturers being involved.
 
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Scam said:
Monaco would be one of the most exciting races on the calendar if the cars were small and nimble to actually race each other.
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Absolutely, but I’m not confused in my dislike for Monaco. We aren’t going to get a return to the much smaller/nimbler cars of the past. Even with these upcoming reg changes, the cars are still giant and weigh as much as one of the superyachts in Monaco harbour.

It’s a relic that doesn’t work any more. I’ve seen good races at this track, I remember the comedy excitement of the 1996 race.
Only memories, ones we won’t get to see recreated.
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
We aren’t going to get a return to the much smaller/nimbler cars of the past.
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Surely there’s some possibility of that? I was only half listening to Brundle’s AMA yesterday but he was saying it’s the batteries that are heavy- and next year they’re going up to 50% battery, 50% fuel. (Which is the wrong direction for weight really). But there’s talk of bio-fuel in the future which might eradicate the need for such a heavy battery. I dunno - I haven’t been paying much attention to future regs.
 
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Scam said:
Surely there’s some possibility of that? I was only half listening to Brundle’s AMA yesterday but he was saying it’s the batteries that are heavy- and next year they’re going up to 50% battery, 50% fuel. (Which is the wrong direction for weight really). But there’s talk of bio-fuel in the future which might eradicate the need for such a heavy battery. I dunno - I haven’t been paying much attention to future regs.
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Both WRC and BTCC have dumped hybrid now, so it's not a stretch to suggest most Motorsport is going to pivot back towards ICE using sustainable fuels
 
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Nothing is fast when it comes to F1 reg changes. You don't need good racing and great cars, when you can back it up with Drive to Survive and inject the drama that way. :/

It seems that everyone wants to get back to smaller/lighter cars, I just don't understand why those at the top can't go for it.
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
Nothing is fast when it comes to F1 reg changes. You don't need good racing and great cars, when you can back it up with Drive to Survive and inject the drama that way. :/

It seems that everyone wants to get back to smaller/lighter cars, I just don't understand why those at the top can't go for it.
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Sadly it's not that simple. The manufacturers have a say and I suspect they won't be that interested in moving away from small capacity hybrid with turbochsrging back to a naturally aspirated V8/10/12 as there's just no R&D potential there which then means all the money spent needs to come from marketing and $150m (+Driver salaries and top three paid staff on top, potentially another $100m for a team like Ferrari or Red Bull) buys an awful lot of TV, online and print advertising. Renault (although no longer valid) said they'd leave if NA engines continued back in 2014 and Honda said they wouldn't return if F1 stuck with NA engines too. From an entertainment POV I agree, although I don't hate the sound now, it's much improved compared to 2014 and 2015.
 
It's understandable that manufacturers won't be interested in going to V10/V12 configurations as very few companies make them. But the part I never understand was making the V6 only 1.6 litres. They could surely change the whole setup to a larger displacement (2.2 litre V6 in Indycar) version of a V6 whilst removing hybrid elements. An engine that could be lower stressed or higher revving that ultimately makes for a lighter powertrain as an overall package. The sheer size and weight of the cars make them larger than a WEC hypercar and I'm not sure it would matter anymore if they were driven by a fatty like myself.
 
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Ryan-3 said:
It's understandable that manufacturers won't be interested in going to V10/V12 configurations as very few companies make them. But the part I never understand was making the V6 only 1.6 litres. They could surely change the whole setup to a larger displacement (2.2 litre V6 in Indycar) version of a V6 whilst removing hybrid elements. An engine that could be lower stressed or higher revving that ultimately makes for a lighter powertrain as an overall package. The sheer size and weight of the cars make them larger than a WEC hypercar and I'm not sure it would matter anymore if they were driven by a fatty like myself.
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Indycar is crying out for another engine partner and Honda USA are rumoured to be considering pulling out due to cost and complexity of the new Hybrid systems they’ve just brought in (just as some other series are dropping them for cost reasons of course) which is apparently really stressing team budgets. If the engines could match at least the block of the F1 engines it would open new opportunities for a new partner coming in which would reduce both Chevrolet’s and Honda’s costs and keep Indycar in better health.
 
MissChief said:
Indycar is crying out for another engine partner and Honda USA are rumoured to be considering pulling out due to cost and complexity of the new Hybrid systems they’ve just brought in (just as some other series are dropping them for cost reasons of course) which is apparently really stressing team budgets. If the engines could match at least the block of the F1 engines it would open new opportunities for a new partner coming in which would reduce both Chevrolet’s and Honda’s costs and keep Indycar in better health.
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I didn't know that! (Follow NASCAR but not Indy) But that idea would be a very interesting tie up for both parties. Like you say, Honda is in both, Ford want into F1 engines, Red Bull have their finger in some pies in the US.. would certainly make sense.

However, sense and rule makers...
 
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