Radical New Idea

[RevMaxPower]

As I'm now getting excited about the up-coming Le Mans 24 Hr Race, I was wondering if F1 could maybe take a leaf out of their book regarding drivers...

(This is another example of Axle's sideways thinking.)

To give more rookie drivers a chance and to 'give a leg up' to current also rans on the current F1 grid, how about introducing Driver changes at Pit Stops after the fashion of Le Mans? This way each car could have up to 3 drivers. The races could be lengthened and maybe an extra car per team could be introduced? I obviously have not thought this through totally but strongly believe that in principle, it could be of great benefit to F1 - both from the entertainment point of view for the fans and to supply a bigger pool of drivers for the teams.

I know other things will have to be revamped to accommodate this (such as the point scoring system) but I feel it will bring so much more talent to the sport that would normally be passed over.
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Your thoughts?

 

[Brogan]

It would never work as the car, specifically the seat, is moulded around the driver these days.

Then there's the set up which is specific to each driver.

 

[RevMaxPower]

It would never work as the car, specifically the seat, is moulded around the driver these days.

Then there's the set up which is specific to each driver.

OK - It would mean massive changes to F1 as we know it but I thought it would add a lot of excitement and interest - especially in the Pits. Boy, imagine the fun and games - particularly when Jenson stops at the wrong garage!

Seriously the whole idea was to promote more drivers and the cars could be reworked around this.

 

[RevMaxPower]

It really does come down to which "F1" camp one is in...

Like me - into the spectacle and the driving, or people who are into the technology. Both could be satisfied if done properly.

 

[Brogan]

I'd rather see 3 car teams, with one of the cars not scoring, than this.
That would open up the field to all sorts of drivers, as the teams wouldn't care about the potential loss of points.

The cost would be prohibitive though and it would fundamentally alter F1.

 

[sportsman]

It would never work as the car, specifically the seat, is moulded around the driver these days.

Then there's the set up which is specific to each driver.

I agree.Not a chance of it working.Seat, set up and additional cost make it impossible.

 

[Road of Bones]

Keep the disciplines separate! Sportscars & F1 should not be mixed - besides, where would all the ex-F1 pilots go, if there wasn't sportscar racing?

The whole essence of F1 is that it should be difficult to get into and remain there - it's not supposed to be a proving-ground for rookies, that's what GP2 is for!

 

[RevMaxPower]

Oh it would "fundamentally change" alright, Mr B, but would that have to be a BAD thing? As it is it changes year on year anyway.

Maybe a more limited change would be more appropriate but I'd like to see some way of having a quicker driver turnover instead of the same guys for donkey's years. Who knows what talent is out there, lurking, waiting, to show their stuff.

Simon Cowell could get involved as he appears to be a bit of a talent scout?

 

[Galahad]

Drivers at Le Mans use seat inserts, so from that point of view it's possible.

But more to the point, I don't like it. F1 is fundamentally a sprint racing series*, I believe, and there should be no place for long-life tyres, refuelling or driver changes. Those are things that happen in endurance racing and to mix the two would, I think, dilute them both.

The answer to getting more drivers into F1 is to let more new teams in, or relax the testing restrictions on drivers who meet certain criteria (e.g. under 25, fewer than 8 GP starts).

*this doesn't mean I think F1 should be just about head-down charging - far from it. Strategy and tactics have their place too!

 

[RevMaxPower]

Keep the disciplines separate! Sportscars & F1 should not be mixed - besides, where would all the ex-F1 pilots go, if there wasn't sportscar racing?

The whole essence of F1 is that it should be difficult to get into and remain there - it's not supposed to be a proving-ground for rookies, that's what GP2 is for!

They'd obviously have to fight harder for their Sports car spot. Surely INCREASING the COMPETITION amongst all drivers can do nothing but good for Motorsport in general?

 

[Road of Bones]

They'd obviously have to fight harder for their Sports car spot. Surely INCREASING the COMPETITION amongst all drivers can do nothing but good for Motorsport in general?

It's not just about increasing the driver's competition though, is it Axle? Don't forget that there's competition between the Teams/Cars as well - the driver is merely a component of the overall system (albeit a very important one!).

 

[RevMaxPower]

It's not just about increasing the driver's competition though, is it Axle? Don't forget that there's competition between the Teams/Cars as well - the driver is merely a component of the overall system (albeit a very important one!).

Agreed - but more drivers must surely mean more interest, more excitement, more arguments, more discussion? I can't think of one negative reason why NOT to come up with a scheme to have a greater number of drivers actively participating in Formula 1.

 

[Road of Bones]

Hmm - look at it this way Axle: having a limited pool of characters in the "Man-soap" that is F1 means that it is far easier for people to hang their particular hats on one personality or another - which is why (in part) F1 generates so much fan-dom. Sportscars may have more drivers competing, but could you name all that many beyond the main players?

Why dilute the the "fan-pool" with too many personalities from which to pick & choose?

Can you imagine the conspiracy theories and "tin-foil hatters" that would infest the internet if they perceived that their favourite wasn't getting good enough service from their teammate within the same car?

(...or is that what you're actually after? )

 

[RevMaxPower]

Road of Bones - how could you...?

No, not at all. I simply feel for those drivers that have invested shed-loads in time and money in their driving careers to find that, at the top, there just aren't enough seats to go round. It's almost like waiting to fill "dead mens' shoes" and to be fair I guess THAT, sadly, was the way it was in the old days. Without a mandatory retirement age or some other way to shake up the grid we see extremely slow evolution in Formula 1 when it comes to the drivers. Good grief, I'm pretty ancient and I thought it was only the youngsters that delighted in change but after reading some of these posts I'm not so sure...

 

[Road of Bones]

I see what you're getting at, regarding the "might-have-beens", but surely it's better to get the odd Hamilton or Raikkonen every once in a while, instead of a slew of Sutils, Maldonados and diGrassis year-in, year-out, isn't it?

Next thing you'll be suggesting a time-limit on an F1 driver's career...

 

[RevMaxPower]

I see what you're getting at, regarding the "might-have-beens", but surely it's better to get the odd Hamilton or Raikkonen every once in a while, instead of a slew of Sutils, Maldonados and diGrassis year-in, year-out, isn't it?

Next thing you'll be suggesting a time-limit on an F1 driver's career...

Well it's beginning to look like one or two recent Champions are already on the slippery slope. Would it really be such a bad idea to see the likes of Paul Di Resta in a Ferrari or Red Bull? No, I guess not...

 

[MCLS]

At the start of his career yes it would

 

[RevMaxPower]

I don't see why. Any one of the 24 are capable of doing well IN THE RIGHT CAR. Put Hamilton in a Force India and do you really think he'd still get anywhere near the podium? Maybe 9th or 10th on a good day but no higher?

 

[MCLS]

Karthikeyan, doubt that very much..... And 2009 showed Hamilton is capable of high results in poor cars, so yes higher

 

[Cookinflatsix]

It would never work as the car, specifically the seat, is moulded around the driver these days.

Then there's the set up which is specific to each driver.

You could have a relay tag system, the third rookie driver sits in his car in the pits and then replaces the car coming in to pit. Could make the rookie do a stint for each of the senior drivers during the race