Chicanes, love them or hate them, you can't ignore them. Currently chicanes litter our favourite tracks, creating slowness and safety all round. Chicanes originated in the thirties when terrified race organisers desperately tried to slow cars down, which were going dangerously close to the predicted top speed of the corners.
Monza, in a very dangerous period, had several tragic accidents in a short space of time, and the result was up to five chicanes on one lap. The problem was that the cars were very heavy, and didn't stop in any hurry, and if they overturned the driver's neck would be holding up the 1 tonne+ car.
The first artificial chicane in modern Formula 1 came at the mighty Pescara circuit in Italy. The chicane was devised in 1934 when organisers decided that letting cars come along the pit straight following four miles flat out was a risk to the mechanics and a corner similar to the old bus-stop chicane at Spa was devised.
Whilst we consider Monza and Spa to be our fastest circuits, they both have three chicanes, as did the old Hockenheim. Early in the year we saw Mark Webber fly into the air and escape unscathed, an accident caused by a chicane. So from that we know that chicanes are dangerous, but Formula 1 cars are incomparably safe. So the original purpose for chicanes now is their downfall. Although we think of these big stops as great overtaking opportunities, the old Monza had many close and exiting finishes, because cars didn't all have to go single file through daft chicanes.
Depending on what you class as a chicane, the current calendar has up to 35 chicanes. All of them poised to make life boring. So what do you think; are chicanes useful or useless? Should we go back to the days of fast Formula 1?*
*Look at picture upon reading this bit
Monza, in a very dangerous period, had several tragic accidents in a short space of time, and the result was up to five chicanes on one lap. The problem was that the cars were very heavy, and didn't stop in any hurry, and if they overturned the driver's neck would be holding up the 1 tonne+ car.
The first artificial chicane in modern Formula 1 came at the mighty Pescara circuit in Italy. The chicane was devised in 1934 when organisers decided that letting cars come along the pit straight following four miles flat out was a risk to the mechanics and a corner similar to the old bus-stop chicane at Spa was devised.
Whilst we consider Monza and Spa to be our fastest circuits, they both have three chicanes, as did the old Hockenheim. Early in the year we saw Mark Webber fly into the air and escape unscathed, an accident caused by a chicane. So from that we know that chicanes are dangerous, but Formula 1 cars are incomparably safe. So the original purpose for chicanes now is their downfall. Although we think of these big stops as great overtaking opportunities, the old Monza had many close and exiting finishes, because cars didn't all have to go single file through daft chicanes.
Depending on what you class as a chicane, the current calendar has up to 35 chicanes. All of them poised to make life boring. So what do you think; are chicanes useful or useless? Should we go back to the days of fast Formula 1?*
*Look at picture upon reading this bit