Pre-Season The 2014 season regulations

mjo

Procrastinating
Contributor
Right; here are the new regulations for next season - most of them I don't like, apart from the budget cap.
http://www.fia.com/formula-one-regulation-changes

What are your hopes and fears for F1 2014? Can Seb make it 5 in a row? Can Mclaren not have a crap car?

There's a 19 race calendar, but 500 points will be available as the last race of the season is worth double.
 
I think the custom race numbers idea could work well, think of Mansell and Villeneuve (G) for examples of how this might work. I'd love to see a fight between Hamilton and Button for #22!
 
The FIA and the Strategy Group have clearly run out of ideas. As seems to be the case at the top of almost every industry or corporate organisation these days linear thinking has been firmly cemented in the echelons of power and control. F1 appears to reflect the current evolutionary state of the humans who are ultimately in control of our lives and endeavours. They are incapable of taking a holistic view of the own affairs let alone the affairs of others. They cannot think outside of "the box" since their existence is confined to a narrow tube.

So once again they tinker at the edges and faff about with the middle, reducing everything to the lowest common demoninator. Tonight they will tuck themselves up in bed thinking that they have done a good job. The fans will be pleased, they think, because their favourite driver will have a special number .... woo ****ing hoo. The fans will be pleased because there's a wimpy penalty to be used that will be less onerous to their hero ... wow ****ing woop di doo.

The best one of the lot, though, is that they confirm RasputinLives analysis that all the blokes except Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull weren't even trying to win the 2013 titles. To make sure that they put in maximum effort they will double the scores for the final race. Brilliant. In the new era when there is concern for potential unreliability with the turbocharged power units the teams are now faced with prospect of having work their undone by another joker card thrown in at the last hurdle. In fact it may pay a team to err on the side of caution. Maybe not trying very hard occasionally to guarantee having a car in one piece in the hope that the "double points joker card" plays in their favour might work. Whatever, the team that does the best job will still, likely as not, get the job done before the last race. It's as near as dammit 50/50 if history is anything to go by.

Meanwhile, we will have F1 cars going slower with drivers sticking to the rails to look after the boots and no flamboyant exhibitions of driver reactions and brilliance. If there is any brilliance we won't be able to recognise it anyway.

Well done F1 top heads, you've surpassed yourselves.
 
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Well thats all a load of bollocks isn't it?

Fenderman it might suggest my theory was correct but thats where the similar thinking ends as the last thing I would ever want is another gimmick. Double fricking points? Oh and look where the race is! Abu Dhabi! I wonder how much they paid to get the switch with Brazil so they were the joker race?

Ya know if the racing turns out to be good in Formula E then F1 could be in serious trouble as thats looking like a far more modern series at the moment.
 
Another FIA blunder, I suggest, is the timing of next weeks tyre test and telling all and sundry who is going to be there. McLaren and Force India have pulled out because of the short notice ...

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...will-not-take-part-in-next-weeks-bahrain-test

... of course shipping all the kit required to Bahrain and getting it back again in the run up to Christmas would, to anyone sensible, seem a bad idea as well.:rolleyes:

Good to know that they are thinking about the team's personnel and families ... er no.
 
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As he owns the shipping companies I'm sure Bernie would do them a deal to get out their quickly for the good of F1 right?

I'm sure he wouldn't try and make a profit out of something that is for the good of F1.

I'm sure Bahrain was the most appropriate place for this emergency test too.

Has anyone seen the sarcasm font button?
 
Woe betide any of the teams who do go if they should perchance out-perform everyone else next year :whistle:. Still we can look forward to lots of bickering over who gained advantage over whom :tumbleweed::bored:
 
It surprises me that McLaren have pulled out - it doesn't really give the image of the doing everything they can to turn around their fortunes. If the teams only had proper confirmation this week that is pretty ridiculous though, just a week's notice to ship everything and everyone out to Bahrain immediately prior to Christmas.
 
Ah! A multiple choice complete this sentence competition :D

They all had opportunity to ...
a) divert financial, physical and personnel resources
b) scrap a significant proportion of staff holiday plans
c) upset spouses, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends ...
d) attend a test in a politically questionable venue at a time when security is unlikely to be as strong as is the case on the venues race weekend
e) any other negative reason anyone can think of

Just how much use would the tyre test actually be to McLaren compared to negative effects of a substantial interruption of their scheduled activities?
 
I agree that it is incredibly short notice.

However each team has the same opportunity. I'm sure if you gave the employees a choice it wouldn't be so clear-cut. Carry on as normal in England or take a nice bonus, come to Bahrain for a few days and we'll have you back in time for Christmas. I doubt they'd be a shortage of people.

The problem is more to do with moving the cars and equipment.

It will be interesting to see if any of the teams make it...
 
It's about the entire logistics of the operation, the effect on the teams plans, the effects on the employees and their families. These are people who have spent all year jetting around the planet. Sure for some it's a no brainer with more money in the belt for doing it but for others it will be a pain in the rear and an unwanted strain. Fair notice would have no doubt have made it manageable for everyone. The fact is that this is another example of knee-jerk reactionary thinking and an approach to issues that they have been inadequately tackled all season.
 
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