FORMULA 1'S BIG QUESTION: POWER & NOISE VS. technology & Road RELEVANCE
THE CURRENT high tech POWERUNITS USED IN F1 HAVEN'T MET WITH THE BEST RESPONSE. WITH NEW OWNERSHIP SHOULD F1 RETURN TO MORE POWERFUL, SIMPLER ENGINES?
Formula 1 is where the future of car technology races. It has always been the test bed for new and emerging technologies. However with the automotive world going one direction and F1 fans wanting something different how can F1 achieve relevant technology and please their teams and fans?
"F1 is a little bit at a crossroads. The automotive world is going off on a different direction now, with fuel cell cars, electric cars, autonomous driving - and that's not F1. How do we find the relevant path for the future?" Sporting Director, Ross Brawn told reporters in Montreal. "There is a careful balance between the technical challenge that we must retain in F1, because that is a really important element, but not overdoing it to the point where it becomes a distraction from the racing. I'd say the attitude is very positive from the teams. With the FIA, we're working to find good solutions for the future."
Few people understand the technology of Formula 1 better than Ross Brawn. He was one of the most brilliant car designers and managers in the modern era of Formula 1. If he says F1 needs to change, we need to listen.
"The engine is the key element we have got to get right," Brawn said. "Along with the FIA, the teams and interested engine suppliers, we're debating that at the moment, to understand what sort of engine we want for the future." Earlier this year all the existing engine manufacturers along with a representative from Audi met to discuss the future of F1 engine tech. There was one overriding conclusion, F1 engines need to get louder, less expensive and more exciting as a whole. The Current crop of V6 Hybrid power units may be spectacular in their tech but they have been a dud with the fans.
At the crux of all of this the question still remains, what should Formula 1 be? Should F1 continue to push automotive technology? Or should it be about the fastest cars with the best drivers battling it out to see who is better? Personally, I lean towards the latter. Yes, F1 should push technological boundaries but at the end of the day, it is entertainment. If fans stop showing up, stop watching, stop caring then Formula 1 will cease to be.
It's game over if F1 loses the fans. F1 fans want the fastest cars and the best drivers testing the limits of man and machine. Should the fan experience be sacrificed for the Manufactuers desire for road relevance?
It is not an easy task. Without manufacturers, F1 wouldn't survive either. F1 is an expensive exercise. Car companies want to see a return on their investment. Often times that doesn't come directly from racing, F1 is a test bed for future technologies. Mercedes has threatened to leave F1 if it diverges from that concept. On the flip side, Red Bull is threatening to quit if it can't get an independent engine supplier. Independent engine suppliers aren't going to get involved if the expense is immense. Like Brawn said, F1 is at a crossroads. Decisions made today will have a great impact on the future of the sport.
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Source: www.motorsport.com
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Comments (14)
Make them atmospheric, put a limit to capacity, leave the number of cylinders to the manufacturer and they'll start singing again.
Its the concepts that matter from f1 (Any High end motosport) not the physical hardware. For example Pre ignition, CVT and many more. Its the intangible Ideas that matter.
Drop the KERS system, and make it cheaper for the smaller teams. Bring back testing, everyone would benefit. I appreciate the advancements in technology, but I would like everyone to b able to afford to compete.
(NOTE: Ross Brawn ftw).... should be technology power and noise, should be less focussed on banning innovations such as t- wings, mass dampers, 6-wheelers, and amazing suspension systems such as mercedes' one last year. I mean so many of these outstanding innovations is what the sport and road cars need. lets not forget that something that makes a f1 car handle better is going to most likely help improve family sedans. and lots of the technology used to make road cars safer today were born from technologies developed to make race cars go faster. we can 100% include all of the things in the title. I mean hybrids aren't actually much better on the environment when you factor in battery manufacture and disposal and the coal burning powerplants around the world that charge them, so we could allow bigger combustion back into the sport, it might force teams to develop new technology to make them more efficient and so on too. though i personally am only opposed to hybrids coz of the cost for teams... but yeh... long story short... i think we can have it all... this year the cars are amazing visually and the racing is amazing .... so why change them in a rush... but at the same time if the cars could be made lighter, maybe ditching all the heavy batteries etc, or through other means, it would be great to see. but apart from noise, what is so wrong with what we have now. let the rule legal technologies stay on the cars when they are developed, rather than banning them as they pop up.
More power, much more noise. Get rid of extra spoilers and stop using Hybrid. F1 have been down that road for to long, and todays car manufactuers cam evolve this by them self.
I wan´t screaming V10 reving to the max and F1 cars sliding through corners. It should be about who is the best driver, who have the skill and guts to use the power to the max. Not the computer gamelike thing of today that help the driver along. And when your at it, get rid of ALL run-off tarmac. Build big gracetrapps instead, if you go to fast in a corner you end up stuck in the gravel. Today every driver can rejoin if he get´s to excited and tries going to fast in a corner. It should be like Monaco, if you over drive your skills then you don´t finish...
But that´s just my two cents...
Absolutely 👍