F! new rules. will they make it more fun or ..

[Mr Fraudia]

I am sure we ahve all heard about the new rules F1 passed, these included no spare cars, no telemetry link between driver and pit crew, no tech stuff like traction control, launch control and autmomatic shifting.

Do you think this will be good for the sport or bad?

I have mixed feelings about it, I suppose individual's talent will become more important than tech toys, but companies can still do a lot towards design of teh cars etc.

it may allow others to get in the sport who could not due to the high costs, not that the costs will be meaningless now.

but, does it also drive down the importance of R&D to come up with new stuff to get that critical advantage over competitors?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/2701659.stm

[ManiaX]

I think it's good to see the ban on all the electronics..I hate traction and launch control...it just takes away the thrill of seeing a driver actually show his skills in more ways than one. For instance, traction control made it a lot easier for everyone to drive closer to the limit, regardless of how good or how experienced they are. Similarly, launch control meant that everyone made similar starts and we dont see major changes in position at the start anymore....so I definately think those two changes that will come into force at Silverstone are positive for F1.

As far as the radio goes...thats kind of silly.If they remove the car to pit telemetry then the teams wont be able to advise the driver on all thats going on with the car anyway...so why not keep the radio which can help on safety issues plus they can make the radio transmission available to the tv people like they do in CART.

The spare car is available if needed for the start of the race which is fair enough. If someone has a big off on Friday or Saturday then they can still sit in the spare car on Sunday, though they may have to start at the back of the grid.

I think it;ll make things interesting on certain tracks like Monaco where driver skills matters more than the performance of your package. Either way, It should be an interesting season....limiting the gadgets will show us who the real stars are...people like Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikonnen are the ones who will benefit the most....especially Michael...since he`s in a different league.

[Mr Fraudia]

Maniax

Pit to driver radio is still on but a lot of the realtime tech data transfer is going to be out. as well as new rules on tires, qualifying for races..which in my view is the biggest factor here.

limiting the gadgets as well as some the new pole position rules may bring some new faces who may not be driving cars with as much gadgetry as others.

and dont get me wrong, schumacher is a great driver, but partially because he does not have a real competitor right now. otherwise in past all great drivers atleast had some very equal nemesis..the days of senna and prost come to mind, and then prost and mansell.

[ManiaX]

Oh I definately agree that the new qualifying rules should spice things up a lot - we may one lap wonders like say Trulli for example qualify in the top three etc...and it would be very exciting to see the likes of Michael and Juan Pablo start at the back and work their way up to the front of the field....

As far as Michael and the lack of competition goes - I think he's had very good competition in the past - both Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen have beaten him fair and square for the championships...but yes...no one has stayed at the top long enough to give him a real fight day in and day out...

Hopefully, Williams BMW can up the ante and give Juan Pablo a good enough car because thats all he needs to take it to Michael Schumacher.

Other interesting battles...Ralf Vs Juan Pablo, DC Vs Kimi and I'm anxious to see how De Matta goes in the Toyota.

[Mr Fraudia]

yeah I think a number of ppl are waiting to see the toyota saga roll out. Maybe there will be more teams there in future due to these changes, I am referring to builders nissans and mitsus etc.

as far as willaims BMW, dont u think taht with teh recution is some of the gadgetry, the gap is smaller, i.e. more comparable machines, and thus a bigger challenge to schu?