FOO can save Formula one!

[bikinchris]

The Matra is the best sounding engine ever.



Screw this "green" label they're trying to cover it with. Motorsports will never be green regardless of rules. It is what it is.

This. It is racing. it is not green. I love green stuff, but I also love cars and racing.
After thinking about it. It may make sense to have F1 supply every team with the same amount of fuel at every race and cut them loose. Now, just go race. If you run out of fuel? Well, that's too bad. See you next race.

[Christian Fox]

This. It is racing. it is not green. I love green stuff, but I also love cars and racing.
After thinking about it. It may make sense to have F1 supply every team with the same amount of fuel at every race and cut them loose. Now, just go race. If you run out of fuel? Well, that's too bad. See you next race.

They do limit the fuel they can use at each race. I agree, racing is about as non-green as it gets, but I think the idea behind the hybrid and energy recovery stuff is the pushing of technology for the trickle-down effect.

[Jonathan]

When f1 cars have electric motors driving every wheel they will be faster than they've ever been and debatebly green. I guess you could use a phone app to make them sound like v12s.

[thollandpe]

When f1 cars have electric motors driving every wheel they will be faster than they've ever been and debatebly green. I guess you could use a phone app to make them sound like v12s.

A high-performance electric car may lack the shriek of a V12 but still sounds pretty friggin cool. It's really neat to hear the tires more, especially from inside the car.

F1 can be green by developing tech used to increase efficiency of regular cars. Electric is certainly an example. Unfortunately the industry has stubbornly resisted weight reduction so far.

Ironically, the fuel use of the cars is insignificant when compared to the fuel use of the fans. I wonder how the average MPG of F1 fans compares to NASCAR fans.

[jitahs]

Unfortunately the industry has stubbornly resisted weight reduction so far.

Ironically, the fuel use of the cars is insignificant when compared to the fuel use of the fans. I wonder how the average MPG of F1 fans compares to NASCAR fans.

Hybrid tech at this level just coolifies it for the proletariat, making it an easier sell. Who doesn't think a Porsche Spyder is awesome? Light weight means less survivability, to point out the obvious, and may hurt sales more than efficiency offsets. There's a reason the NHTSA never crashes vehicles outside of their segments against each other - no one would ever by a subcompact again.

That said meeting CAFE standards in the next segment of years means either more tech and/or less weight; depending on mfgs' ability to meet the former, the latter will need to be addressed. Simply put if part of those standards included a weight component you'd see the potential of massive efficiency increases, not just the nominal increases currently mandated.

Plus they'd be a helluva lot more fun to drive.

[thollandpe]

Light weight means less survivability, to point out the obvious, and may hurt sales more than efficiency offsets.

A) Is this a weight debate with Jitahs?

B) I'd say strength matters way more than weight, and we bike nuts learned a long time ago that you can make stuff stronger and lighter. Yes I'd hate to go one-on-one with a 300-lb lineman, but I'd probably pick him over Jackie Chan.

[henry g.]

+1 Despite the lead of Mercedes the races have been incredible to watch. I just wish Ferrari could give Alonso more to work with.

[jitahs]

A) Is this a weight debate with Jitahs?

B) I'd say strength matters way more than weight, and we bike nuts learned a long time ago that you can make stuff stronger and lighter. Yes I'd hate to go one-on-one with a 300-lb lineman, but I'd probably pick him over Jackie Chan.

A) I am currently happily fat.

B) High strength steels are being incorporated into modern vehicles to reinforce the passenger compartment, allowing for non-structural components like boots and bonnets to utilize aluminum. Mazda, iirc, was the first to do this and now other manufacturers are doing it.

But in reality everyone wants to drive the four wheel equivalent of Lawrence Taylor, the human turbo roll cage.

[Maxspeedwell]

Ok... maybe I'm just hopelessly lost in 1978....

As for the Prost - Monza vid...

Driving on the edge all the while remembering that a slight error could cost
position, the race, or your life. That guy was good, and very consistent.
I was never a Prost, but I did identify with his driving style. Very similar to
mine (way back then). If the styles were so similar then why was he world
champion with more wins that any other driver (until Schumacher), and I was
soooo slow.. other than:

*I was easily distracted, (shiny objects)

and

*I had the rapid twitch reflexes of a sloth....

[Jonathan]

In 1978 I wonder what year they were hopelessly lost in?

[DOOFUS]

no going back

but I'd like to see action this good

[jitahs]

*I had the rapid twitch reflexes of a sloth....

This is more about vision than reflex.

[ron l edmiston]

--- as long as bernie ecclestone breathes oxy & is ceo of/for f1 management.. will always remain bernie e's way..

ronnie

[Tristan]

but I'd like to see action this good

Have you not been watching this years racing?!? Lots of fantastic racing both between the two Mercs and the super competitive mid-field scraps.

[Christian Fox]

Have you not been watching this years racing?!? Lots of fantastic racing both between the two Mercs and the super competitive mid-field scraps.

I've enjoyed this year, too. The V8's sounded great, but had been in use for so long, they were effectively spec engines. Same performance, same reliability regardless of manufacturer. And the drivers had perfected how to drive them. The turbos don't sound great, but it's been fun watching the guys have to control the super fast onset of torque in the new engines.

[Tristan]

I've enjoyed this year, too. The V8's sounded great, but had been in use for so long, they were effectively spec engines. Same performance, same reliability regardless of manufacturer. And the drivers had perfected how to drive them. The turbos don't sound great, but it's been fun watching the guys have to control the super fast onset of torque in the new engines.

I haven't heard the new engines in real-life but would love to. After the first few races either my ears became accustomed or the tv sound changed as they sound better to me now than in Melbourne. Plus, I like being able to hear the tyre squeal of a locked brake :-)

[Maxspeedwell]

Keep the safety and bring back these days and
sounds and I'll watch F1 again:



I loved to see Donahue in that Big monster McLaren
but really... those dinosaurs just ate each other into
extinction. The power, speed, lack of safety... CanAm
collapsed under its own weight.

I want to walk around the pits, watch the mechanics
lift the front tub and suspension up onto the pit wall
for some quick repairs while a small crowd of onlookers
stand by and occasionally hand the crew a wrench.

Would F1 today be any worse if it were radio controlled?
Full scale F1 cars with the drivers in the team bus....

Ok... I'm digressing. But I can't wonder if that could be
the soon future of F1.

-Max

[Mike Mcdermid]

Marussia MR2 formula 1 race car, chassis No MR2-02 in Jules Bianchi livery with dummy engine and gearbox, non functioning hydraulics & electrics, non functioning steering wheel and Pirelli show tyres, (Reception)

The entire team is under the hammer tomorrow ,rumours were HAAS were going to have a go

[Maxspeedwell]

Just saw a video of Monaco 1965. It's been fifty years (THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I'M ONLY TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD!). I remember
that race on Wide World of Sports. When Hill took the escape road I jumped-up, then collapsed back down into the chair. WHAT
JUST HAPPENED??? I was on the edge of the chair for the entire race. Safety wasn't even a concern but by standers three feet
from passing cars, actually getting out of a car, pushing it back to the track, restarting, and then a come-back?? What a race!

Now it's all so boring. Graham was a pure English gentleman. Now look at what we have. Spoiled brats and one British driver even
taking his dogs to the race. What kind of low-brow mouth-breather takes dogs to an F1 event, let alone Monaco?? It was so much
better back then.

It's been fifty years and a few weeks and I just discovered that the escape road wasn't at Rascasse.

The girls were hot in the 70's, the drivers were personable (ok... maybe not Hunt, or Innes), in the 60's....
Now, everything is just business. Back then the cars were more akin to hot rods. Now they are a mix
between karts, and slot cars.

Boring.

The only way to bring back the good 'ol days it to watch them on YouTube.

It just hit me... I've become my dad.

Ugh... -Max

[Tristan]

F1 is certainly going through a crisis at the moment and on-track action is rare. I get more of a kick out of watching the practise sessions than the races these days...to me what's amazing about F1 is the teams, the infrastructure, and the alignment of goals. F1 has never been as much of a team sport as it is now.

The mitigation of error points, the smoothness of how the garage operates, the calmness of the mechanics and engineers while under massive pressure - these are the things I find truly remarkable about modern F1.