F1 tires/refueling discussion.

[Parkanzky]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

That would create a total snoozefest. The pits is where some very interesting action takes place. Not to mention the heritage of relying on more people than solely the driver and engineers. It's a part of the charm and essence of racing.

The flip side of that is the issue we have now, where just about all of the racing is taking place in the pit lane and nobody makes competitive passes anymore. Why would you? Either cruise by with DRS, which isn't very exciting to watch, or win the tire-wear race and they'll pit their way behind you.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by Parkanzky

A friend proposed closing the pits all-together, putting them on a spec tire that can do the race distance and opening up engine development almost completely, but regulating it with a race fuel allocation. i.e. Every team can fuel the car with up to xx kg of fuel for the race and use it however they want.

That way, they can design the power train in any way they think will make them the fastest during the race without running out of fuel. It would encourage real innovation with a practical application (fuel-efficient, high-performance engines and transmissions) and the variety of engineering approaches would differentiate the cars and make the racing more interesting to watch.

Go look up Can-Am racing if you want to see how this kind of thing turns out...

[SukSqueezeBangBlo]

I think it should go back to the good old screaming V10 days..


Anyways...
http://planetf1.com/news/3213/871708...s-Tyre-Changes

So true.

Also find it funny how Red Bull instantly complains when they're not on top. Last year you didn't hear them bitching?

[KingOfJericho]

People make it sound like Ferrari never complains when things don't go their way...

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

People make it sound like Ferrari never complains when things don't go their way...

We complain when Ferrari complaining results in a rule change or a forced penalty.

[KingOfJericho]

Can't say I'm shocked by the treatment Ferrari gets with Jean Todt being the head of the FIA..

[E90SLAM]

We won't see refueling coming back.

The problem is this season Pirelli has pushed a bit too far on tire compounds and construction. Their target (and being asked when they awarded the contract) is to aim about 2-3 stops in a race, adding equal variables too all teams.
In the end of the day, still the best team could make the most out of the tools they were given.

Will this disadvantage Lotus and Ferrari? Perhaps, but if the car is kind to the tires. While other teams will have to make 3 stops, they can probably make 2 stops work without losing too much pace either.

Last weekend in Barcelona was perhaps a bit too much on the tire degradation. But let's not wave our hands and shout its the end of F1 per se. Don't forget we had two years of quite decent racing and new ingredients into the "formula".

Next year with V6 turbo era, FIA will introduce fuel flow control restriction. In order to push engine efficiency. Call me optimistic, but I'm looking forward to the new "ingredients" to the "formula".

[AlienDNA]

I can't see why we can't bring back refuelling. How hard would it be to create an interlock that prevents the fuel from flowing until the seal is solid and the clutch from engaging until the rig is completely disconnected?

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by AlienDNA

I can't see why we can't bring back refuelling. How hard would it be to create an interlock that prevents the fuel from flowing until the seal is solid and the clutch from engaging until the rig is completely disconnected?

There are also several good points on "refuel ban", despite some points were quite irrelevant with the new tyre degradation issues.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/12/1...efuelling-ban/

Now the races are racing to the limit of the tires, but with refueling, we are watching racing with fuel load limited strategy.

Also qualifying (with 2009 regulation) will be less exciting (it was bad as well when tire degradation was bad), some teams opted for higher fuel load for longer first stint, and we are not watching the Top 10 dash for the fastest lap.

Back to you Alien, F1 does have dead man handle and no fuel spill in the 15 years. The only once by Benetton was because they used a illegal fuel valve without a fuel filter for better flow rate.

And in 2008 and 2009, when Massa and Kovalainen pulled the fuel hose out of the rig. No fuel spilled from the Ferrari hose, and only small amount left in the hose from the McLaren hose in Brazil.

The technology itself is fine. They can say its on safety ground to ban in-race refueling, but the main drive is cost. bringing 20+ special refueling rig cost a lot.

[Parkanzky]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Go look up Can-Am racing if you want to see how this kind of thing turns out...

Did you catch Monaco? The red flag created exactly the situation I was talking about. All the cars starting off with fresh tires and plenty of fuel and rubber to push to the end of the race. And the racing after the restart was some of the best we've seen this season, despite occurring at a track that promotes parade conditions.