F1 drivers take their seats......

Angus · Post by **Angus** » 03 Aug 2006, 17:14

Ben Watson wrote:Entertaining is were they ban fuel stops, remove all electronics, fit fully manual gearboxes and a clutch. give them 3.5 litre engines again and race to the finish!

The driver's skill and proper engineering is what wins the race. remember the good old days with the Lotus JPS and the Marlboro McClarens.

And did I forgrt to mention an element of risk?

Sorry, from a one time dedicated F1 fan the last 8 years have been dull as dishwater.

I agree, and bring back the old Nurburgring as well. I thought that the huge salaries of F1 drivers were originally justified on the basis of the risks that they took, so either take their money away or give us some proper entertainment.

andy · Post by **andy** » 03 Aug 2006, 17:25

It isn't the drivers who are doing the dumbing down..............it's the powers that be.

Since EU legislation kicked in, if one of the F1 drivers gets killed, then the people at the top of the sport can be charged with manslaughter.

Max Mosley has already moved his office outside of the EU to distance himself from any consequences, but it is the top managers,(FIA) in the sport who are trying to slow it down.

The drivers are still lapping within a second of last years times even though the engine sizes have been reduced.

If you are going to lay the blame, lay it on the right people.

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 03 Aug 2006, 17:59

Ben Watson wrote:Entertaining is were they ban fuel stops, remove all electronics, fit fully manual gearboxes and a clutch. give them 3.5 litre engines again and race to the finish!

The driver's skill and proper engineering is what wins the race. remember the good old days with the Lotus JPS and the Marlboro McClarens.

And did I forgrt to mention an element of risk?

Sorry, from a one time dedicated F1 fan the last 8 years have been dull as dishwater.

Now this was a proper race :dance: But (hows anyone's old F1 knowledge!) when and where was it and who were the two real stars of that day?

AllanL · Post by **AllanL** » 03 Aug 2006, 18:45

Wouldn't be Monaco '84, would it?

Nige went horsing off into the lead after overtaking Prost, then spun off by applying power while one wheel was on a white line! Nowadays with traction control we would not even have noticed the electronics fighting with the difference in grip between the rear tyres. But it did point the way to Nige's talent, which even Williams did not anticipate. Apparently they signed him up expecting a steady No. 2 level of performance.

Senna stole the headlines by charging after Prost in the unfancied and butt ugly Toleman, but the race was stopped before he could catch up. In the meantime, Stefan Bellof was catching both of them hand over fist with the Tyrrell. It was one of those if only races. The clerk of the course took a lot of stick amongst suggestions of favouritism for the McLaren team.

Bellof died in a Porsche (at Spa?), so Germany had to wait for the Insufferable One to win their first championship. Rumour has it he is going to be sponsored by NCP at next year's Monaco race.

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 03 Aug 2006, 18:46

Spot on.

speedbird591 · Post by **speedbird591** » 03 Aug 2006, 19:12

Ben Watson wrote:Entertaining is were they ban fuel stops, remove all electronics, fit fully manual gearboxes and a clutch. give them 3.5 litre engines again and race to the finish!

The driver's skill and proper engineering is what wins the race. remember the good old days with the Lotus JPS and the Marlboro McClarens.

And did I forgrt to mention an element of risk?

Sorry, from a one time dedicated F1 fan the last 8 years have been dull as dishwater.

Is this what you're looking for, Ben? 215 mph top speed. Traction control optional but most riders use two wheel slides to turn tighter. No comms with the pits except a pit board. Qualifying is a one hour free-for-all do what you want. Fastest man gets pole. World Championship is wide open. German GP (see below) .3 of a second covered first four and would have been first six if two hadn't crashed.

Ian

OneMacGuru · Post by **OneMacGuru** » 03 Aug 2006, 20:32

Bonza speedbird591 - just add rain for a touch of added excitement

Al

andy · Post by **andy** » 03 Aug 2006, 20:58

Why can't they have one decent race, instead of having to do it twice?

speedbird591 · Post by **speedbird591** » 03 Aug 2006, 21:04

andy wrote:Why can't they have one decent race, instead of having to do it twice?

That's Superbikes, Steve. Like Touring Cars, based on road bikes.

I speak of MotoGP - factory prototypes one litre 250 bhp. One race no pit stops. Best man/tyre wins

EDIT: Oh - and did I mention that overtaking is allowed?

Ian

andy · Post by **andy** » 03 Aug 2006, 22:06

I must admit, that I have never been into two wheels, having bought my first car, (Ford Pop E93a) at the age of 16, and under guidance from my dad virtually rebuilt it before I was first allowed on the road with it on my 17th.

I must admit I liked watching Superbikes when Foggy was around.
You could always count on the action.

As for F1, we've got what we've got, and we can't turn the clock back.
It's good for a laugh.