Your New Regulations

[Fitch]

Ok so with FOTA and all that crap.....I thought I'd start the seemingly obligatory on every formula 1 board thread, of what is your perfect Formula....You're the rules maker.....I'd like to say keep it realistic but I know someone is gonna say "No wings and Turbocharged to 1500bhp!!!!"

So here's my rules.....



Engines: 3.5-4.0 L Normally Aspirated or 1 L Turbo charged.....Unlimited Revs, if you wanna rev that thing to 25,000 be my guest. unlimited cylinders.

Cars: Cars will have a Min/Max Length, width, height and Track width(to the edge of the tires). Ground Effects are allowed, but NO Skirts, Tunnels will have a Min/Max width.

Must have Front and rear wing. Front wing cannot exceed width of the space between the inside of the front tires and the nose assembly. i.e. the wing will most definitely be in the way of the tunnels. Rear wing Width will be no more then 80% of Body width.

Customer Cars will be allowed. Points will be payed out as now, Constructor points for Customer cars will be payed out to the Top 2 scoring cars. so if March cars finish 1 through 10 then only 1 and 2 get points.

Flappy Paddle shifts are gone, Sequential or Semi-Automatic Transmissions are allowed, however the Driver MUST take his hand off the Wheel to shift.

No more then 4 wheels....

I had this all planned out and now that I'm posting it, I'm drawing a Huge Blank....Oh well, I think this is a great start....

[dr-baker]

I propose the BTCC point system of 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to the top ten finishers - more than the 2 point difference between 1st and second there currently is, yet less than the 4 when Schumacher was dominating. Also keeps the current points system for 3rd to 10th. And Force India could claim to have a handful of points by now.

Other than widening the cars to 2 m again, wouldn't it be best to leave the rules alone? This is the best way to bring costs down, as everybody wants isn't it?

[CarlosFerreira]

You know the WTCC rules? Same thing, just no Max.

[DonTirri]

Other than widening the cars to 2 m again, wouldn't it be best to leave the rules alone? This is the best way to bring costs down, as everybody wants isn't it?

So, with overtaking as difficult as it is already, you want to make the CARS even WIDER to make it even more difficult to overtake?

I say nip another 30 cm off the car width and maybe you can overtake in monaco too

[Jordan192]

So, with overtaking as difficult as it is already, you want to make the CARS even WIDER to make it even more difficult to overtake?

I say nip another 30 cm off the car width and maybe you can overtake in monaco too

Wider = more mechanical grip. It's a tradeoff, granted, in that you physically need more room, but I'd want to see wider cars, on fatter tyres, with the primary focus of the rest of the rulebook being on crippling aero performance to roughly 1990 levels.

[DonTirri]

So, with overtaking as difficult as it is already, you want to make the CARS even WIDER to make it even more difficult to overtake?

I say nip another 30 cm off the car width and maybe you can overtake in monaco too

Wider = more mechanical grip. It's a tradeoff, granted, in that you physically need more room, but I'd want to see wider cars, on fatter tyres, with the primary focus of the rest of the rulebook being on crippling aero performance to roughly 1990 levels.

Well i can see your point. just get ground effects back. I would love me some skirted frontwingless groundhuggers with clean lines... <3

[Debaser]

Make every driver bring £5m to a team so the rich, hopeless drivers get seats while cutting costs for the teams. Seriously though, here's what I would do:
-Make the cars as wide as they were pre-1998 so they have more grip and look better,
-Limit engine capacity to 3L, no restrictions on cylinders or revs
-Use environmentally friendly bio-fuel so the sport doesn't give greenpeace members heart attacks and slightly reduce engine power
-Manual gearboxes
-Ban pitstops for fuel, so looking after tyres becomes a necessity.
-Pre-qualifying so everyone who wants to join can, and not make them pay the massive entry fee teams like Super Aguri paid.
-Standard diffusers which allow overtaking and reduce "Dirty Air"

[Ross Prawn]

I've been thinking about this for a while. The regulations have become so specific over recent years that they amount to an instruction book for building the car. That can't be right. So I think that rather than tinkering with things and arguing whether a hole is slot or an opening, its time for a radical rethink.

There are number of purposes of the regulations:-

Car safety and crashworthiness.

Dealing with political agenda's, these days particularly 'green' pressures.

Ensuring a level enough playing field that enough teams can be competitive.

Limiting track speeds, particularly cornering speeds - otherwise you can' get insurance for the circuits to hold events at all.

Car safety and crashworthiness can be mainly dealt with be specifying the crash tests that a chassis has to undergo. Maybe also a standard 'safety cell' that the driver sits in. And features like wheel tethers.

The green agenda can be dealt with simply by specifying the maximum amount of fuel per race, and cutting it year by year. Forget all this nonsense about KERS, which is hugely expensive, and not understood by the man in the street. And of course if you are specifying the maximum amount of fuel, why bother to regulate engine size at all? Oh and no fuel stops, so that overtaking has to take place on the circuit.

The 'level playing field' may require some form of budget capping. Although I struggle to see how it might work. I'd stick with limited testing, but more testing time on raceday Fridays. Also limit the amount of technical people that can be present at the track, and limit telemetry to stop the big teams running everything from base. Probably also a rule that manufacturer teams have to offer competitive engines to smaller teams at a fixed price.

Limiting track speeds. To stop the never ending arms race between regulators and designers why not just specify the maximum speeds that can be used at various points on the track ? This could easily be monitored and controlled by telemetry nowadays. You might think that this would stifle racing. But it just moves the challenge to creating a car which is well balanced enough to optimise performance around the whole track. It would put a more emphasis on handling in low speed corners. The benefit is that if you do this, then you need very few chassis design or aerodynamic restrictions.

Actually I'd get rid of wings as well, because I think it just makes things too easy for the designers. And skirts would still be illegal for the same reason.

Then just specify the overall height, width, and length, plus the fact that wheels have to be open.

You could end up with a much greater variety of design. A formula that rewards the clever rather than the rich. And a rule book half the thickness of the current one.

[StoneColdSpider]

i like alot of the ideas in this thread....

i dont like the BTCC style points syetm for F1...
points have always been like gold in F1...

removing wings would b great also...

[Captain Hammer]

But the cars need those wings because they would become unstable at high speends given their power-to-weght ratios.

[FW08]

I am surprised how few people are not supporting the "old" 10-6-4-3-2-1 points system. Since that is the system that was in place when most of us started watching the sport (I think). It would make sense to give points to 6 cars instead of 8 since, the field is only going to be 24 cars at most.

The next thing "we" should do something about is that blasted super reliability.

[Ben Gilbert]

My regulations

Car dimensions: Keep width at 180cm (Inclusive of the tyres)

Aero: No front wings allowed. Rear wings will be allowed, but only one slat, no more than 150cm wide x 15 cm long, to reduce the downforce generated. Ground effect and skirts will be reintroduced, to allow for downforce to be created, but while creating a pocket of air as a slipstream, rather than just dirty air.

Brakes: Made of steel, carbon will be banned. Increases braking distances and driver concentration needed.

Tyres: 4 sets of 4 compounds will be brought to each track. Two compounds will be race dries, one lasting longer than the other. One set will be rain tyres, and the final compound will be super-super-soft qualifying tyres, which have a useful life of about 20km.

Pitstops: Refuelling and tyre changes are permitted, however, pitcrews will have a maximum size of 5 people, to try and discourage pitstops for anything other than tyres. The fuel tanks in cars will be increased to allow the cars to run a race without pitting.

Gearboxes: Fully manual, non-sequential gearboxes would be mandatory (with clutch pedal and gear lever)

Engine: 3 litre normally aspirated, 1.5 litre turbo. Any number of cylinders and revs allowed. However, to prevent turbo over-reliablility, the turbo unit will be a standard unit, that the teams will have to purchase from one independent manufacturer. This turbo will be made from poor quality materials, to reduce it's reliability.

Points: 9-6-4-3-2-1.

[jackanderton]

Points:

14-10-7-5-4-3-2-1

Purpose:

-Points to the first 8 cars as I believe it should be, particularly if the entrants increase to 22/24 cars.
-A clear incentive to go for the win. Any driver dominance can be offset by rules designed to standardize Car 1 and Car 2 so driver ability gets through. Dominance isn't a good thing but performance needs to be rewarded and encouraged rather than inhibited
-Enough of a gap in points to make going for a podium a risk work taking rather than settling for third.

As for regulations, I believe that variation and the increase of variable in regulations and cars makes the racing more unpredictable and entertaining. F1 is something where change for changes sake isn't 100% a bad thing. The FIA's most difficult job is they have to make change for changes sake look like part of some overall strategy.

[Python]

Here are my regulations:

Keep point system the same.

Semi auto transmissions with paddle shifters.

Same engine size, but allow turbo chargers.

Slicks tires only.

[WeirdKerr]

Few ideas....
id like to see is a short sprint race say 10 - 12 laps with grid order decided by a computer.... and to decide the grid order for the main race on by the fastest laps during the sprint race.... award points for sprint race as follows 5 for the win 3 for 2nd 2 for 3rd and 1 for 4th and a point for getting fastes lap IE pole postion for main race

Also for the main race a point for fastest lap leading most laps and for over taking most cars

success ballast perhaps.... ?

[Yannick]

I can only provide a points scoring system:

10-6-4-3-2-1-1/2-1/4 with 5-3-2-1 1/2-1-1/2-1/4-0 awarded in case of an aborted event.

[Bleu]

No to fractions of points regularly. They should be something rare. Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg should be very proud of their half points. Especially Nico since along with Keke they are only father-son combination who both have half points. Keke was 4th in Monaco 1984.

Nelsinho failed to score in Malaysia (not surprising) so he lost the chance to be part of another (Nelson senior has half points from Adelaide 91)

[BB01]

I propose the BTCC point system of 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to the top ten finishers - more than the 2 point difference between 1st and second there currently is, yet less than the 4 when Schumacher was dominating. Also keeps the current points system for 3rd to 10th. And Force India could claim to have a handful of points by now.

That would be basically the same as the current points system - 2nd gets 80% of 1st, 3rd gets 66% (currently 60%), etc. It certainly provides no extra bonus for winning. There was nothing wrong with the 1992-2002 points system, it just didn't make for good tv when one driver was dominant. If people really think that winning races shouldn't be the key to the championship, umm... well... I don't know what help I can offer them.

[StoneColdSpider]

If people really think that winning races shouldn't be the key to the championship, umm... well... I don't know what help I can offer them.

then maybe it should be

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10.
hehehehe

[dr-baker]

Just so long as we do not end up with Bernie's medal system, and we get people racing, I'll be happy.

[Jordan192]

Just so long as we do not end up with Bernie's medal system, and we get people racing, I'll be happy.

As things stand at the moment, if FOTA and the FIA settle, the Abba method's still in the rulebook for F1 in 2010.

[noisebox]

I would go for single plain front and rear wings with a standard diffuser. This would cut development costs, downforce, laptimes and help the dirty air problem whilst retaining wings for sponsors to plaster their logos all over.

[dr-baker]

Just so long as we do not end up with Bernie's medal system, and we get people racing, I'll be happy.

As things stand at the moment, if FOTA and the FIA settle, the Abba method's still in the rulebook for F1 in 2010.

Sorry, what's the Abba method...?

[Nuppiz]

Just so long as we do not end up with Bernie's medal system, and we get people racing, I'll be happy.

As things stand at the moment, if FOTA and the FIA settle, the Abba method's still in the rulebook for F1 in 2010.

Sorry, what's the Abba method...?

Winner takes it all, loser's standing small...

[dr-baker]

D'uh!!! I actually thought it was a Slim Borgudd reference initially...

[Popi_Larrauri]

But I shout "REJECT THREAD!!!!!" and anybody must change topic starting now.

[dr-baker]

But I shout "REJECT THREAD!!!!!" and anybody must change topic starting now.

This isn't a reject thread. There will still be a single-seater championship next year. It will actually be F1. We can still discuss what we would like the rules to be, can't we?

[kowalski]

a couple of simple rule changes i would like:

- free up the engine / kers rules to allow more freedom and instead limit the fuel allowed for a race distance... hopefully it would bring some much needed variety into the cars.

- tighten up the diffuser rules to remove the 'double deck' malarky and thus (hopefully) allow cars to pass more easily (as planned)

- oh, and of course allow each driver to have a 'wacky races' style oil spray in the rear of their car that they can use twice per race.