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Quiet One

2014 Sporting Regulations For Dummies

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Thanks very helpful! Although I'll still rely mostly on watching the BBC pre-race programme in March which summarises it for real dummies like myself

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Man this is rediculous. Why do they always have to change the rules every bloody season. It's like where reading the rules for a newly established racing series. Not the pinnacle of motor racing.

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Sometimes it seems like they make changes just for the sake of it. Like simply to justify their own existence (the FIA).

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Sometimes it seems like they make changes just for the sake of it. Like simply to justify their own existence (the FIA).

Yeah or because some clown on the board,fresh out of university with no race knowledge, had a crazy fantasy as a kid to replicate the pod racers from Star Wars.

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They changed the regulations with two ideas in mind:

1) The stated idea, of hoping to attract more manufacturers. Honda bit. No one else, yet, though I guess Renault care a little more.

2) The unstated idea, of trying to break up dominance and shift the grid the way 2009 did. Max Mosley, I believe, or maybe one of his friends (could it have been the guy from Jaguar?), talked about establishing a doctrine of regular rules shakeups for intrigue. I'm sure that idea still exists.

It is, however, costly, and that's not what F1 needs right now.

Still, they went through with it, and I am looking forward to seeing the new cars on-track. It could be very exciting with so many changes.

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Yea major rule changes to aero/engine always cause a change of order, although mclaren and ferrari usually find their way back to the front.

The new rules for 1998 completely changed everything, as did 2009 (I still remember how totally stupid I thought the new '09 cars looked, and now they actually seem normal!) and I hope and expect that 2014 will be the same - a big shake-up.

i think the points system was changed to prevent dominance too, ie to stop one driver running away with it too early. Not sure that's really worked

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Formula One and most non-spec series are not like any other sport. For once, massive technical advantages can be achieved by one team from time to time. WIlliams, Lotus, McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull can attest to that.

On the other hand, that advantage becomes impossible to overcome by the other teams.

Barcelona or Real Madrid can lose to the last team in the league. Djokovic or Nadal can lose to some guy that lucked into the qualy. But without any changes in the rules the Marussias will not win a race in this century.

I would love a more stable set of rules, to allow for better comparison between seasons but frankly, the development is both fast enough as for the teams to reach almost their maximum in a very short time and slow enough as overturning the advantage one team has make take years...

Within the current set of rules no team is even close to Red Bull levels. Changing the rules to punish them for being the best sounds a bit unfair, but when the option is being fair and having Vettel crowned champion by May, 2014 or being unfair and having (hopefully) a more exciting season next year you understand where this all comes from.

And this is not new, either. Changing rules is as much part of F1 as grid girls, or Monaco, or whining about it.

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I am happy with some of the reg/rule changes over the years. The banning of all the aero fin things on the side of the car bodies, was one that comes to mind. Thank you, thank you. That part of the car looks better now. The front wings are still way too wide. And I hate how they have now moved all the little aero wings from the sides of the cars, to the front wings. They look horrible, are too wide and there are far too many accidents where drivers touch and need to replace it. I think the wing should end where the tyres begin. Front wings from 2004-2008 were better.

And the rear wing needs to be fixed. I guess I'm used to it now, but please make it wider. Am also seeing some teams stretch the rules again are making their side mirrors wider and wider and putting them on wings. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's heading back in that direction. Though this point is minor compared with the others I've mentioned.

Shorten the front wings to make them stop where the tyre beings. Remove all the stupid winglets and model skyscraper sculptures from them. Widen the rear wing. And also get rid of tyre warmers. Oh, and finally, fix the safety car rules, whereby we loose 8 laps due to an incident that's cleared within half a lap. And then as fans, we look and watch as there are no more obstacles on the track, and do another 5 laps behind the safety car, as they let through the back markers and OMG I so want to punch Charlie in the nuts. STOP IT please, and make it more common sense.

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Agree with everything you have said, but the rear wing needs to be wider and lower back to the good old days, nice wide chassis and wide,low wings. (Except for the surfboard front wing, shorten that eyesore please.)

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Really what they need to do is keep the front wing the same, give them back the 2008 style rear wing and move the tyres out so that the inside of the tyres becomes where the outside is now. I was at the LA autoshow last year and Infinity had an RB7 there. Modern F1 cars are WAY to narrow. My Passat is wider.

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Really what they need to do is keep the front wing the same, give them back the 2008 style rear wing and move the tyres out so that the inside of the tyres becomes where the outside is now. I was at the LA autoshow last year and Infinity had an RB7 there. Modern F1 cars are WAY to narrow. My Passat is wider.

Yep sure are, definatly need to go back to wider chassis pre 1998. More mechanical grip, then drs can go.

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They've been trying to do that to Red Bull for years now....

They tried to do the same to Schumi and Ferrari. Result-Schumi breaks record for most wins in a season.

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Well one problem with going with wider cars is it's hard enough to pass on some of the tracks now. I think what makes them also look skinny, is it seems these modern F1 cars have gotten quite a bit longer too. Especially the noses, which are way longer than they used to be. Alot of it I know is for safety, but they could easily knock a foot off and still be safe.

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They could still pass, so much run off now compared to the past so safety really isn't a concern track wise IMO. Plus most circuits are newer wider circuits than in the past, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, china,USA just to name a few, it's only the older more iconic circuits that are more challenging, but isn't that one of the main reasons circuits like Monaco and Canada remain? Ohh how I miss imola.

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If we went back to wider cars then we're doing the opposite of progressing aren't we? After 1997 the cars needed to be slowed down a bit, hence the narrow chassis and grooved tyres. So presumably wider cars with bigger tyres will increase the speed and the danger.

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Only the boring new tracks have those run off areas though. Wide cars and fat slicks would be increased danger around monaco and singapore.

I hate run-off areas.

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I hate the run off areas too. I can't remember what some recent past F1 driver said, but he stated he felt the new guys in F1 had no idea of the real risks involved due to the massive fun off areas and increased safety in the cars.

It's kind of like watching a soccer match on an athetlic pitch. The players are so much further away from where you. Watch a Barca game, and bam! you're right in the action. But these monstrous run off areas must make it so bad to be fan whose actually on one of those corners watching and needs binoculars or something.

The only love I have for the runoff areas are the really nice painted designs we get now. Abu Dhabi, India, Bahrain and Austin. I wonder is Paul Ricard was the first track to go with the huge cool coloured sweeping swirly design shapes.

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It's taking the safety aspect a little too far I think. I'm all for safety but not when it adversely affects the spectacle.

In 20 years they'll be driving giant cushions on wheels, powered by olive oil.

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But everyone misses the point. I know we need safety but f1 has gone to far with it IMO. These guys know there is a risk and that's the whole thrill of it. Cars would go faster round corners now I would say, simply because they make a mistake, the just drive back onto the circuit instead of retiring in the gravel trap. I don't think wider chassis would increase speed to much more. It would definatly slow them down if we got rid of the run of areas. Drivers would think twice before pushing that bit harder. We might even see Vettel go off for once.

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I'm a little perplexed.

All season, I have read complaints about drivers not pushing too hard due to the Pirelli tires being unsafe.

Now, people are upset that the drivers can push hard all race because the tracks are safer?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Anyway, you can never, ever, ever, ever go backwards in safety. Ever. It won't happen, and it shouldn't happen. If you think "risky" racing is more exciting, check out IndyCar and see if that's your thing. Watching people die, legendary drivers' career's end, and fans getting impaled by debris wasn't for me, and to be honest, the races weren't even that exciting. The theory that there's a better spectacle close to the walls doesn't hold. On the contrary, it just means there are more safety cars for lengthy cleanups as every single error becomes a big one.

This past year has been just awful in terms of racing safety. I don't know why people would want to go backward. F1 is still exciting; F1 is more exciting. The drivers can take more chances, and we have more than 4 cars running at the end. I prefer this from a racing perspective, and I absolutely endorse it from a safety one.

There are so many names that won't be on the grids of pro racing next year, by death or by career-ending injury. There were many that missed a lot of time this year due to serious, long-term injury. That's just not for me, and seeing everyone go into the gravel trap and draw a safety car the way they do in IndyCar, making races very tedious, is also just not for me. I'd lose a lot of interest in F1 if circuit design reverted, and car design reverted.

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