Bernie's at it again?

[rodders47 2]

well Bernie is hoping to make F1 more enjoyable for next year with new rules..The most stiking one is this " If M.S. is 20 points ahead of RB then MS will have a 20 kilo weight addition imposed "

Honestly is this Motor Racing or some kiddies handicap event. As if MS would allow himself to get to 20 points ahead knowing the weight penalty !!!!! and what if he was 20 points ahead of any other driver ???

Beggars belief this new proposed rule

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

I hope, and also think, that he wasn't being serious with that proposal. I seriously do, it is not the way to even up F1, by penalizing the better car/driver combination. Stupid in every single way I think about it, I hope it was just an example of how far Bernie is willing to go to change things in F1.

[nichosnz 0]

Formula 1 is all about driving and technology, Bernie sounds like he aims to penalises for being good at these very aspects.

[rodders47 2]

well extra news tonight. Eddie Jordan would LOVE to see this weight penality introduced, and it seems Bernie is considering a Kilo per point earnt winning, a bit like horse racing !!!!!

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR F1

If they introduse this combined with all the NEW circuits or modified circuits, where passing is an absolute No-No I for one cannot see F1 continuing.

I have been an avid viewer for well too any years to announce, but I have to say , I video the race and fast forward all the BORING bits, like 2 hrs reduced to maybe 1 hr, and I dare say I am not the only one. I even missed MS's stuff up last race cause I knew he would win :-(((((

seems to me the F1 group need a very very good advertiser to be employed to sell what could/should be entertainment, not change the rules and make it even MORE BORING....I will now climb down from my soapbox LOL

[daz 0]

It would make F1 the laughing stock of world sport if they ever bought in a rule like this. I mean where else would you ever get the leader/best team being penalised simply because they are better than the rest... Its like saying that 10 shots will automatically be added to Tiger Woods score for every round he plays simply because he is better than anybody else.. Facts are - that every now and then there is a dominant force in a sport. At the moment that is MS/Ferrari so I think its up to Bernie to push the other teams to catch them rather than trying to penalise them for all their hard work. In this case though I have gotta agree with Jens - that Bernie wasn't being serious but merely highlighting that some changes are needed to make the racing closer....

[nichosnz 0]

According to Patrick Head, it is like...

"I find the suggestion of adding ballast to anyone's car rather distasteful.

Does that mean Arsenal have to field nine men when they play Chelsea or Pete Sampras has two strings cut from his racket when he meets Tim Henman?

The idea of handicapping has been mooted on and off over the years. It would certainly change the face of F1 but I am not sure it would make it better or more entertaining.

It's a knee-jerk reaction because Ferrari have been so dominant. But it is up to other teams to not only catch them but to overtake them. That is something we feel we are more than capable of doing.

People at the back of the grid or with lower budgets will probably be all in favour of it. If the ballast only applied to Michael Schumacher, I would be all for it!"

or as Martin Whitmarsh, MD of McLaren puts it...

"Nobody wants to beat Ferrari simply because their cars are carrying additional weight."

I don't think BE thought of these sort of attitudes when he suggested the idea, I think it would turn off more people than it would turn on.

It would have meant almost certain points for Sato and McNish this year though. Of the drivers that haven't scored this year, these two have the best machinery. Going into the Suzuka race they would have 600kg to DC's 671kg, JPM's 647kg or MS's 734kg. That is really rediculous isn't it.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

It is stupid, and Patrick Head made a good comparison with the whole football thing. It's like telling a hockey team to play with only one hand if theyre better than their opponent.

[nichosnz 0]

Or Gronholm and Makkinen to go racing without a co-driver. lol

[rodders47 2]

well I think DAZ said it all... Tiger Woods is hot and very good, so I guess the Golfing fraternity would say .. " well lets penalise Tiger and let him play with only 10 clubs" everyone else has 14 ?????

I dont think its up to Ferrari to DE-TUNE their racing , more to the point that the other teams UP THEIR GAME.

BUT I do believe that all this automatic gearshift/technology stuff SHOULD and MUST be wiped so as to allow the low budget teams compete on a level playing field AND also LET the Drivers show off their ability better. Like Traction controll..... If you have too much Horsepower and too many revs you screw up the start ... correct... so we have traction control !!!! Ummmmmmmm I thought that was part of race car craft, knowing how much revs and when to drop the clutch.. or on the designers side making the engine more tractable to be able to make a start !!!!!!

[daz 0]

I agree with you that it would be nice to eliminate the driver aids like traction control to make the sport more based on driver skill again. Unfortunately the FIA said that it was impossible to regulate such items as they couldn't prove whether a team was using it or not. Therefore to level the playing field they had to make it legal for every team. I would kil to see proper starts again though...

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Starts like Nurburgring 1999, or 2000. They should do away with all the technology because that indeed would level the playing field at the same time. How? I dont know.

But get this, Max Mosley is getting EVEN more radical now. He is saying that each driver would have to drive in every team at least once during the season, so we'd see Yoong in a Ferrari and Schumi in the Minardi at least once every year. It would be interesting but all I can really say is, eh?

[nichosnz 0]

What about if a driver and team had a fallout, the next time they were paired together the team could sabotage the drivers chances, hurting their DWC chances.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

And then what about the taller drivers? Webber probably couldn't fit into the Sauber as even HHF had trouble. I think this proposal is more of a joke than reality, no team will vote for it as every team selects their drivers because they want them. What would be the point of contracts anymore, no driver would be driving for a team anymore. Its silly, though I WOULD like to see an exhibition race with the leaders in the worst cars and vice versa. Maybe held after the teams get back to Europe from Suzuka or during the testing break.

[nichosnz 0]

It would have to be compulsary though or the top drivers wouldn't do it.

[Rohan 0]

all complete crap........so if MS is like 60 points ahead then he shud get 60 additional kilos......y doesnt he just use a kiddds bike....he wud have a better chance than his car........anyway the good news is all the top teams disagreed!!!!!!!

BERNIE REJECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Plans to introduce a handicap system into Formula One have been rejected by the bosses of the top teams. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has suggested a weight handicap system to stop teams like Ferrari dominating the championship as they have done this season.

Ecclestone and Max Mosley, the president of motorsport governing body the FIA, are behind the changes which were explained in detail to teams ahead of this weekend's Japanese GP at Suzuka.

But even though team owner Eddie Jordan has backed the idea, team bosses at Ferrari, Williams and McLaren do not agree.

Williams technical director Patrick Head explained: "I find the suggestion of adding ballast to anyone's car distasteful. Will Arsenal have to field nine men when they play Chelsea - or Pete Sampras have two strings cut from his racket when he meets Tim Henman? It is just a knee-jerk reaction because Ferrari have been so dominant. But it is up to the other teams to overtake them and that is something we feel we are more than capable of doing."

McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh added: "We will not sign up to any handicapping. Ferrari have done a fantastic job and we and Williams have under-performed. It's up to us to put that right."

*from www.espnstar.com*

[rodders47 2]

just my 2 cents worth !!!

The F1 racing is called a circus RIGHT Bloody hell I dont know of ANY circus that has so many CLOWNS running the operation.

Bernie and MAX get your act together, drop all this crap and just let the teams go racing, McLaren were dominant at times so was Williams , Ferrari's time will come when they will be second to whoever,, I would like to think Minardi but maybe thats a long shot :-)

[rodders47 2]

and as for drivers been FORCED to swap teams... yeah I can just see it . MS steps out of the Minardi and tells them every thing that is wrong with the car and how to improve it for the next race...... AND I am going to win the Lottery tonight !!!! DREAM ON

[daz 0]

Yeah I agree - odds of winning the lottery are probably better.

I don't think the sponsors would be to happy either. Can you imagine how thrilled Marlboro would be to see MS wearing West/B&H on his cap when he has to drive for Mclaren or Jordan etc... Also - who would end up actually paying the drivers salaries if they had to keep swapping teams??? I can assure you Ferrari wouldn't want to foot Schumies wage bill so that he can drive for everybody else. What a complete load of rubbish!!! I'm now convinced that Max & Bernie have gone completely senile. Either that or they are smoking something very illegal...

P.S. As an after-thought: Does anybody else get the idea the Max & Bernie might be deliberately trying to make the most outrageous comments just to keep F1 in the news?

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

I think this could be just an attempt at keeping F1 in the news, its been done before....

But the whole driver swap idea doesnt make sense for the salary reason as well. It would mean in F1 there would be teams without drivers, and then the drivers would not be Ferrari/Williams/Mclaren drivers, they would be F1 drivers, see what Im saying? Who decides who gets to step into the series then?

Just an attempt to keep F1 in the news, I agree with daz.

[nichosnz 0]

The FIA are proposing 9 changes...

1 Driver swapping drivers race every car on the grid during the course of a season. I hate it

2 Aggregated qualifying four half-hour sessions on Fridays and Saturdays at grands prix. I like the idea but not 4, 2 maybe

3 Bespoke tyres rubber suppliers can produce different tyres for each of their teams. I like it, 'for now'

4 Success ballast a penalty of 1kg in ballast weight per point scored during 2003. I hate it

5 Testing restrictions - limit testing during the 2003 season to just 12 days per car. I like the idea but 12 is not enough

6 Aerodynamic freeze from 2003 only two sets of bodywork can be homologated at the start of the season. I hate it

7 Long-life engines one engine per weekend in 2003, I haven't made up my mind, but I don't think I like it

one engine per four races in 2004, I hate it

and one engine per eight in 2005. I hate it

8 Long-life gearbox gearbox assemblies to have required life for a number of races. I hate it

9 Standardised parts all teams would have to use standardised electronics, ECUs, brakes and fixed ballast. I haven't made up my mind, but I don't think I like it, certainly don't like standardised brakes

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Im quite on the same opinion as you are except that all the ones you arent sure of hating I do hate. I think making the qualifying change, the tyre change, and limiting testing to perhaps 30 days per car would be good. The only one im sort of lenient on is maybe the last one, if all the teams ran the same Electronic Control Unit's it could even things out, but it would make the starts even worse as everyone would be on even ground. I still say getting rid of most electronics to bring it back to 1998 standards would be good.

[sw4me 0]

Just goes to show how far the two numbskulls are willing to go to make this a rat race. You know what would be funnier....

Everybody here would remember having as kids battery powered toy cars that were wire controlled, probably Bernie should arrange something like that so that the only thing left with the driver are the brakes and the power switch apart from the steering wheel.

Yeah, well.......what next driverless F1? And as nichosnz pointed out, this is certainly a sport that runs oh high emotions too. Sabotage could be rampant.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

How would it fit with the mechanics? I mean theyve been working their arses off at Williams this year to try keep up with Ferrari, and recently Mclaren, and next season they'd have to do work for the guys they've worked so hard to beat? I say motivation within the teams could be quite low, and emotions will start to run high as sw4me said.

[nichosnz 0]

It is certainly causing a lot of questions and not many (none) answers.

[rodders47 2]

THIS IS ALL A BIG LOAD OF B.S!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not see the World Soccer or World Golf or World Rugby needing to go to these lengths to get TV Audience and well thats what it is all about TV Audience.

I heard a wisper that Channel 9 in OZ may not be broadcasting the F1 in future !!! and they have broadcast it for as long as I can remember, so maybe they are sensing the drop in popularity and I guess that is happening.

My answer or advice to Bernie would be this :-

Adopt the CART type of approach to F1 minus the rolling start.. MAKE the drivers Drive the car and change gears like most road going people do.

OK an arguement to the above is that Formula 1 is the breeding ground for technology that eventually finds it's way to the modern road car but for the life of me I cannot see any benefit to average Joe Bloe of on board telemetry that allows someone to change the machine whilst it is running along!! and does NOT allow the use of ABS brakes ????? which are almost standard on road cars these days ???

Just a point of interest. I heard on the radio today that Ferrari , like all other teams when they go through scrutineering have the same as every one else and that is a FLAT underbelly or diffuser as is required by the rules, BUT they are able to manipulate the car during a race so that the race tub is TWEAKED in order to deform this diffuser so as to make it more like that older days where they used the diffuser to gain aerodynamic ground efects ... Remember the days of the sliding SKIRTS !!!!!

and that great TV documentary called "Gentleman Race Your Skirts " :-)