No refuelling

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Does anyone else think this is a downright stupid idea?! It really won't help a bit and will ruin what everyone enjoyed last year, qualifying! It will slow the cars, make it less interesting, and completely screw the races. I have a feeling the FIA will be changing the format pretty quick after Melbourne, seeing that they get such a mess from it. Of course it's just my prediction, but let's hear what you all have to say...

[DJC-Grafix 0]

i agree, pretty dumb really.

IMO, theyre making F1 less costly, but even more boring.

With the 1 lap qualifying, it was gonna be exciting to see who can go out there and kick some butt, but now theyre gonna have to be tanked up .

not very impressed.

[DJC-Grafix 0]

just thought,

does this mean theres no Sunday Morning Warm Up??/???

[Thor 0]

McLaren,Ferrari,Williams will not lose for this new rule,their race setup will be different ,3 stop in every race ,but I am little bit afraid with Ross Brawn he is genius in race strategy

And it can be good for small teams and their sponsors because they will be able to qualify on less fuel, and in the front of the grid, thus getting more television time

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Thor I think has the same point of view as the FIA, but I still think that it's a bit silly... The new Wrap is out on the site so check that out for my complete view, but in short it's just not my ideal solution...

@ DJC, the sunday morning warmup is likely to be scrapped, though that isnt for certain yet...

[DJC-Grafix 0]

@ DJC, the sunday morning warmup is likely to be scrapped, though that isnt for certain yet...

i hadnt heard that

[nichosnz 0]

I think it is going to make for some interesting tactic options. But it is (i think) intended to spice up the action. The majority of fans are in the group that has a portion of the purist attitude and a portion of the 'I want to be entertained' attitude. These fans want the racing spiced up. But not artifically which is what this will be, artificial. Some races may not be decided until the final few laps drivers may incorporiate a splah 'n' dash into the strategy, rather than being decided in the last few laps by actual racing.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Well, we'll find out in roughly two weeks time!

[nichosnz 0]

And I can't wait.

[DJC-Grafix 0]

And I can't wait.

*Rubs hands together*

neither can i

[Thor 0]

Thor I think has the same point of view as the FIA, but I still think that it's a bit silly... The new Wrap is out on the site so check that out for my complete view, but in short it's just not my ideal solution...

@ DJC, the sunday morning warmup is likely to be scrapped, though that isnt for certain yet...

I am agree with you Jens .

It is like Mika said And that is not all: the season will start with one set of rules and end with another. What kind of game is that?

Imagine game rules in soccer would change like this week by week

[rodders47 2]

Hi all,

Well I think we are in for one hell of a year !!! Not as Motor racing but confrontation between the teams / the viewers / and I guess the dedicated number of people that like to see MOTOR RACING where the abilities of a driver and team are matched against the others. I can just picture the LAWYERS and officialdome rubbimng their GREEDY little hands together, the Lawyers for what they will eran and the Officials for all the overtime they will be paid in what will have to be NUMEROUS occassions of "MISS INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES "

I gotta say they is the biggest load of BS that i have ever heard..

So they qualify on full tanks !! means no Sunday morning warm up allowed I suspect, so the cars will toddle of to the race grid in the condition that they qualified, Maybe some changes made , but NO one will KNOW if they work !! NOW THATS GOTTA BE A RECIPE FOR BAD RACING

does anyone agree with me ???

[nichosnz 0]

All teams make lots of changes between qualifing and the race, and use that warm-up as a way to test and refine the changes, a qualifing worthy car is not a race worthy car. So what is the point of scrapping the session and impounding the cars...

A RECIPE FOR BAD RACING

Oh I see, no actually I don't, what are they doing. I agree with most of the rule changes but this one is going too far.

[DJC-Grafix 0]

All teams make lots of changes between qualifing and the race, and use that warm-up as a way to test and refine the changes, a qualifing worthy car is not a race worthy car.  So what is the point of scrapping the session and impounding the cars...

A RECIPE FOR BAD RACING

Oh I see, no actually I don't, what are they doing. I agree with most of the rule changes but this one is going too far.

its hilarious in a not funny sort of way, utterly stupid IMO

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

I can just picture the LAWYERS and officialdome  rubbimng their GREEDY little hands together, the Lawyers for what they will eran and the Officials  for all the overtime they will be paid in what will have to be NUMEROUS occassions  of "MISS INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES "

Mclaren has already sent their lawyers to work, looking for a way to make these changes illegal so they won't be carried out.. It's one of the rare times I agree with the bureaucracy of my favourite team!

[daz 0]

Gotta agree with Mclaren here. I hope they get to kick Mosley's a## in court and get this dumb rule overturned. I mean - whats the point of having the qualifying sessions at all if the fastest cars aren't going to get the opportunity to actaully show us how fast they can really go. Suddenly we can see Minardi being on the front row as the fastest qualifiers - what a farce.... They might as well start picking names out of a hat to determine the grid order for what its worth.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Now other team bosses, such as David Richards, are condemning Williams and Mclaren for throwing the whole thing into court. Seems like this is going to be one looong strecthed battle, because I know the FIA won't easily give in and neither will Ron and Frank.

[nichosnz 0]

Also Ron is being a hypocrite now. Complaining that Stoddart has things to say about how F1 is run, when Ron is the most active (non press) person involed in F1 at copmlaining about the system.

[rodders47 2]

what did I say !!! LAWYERS will be the winner here, motor racing a distant second and the fans a very forgotten distant third..

I was just thinking !! IF I was a MAJOR sponsor of a team, what would I be thinking about all this BS ????? I would say lets look for a more stable sport to advertise in, one that produces results and gets TV coverage

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Yea, that was a major reason for Deutsche Post stepping out of its deal with Jordan, and look at the trouble it has caused for the team... One by one sponsors are dropping out of the series, and the rate isn't too slow either...

[nichosnz 0]

Yea, that was a major reason for Deutsche Post stepping out of its deal with Jordan, and look at the trouble it has caused for the team...    One by one sponsors are dropping out of the series, and the rate isn't too slow either...

That is hardly a completly fair comment, the world economy has had a lot to do with all recent sponsor pull outs. F1 is still getting the coverage on TV, and while some people have been making a big deal about numbers being down in certain countries by 40% (eg) I read somewhere recently that worldwide the numbers are only about 4-5% down.

And they way RD and FW are going about it is hurting F1 as much (more) that the changes themselves.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Well, the casual follower of F1 obviously just tunes into the races, so they probably have little idea of what is going on in the big picture. It'll be interesting to see the ratings for the first round of the championship..

[nichosnz 0]

No I agree the casual follower will not know about the politics, but the racing won't be worse for these changes (refueling aside), so they won't really know about the effect there either so it is the other veiwers, and people involved I was eluding to.

[rodders47 2]

Hi Nichos,

Well can you tell me why here in Australia Channel 9, which if my memory serves me correct , has broadcast EVERY F1 race meeting for a long as I can remember has DROPPED it ???

To ME if F1 was a points scorer for the TV station , I.E. able to charge a premium for the advertising, WHY would they drop it ?????. Advertising Bucks I suspect are hard to find but the Aussie V8 series seems to be well endowed with the advertising bucks , so much so that they have a round for the championship to be held in CHINA this year !! Can I suggest that F1 is becoming BORING to the general Joe Bloe Public with all the internal fighting and rule changes !! even though the TUNER to the TV station to watch F1 may not be aware of the off field dramas he WILL be during the telecast and I bet he thinks to himself , um MS will win this so why stay up till 2 am to watch it .....

Just a candid view on my part but I think a positive one , not all viewers tune into TotalF1.com...

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

I think the general viewer will be in for a shock when he hears about everything that has happened. Then again, if Raikkonen were to take Melbourne, and that was blotted all over the headlines, then the Malaysian GP could have a whole LOAD of people tuning in.