F1 is often referred to as the pinnacle of technology, a statement I often contest. In my mind it is amongst the pinnacle of motor sports but is far from the pinnacle of technology. Many road cars are far more advanced than their F1 cousins, even the more exotic construction materials are finding their way onto our roads.
In the 50's, 60's and 70's F1 took huge leaps forwards in car design. John Cooper moving the engine from the front to the middle, Colin Chapmans numerous contributions such as aluminium space frame monocoque chassis, aerofoils and ground effect. Mercedes fuel injection engines. In contrast the mid to late 90's and 2000's seem to be a period of stagnation and dumbing down from a technology point of view with many advancements banned rather than embraced. I appreciate that there comes a point with technology where it can be argued that the drivers ability becomes a secondary element to the success of the car but have we really reached the point where we can go no further in car design because of this? I for one can't see the current regulations allowing anything like the past innovations of Chapman and Cooper, to mention a few, making it to the grid.
With a fixation on cutting costs while operating within tight technological boundaries I think the next golden age of innovation will not be purely or largely driven by the sport but more by the seemingly fanatical view that the world must become greener, which for me means we won't be seeing anything new on our F1 cars and filtering into mainstream consumer use until all electric drive trains are allowed, and I think that is a fair way off.
In the 50's, 60's and 70's F1 took huge leaps forwards in car design. John Cooper moving the engine from the front to the middle, Colin Chapmans numerous contributions such as aluminium space frame monocoque chassis, aerofoils and ground effect. Mercedes fuel injection engines. In contrast the mid to late 90's and 2000's seem to be a period of stagnation and dumbing down from a technology point of view with many advancements banned rather than embraced. I appreciate that there comes a point with technology where it can be argued that the drivers ability becomes a secondary element to the success of the car but have we really reached the point where we can go no further in car design because of this? I for one can't see the current regulations allowing anything like the past innovations of Chapman and Cooper, to mention a few, making it to the grid.
With a fixation on cutting costs while operating within tight technological boundaries I think the next golden age of innovation will not be purely or largely driven by the sport but more by the seemingly fanatical view that the world must become greener, which for me means we won't be seeing anything new on our F1 cars and filtering into mainstream consumer use until all electric drive trains are allowed, and I think that is a fair way off.
