2012 Predictions / Driver Line-up / News etc...

This is what Bernie seems to be threatening

It will be shame if Melbourne does go.

 

Well let's hope he's jailed for tax irregularities before 2015. I know you should be careful what you wish for because you just might get it and I know he's done some very good things for F1 but I'm really, really fed up with his idiotic public threats.

 

Back to the pitlane limit thing, is this just a precursor to introducing the expected rule that cars must run on electric power only in the pits?

 

Murdoch taking charge of F1 would really be the final nail in the coffin for the sport though. And I can't exactly see any other contenders. (Carlos Slim?)

As for Melbourne, Bernie's threat is ridiculous because if they can't afford to stage it as it is. If they go to a night race, they'll be even LESS able to stage it because they'll sell less tickets.

 

Incidentally, Benson reports that the FIA have rejected the teams proposal for a lower speed limit in the pits. Stating that there is no evidence the current limit is unsafe.

 

​Oh well, it gave us an afternoon's cheap discussion.

 

Ridiculous stance from the FIA. There are several instances a season where someone runs over the front jack man. And what about 2010 in Hungary when there were collisions and a tyre flying down the pit lane. It's obviously safer if they're travelling slower, and there's no other reasonable drawback to this which could lead them to reject it.

 

yeah maybe he'll share a cell with Murdoch, but I don't think people that rich actually go to jail, I think they get knighted instead.

 

100kph IS too fast - we worry about drivers getting hurt - but actually the pitlane crews do run a high risk of getting hurt.

 

That's not the fault of the speed limit though, those are just unfortunate accidents.

I personally don't see how 100kph is too fast. Control is not an issue. What does need sorting is the issue of unsafe releases, but I don't know how you'd manage that unless you had a mandatory stationary time (say each pit-stop had to last 6 seconds minimum) or an FIA-controlled version of Ferrari's traffic lights system to replace the lollipop man.

 

Yep. Also, what about D'Ambrosio nearly power sliding into his pit crew last year? (can't remember where).

 

Hungary in wet conditions.

 

It's a mistake on the driver's part. But I'd rather they were mistaking at me at 60km/h than 100km/h.

 

Why not split the difference and say 80? 60 always struck me as irritatingly slow and having had a second thought 100kph is a bit too fast.

 

If the teams are seriously concerned about the pit lane speed limit, can't they make an agreement with each other, and not worry about the FIA? If they all agree to do 60kph rather than the 100kph limit, the FIA can't exactly do a lot.

 

The FIA want the drama in the pitlane - good television.

 

You mean like how they all agreed not to use KERS in 2010? Yeah they could, but the FIA have to measure the speeds in the pits so if the rules say 100kph and the teams agree say 60kph, there wouldn't be any illegality about a team going a little bit faster, like 65kph? Best keep it all tied up and clear isn't it?

 

True, you wouldn't get penalised for speeding in the pitlane, but I can't imagine it'd be too hard to program the pit-lane limiter for 60kph rather than 100kph. If they were serious about it they could probably introduce a sensor which automatically engages the limiter when they cross a line.

 

Seriously, they all bend the rules to the point of cheating as it is, any agreement like that would be broken in the first round of pit stops.

 

Yeah, that's smart Bernie. Make a World Championship by axing an entire continent off the calendar.
No, if I've learnt one thing about Bernie, it's that he will say stupid things just like this to distract everyone from bigger issues he doesn't want to discuss. Remember last year with the water sprinklers debacle? Completely distracted everyone from the subject of Bahrain.
I don't believe this for a second, simply because he's making these threats for a while, but last year he also said the Melbourne race was as important as Monaco.