The problem is what you seem to be describing is just an extended version of qualifying; driving flat out or on the edge or whatever you want to call it only for a longer period of time, if there's nothing else to dictate the pace a driver can drive at other than their own skill and the ultimate pace of the car, then the running order during the race would probably just be the same as at the end of qualifying, with no strategy or tactics, and would no doubt lead to some of the most boring processions ever. Would it really be worth it? just for the sake of being able to say "look, see he's the best"? when the quality of that persons car has probably been just as important if not more so then his own skill anyway, and that is the problem, you'll never know what the "limit" of each car is, so i really don't see why people are so obsessed with drivers supposedly proving anything, it's just speculation, and more likely people wanting the result to support their own theories as to which driver is the best or just whoever they want to win.
The driver with the best car will nearly always win, regardless of the rules... But it's more exciting when the drivers are on the limit and able to fight hard. Watching drivers having to nurse cars/tyres just to get to the end has produced racing that's like watching paint dry. 2013 wasn't just dull because Vettel walked it. The racing behind him was mostly nonexistent too.
That's true, could almost go further and say the only driver that was exciting was Nico Hulkenberg mixing it with the big cats.
It's also easy to complain when it's the same crap every year and we want good racing. After 2012 I felt like 2013 was the worst season in recent history, and I do compare that against the Schumacher times.
I don't care if the driver I support fails to win the title. In all the years of watching F1, there aren't even a handful of years where the person I support has won, so I'm used to it. But I do want some actual racing to go along with my disappointment. It's got nothing to do with disliking Vettel. I neither like nor dislike the chap... I just want a race. 2013 was duller than dishwasher from the front to the back of the grid. And if it continues like that this year, I'll be switching off... Regardless of who's winning.
I think a lack of competition is boring regardless of whose winning. I'm a massive Jenson fan, but if Brawn had stayed dominant for the entirety of '09 it would have made for a terrible season. I can only really remember one race from 2013, and that's because everyone's tyres were blowing up in Silverstone. Even 2011 had 4 or 5 really great races.
I think those who fear a fuel-saving formula will probably have their fears realised in Australia, what with it being unknown territory and a high fuel consumption circuit. I can see a lot of teams being very conservative and just aiming to get to the finish. They don't have the data or experience of the new formula to do anything else. No doubt there will be a lot of complaints and hand-wringing in the media about how F1 is ruined and teams and fans moaning. Once we are two or three races in I think that will improve significantly as the teams get to grips with what's what and start to formulate their optimum strategy.
Spot on, if I were running a team (which I am obviously not) then I would split the strategy and do a tortoise and hare thing.
Nasr to be their third driver as well. Martini coming on board also, exciting times for Williams I hope
Petrobas, Martini and PDVSA money still coming in. Two fast drivers as well. Things look good for Williams.
F1 cars will get 'much faster' quickly, according to team figures By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, February 11th 2014, 10:51 GMT Ferrari technical director James Allison is expecting a rapid increase in the performance of the current Formula 1 cars before the start of the season. With a number of drivers having expressed concerns at the first pre-season test that the 2014 cars were too slow, Allison's comments will ease some of those worries. He reckons that a combination of early focus on engine performance and reliability, plus a desire to leave aerodynamic development until nearer the start of the season, means car are nowhere near their full potential yet. And he has revealed that teams are making rapid progress in producing more downforce, which will lift cornering speeds. "Just look at the size of the rear wings - they are more or less Canada-type rear wings," said Allison. "That is roughly where the downforce of the [2014] car is. There is also not the blowing of the floor either. "But new rules offer new opportunities, so the rate of finding downforce is quite steep. "You never know when it is going to slacken off, but it is showing no signs of that at the moment." A number of teams only ran with basic car configuration at Jerez, and are leaving their proper aerodynamic developments for later in the pre-season preparations. MORE TO COME IN-SEASON Jenson Button was one driver who was in no doubt that speeds will lift before the Australian Grand Prix, and would continue to improve over the course of the campaign. "When we go to the first race everyone is going to be much faster," he said. "And by the end of the year we might not be that far off, a couple of seconds." Williams chief test and support engineer Rod Nelson said that teams would use the forthcoming Bahrain tests to focus on speed much more, although it may not be until the final run that true performance becomes clear. "I've got about 300 things on my list to do, and I think we've knocked off about 50 so far," he explained. "We've got a load of stuff to do. We've got a whole race distance to run, which isn't all about qualifying pace. "We've got different tests we're looking at to look at tyre degradation versus first lap performance for example. "We'll have a lot of the new aero components that we're expecting for Melbourne will come for the second Bahrain test."
