I disagree with many of the contrivances of modern F1, from DRS to the ridiculous idea of double points in the last race, but gearing the sport to add greater social and economic value to the consumer mass market and the environment has to be widely applauded. Quite apart from the benefits to fuel efficiency, ergo global warming and fossil fuel reliance, a lot has to be said for the quieter and cleaner civic environments these new engine technologies imply Although the lack of decibels is jarring at first, the articles I'm reading of breaches of contract, comparisons to golf carts, or being some kind of 'massive mistake' leave me flabbergasted at the short sightedness of the general reaction. Electric/hydro are the technologies of the future, and the sound of silence is the sound of the future. Quiet is the new paradigm and the new cool, so I would suggest petrol heads either get over it, or get off the train and stay in your cave.
As your user name suggests with your attitude we will all be extinct very soon, there is absolutely no reason to green up F1, in the scheme of things real F1 does not add one jot to the alleged damaging of our planet. Electric/hydro technologies are stone age in comparison to nuclear, we should be investing in developing packaged nuclear power plants where we become world leaders and rent out these unit to those that require cheap and infinitely sustainable power, not buggering around and cluttering the place up with blood silly windmills. I suggest you greenies go and bury your heads in the sand, nuclear is the only way forward.
Across the board road cars are getting smaller and more efficient engines, and there is more use of turbos, energy recovery systems and electric motors. That is the engine technology of the foreseeable future and F1 should be at the forefront of engine technology, not lagging behind it. At some some stage large capacity high CO2 engines will be outlawed. Even the manufacturers of supercars have recognised this and have started to see how hybrid technology can be an advantage not a hindrance. In the fullness of time I expect hydrogen fuel cell technology will prevail. By the time we reach this point do you expect us to still be using internal combustion engines in F1?
F1 is heading in the right direction. The new porsche and McLaren hypercars are testament to that. Fossil fuels are approaching the end, but energy recovery is not. Whether cars go hydrogen next or something else, energy recovery is the obvious partner. The new F1 noise isn't brilliant, but from a engineering viewpoint it's very impressive.
Aha! A solution at last! http://newsthump.com/2014/03/18/formula-one-cars-to-clip-playing-cards-to-rear-wheels/
The singular reason to green up F1 is because doing so imparts the same short to medium term benefits as investing in space programmes - technologies filter down into the mass market. Quieter, more efficient, less fossil fuel dependent engines represent a permanent paradigm shift - Get With The Programme
Not often I say this but I agree with Benson, although I'd be surprised If he was ever allowed a paddock pass again after writing this... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26666624
Credit where it's due, a decent article from Benson for a change. Can't help but feel it's rather an infinite monkey's scenario though...
again another antiquated and short term view. Nuclear power, and when the fuel for that has run out? Did anyone do mathematics at school? any number that you keep subtracting from will sooner or later, reach 0. The more you build the higher the subtracted figure becomes, the faster it goes. I'm not going to go into the security of the installations, do you really want to go around building Nuclear Reactors in every country? or what to do with the waste, which will also increase expotentially. (although unlike most, I realise that isn't that much of a problem as long as you do it properly), and nuclear power plants are just sooo inefficient, so much wasted heat, same with the coal, oil, and the laughable named 'biomass' power plants (wood burning sounds bad). It has to be some form of renewable energy, pointlessly wasting rare resources when there are better long term solutions, of course these solutions don't require fuel and thus people can't profit. There is plenty of potential sources of power to be had in the world, all of them far more efficent than burning things to make steam. edit: TBH The only real way to sort out the problems we have, is to wipe out about 90% of the human population, that is the real problem. I doubt I'm the only person that has come to this conclusion.
The only reason Renault are still in the sport, and Honda are joining is thanks to the new engines. Electric power/energy recovery is what manufacturers want. No matter what your views on the power is, as a fan of F1, surely you want it to encourage participation? I'm sure if F1 cars were somehow powered by nuclear power more team would leave than join.
Depends on the nuclear technology you're talking about. If I was to pick an energy technology to go with, it'd be inertial confinement fusion of Deuterium-Tritium fuel. Still very much in the experimental stage, but proper investment in it would actually help. Deuterium can be extracted from seawater, and making tritium isn't too difficult. Much greater energy output, far less long-lived radioactive by-products, and when you're using isotopes of hydrogen as a starting material, we're not going to run out of raw materials any time soon. Whilst renewables certainly have a place, they can't be relied upon to take the whole burden of energy production, because they're not well-suited to fluctuating demands around peak time. You need a fossil-fuel or nuclear technology to achieve that at the moment.
So are you asking for Nuclear powered cars? Ever heard how quiet a nuclear reactor is? Are you saying that fossil fuelled cars are the way forward? Isn't that backwards in itself bearing in mind fossil fuels will run out at some point, and then what? By going back to turbo's, F1 is actually going back 30 years or so to the last time turbo's were in the sport. Were they considered green when towards the end of their era they were using 150 litres per race, as opposed to 220 litres last year with the V8's? So many contradictions and crap spouted in the three sentences you wrote there Ernie. I could continue.
