Welcome all to the very first Formula One Roundtable discussion, a series of discussions which shall be known as "The Chequered Flag Roundtable."
We have compiled the views of some of our top writers for our first topic.
If in the future you wish to be considered for a seat at the roundtable, then please contact Michael Griffin or Ben Auty and you shall be contacted in due course.
So, the very first in a long line of topics in this groundbreaking series is:
"If you could change one thing about Formula One, what would it be and why?"
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ANSWERS
Billy Sexton - POINTS SCORING SYSTEM
If there was one thing I could change in Formula One, it would be the points scoring system. I think that the Top 10 drivers in the race should receive points. This gives lower placed teams such as Honda, Toro Rosso and Force India a greater chance to score some points during the season.
Also, I think that points should be rewarded for being on pole position and also for setting the fastest lap during the race. This would make qualifying more exciting and race strategy more interesting.
Therefore, I would have the points system as follows: 12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 with an extra five points for pole position, and three points for the fastest lap. This would mean that should a driver have a ‘perfect’ race, he would score 20 points.
This may seem like too many points, but in 2008 we have only seen one ‘perfect’ race (Raikkonen in Spain) after nine races. This points system wouldn’t benefit one driver.
If this system were being used at present, Hamilton would have 70 points, Massa would have 75 points, and Raikkonen would have 90 points. Trailing by 15 points seems a lot, but this could be made up in one race weekend.
Steven Stones -TEAM ENTRY
I am very reluctant to write this, because there would be many things I can think of. What I have opted for, I haven't thought of a solution yet, but I am going to go with it and see what people think.
If there was one thing I could change, it would be to find a way to help privateer teams to enter Formula One and actually stand a chance of staying there. Formula One used to be dominated by privateers such as Brabham, Tyrrell, Williams, and others.
Indeed, this was a very different time. McLaren and Lotus were once privateers as well. I'm also aware that it's a new era now, and the corporate teams are the way forward. Still, Grand Prix racing needs privateers.
Right now, Williams and Force India are doing a great job of staying in contention with Vijay's team, showing amazing turns of pace and development and improving by four seconds over the Spyker team from last year. But this isn't enough.
I've thought about a lot of different solutions to the problem. Some have included the basic budget capping. Also, I thought maybe there could be a privateer class in Formula One.
However, this approach would mean creating divisions in Grand Prix racing, and this is what GP2 and other categories are for.
Perhaps I am just harking back to the old days too much, and the privateer days are gone? But with more privateers we may see more cars in the field, like we used to see in the 1990's.
Tight restrictions could ensure pace is kept high, as teams would have to conform to a certain lap time of the fastest qualifier again, like in the old days.
It's a difficult situation, and the solution is tricky. I'm sure the FIA and others are looking at this very aspect but seeing the demise of great Grand Prix teams such as Minardi, Jordan, Tyrrell and some of the others makes you wonder who will be next.
Sheiban Shakeri – Formula One Community Leader - GENERAL CHANGES
What I would most like to see change about F1 would be the way the race is run. Nothing radical like Flavio Briatore's GP2-style races, but the improvement of aerodynamics in order to make passing more viable.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Maybe allow a driver Q&A for the public and other things. Drivers aren't products, but I'm sure that a lot of people would like to see them as human beings rather than just faces on television.
Mark Andrew - CAR DESIGN
I would change the cars . I do think it’s exciting to see an "inferior" Formula One car come from the back of the field in the wet. Adrian Sutil at Monaco is my example.
However, I think every car should be made by their manufacturer, for example: Ferrari at Marranello and McLaren at Woking. Then, every car should be tested to make sure each and every car has exactly the same speed, aero, acceleration, grip, and top speed.
This is because at the moment with dry races and the raw pace that Ferrari, McLaren and BMW have, the rest of the field have such slim chances to score points, let alone podiums.
This, in turn, gets a driver the sack for "not being good enough," when clearly it’s the car that’s not good enough.
I believe this will make Formula One exciting again, and we would see exactly which drivers are the best on the grid.
This is because with drivers in Force India's, etc., we know they are good, but how good exactly?
Daniel Chalmers - BAN RE-FUELLING
I would be delighted if I didn't see the fuel hoses at pit stops anymore.
I have grown very tired of hearing a commentator say, "I think driver X may be carrying a bit more fuel than driver Z to skip ahead of him at the next pit stop."
Since re-fueling came back, the number of overtaking moves has gone down. More races (and positions) have been won on the pit wall rather than on the track.
If you are a second or two behind someone and you know you have more fuel than them, then there is no point trying to overtake them.
Take away this element, and the motivation to overtake on the track will increase. This will be the main way to get ahead again, rather than relying on fuel strategy.
Also, we would never have to see drivers qualifying on varying amount of race fuel again, as there would be no need for that with no in-race re-fueling. Pole positions would have full merit again and there would be no more fake pole positions.
Alex Levy - PIT LANE UNDER SAFETY CAR
The very one thing I would change this year in Formula One is the whole pit lane closure during safety car period.
I don't care about the new system that was experimented at Magny Cours, because this is just as unfair in my view.
Why is it a driver who needs new tyres or fuel to carry on is to be penalised as a result of a necessity to stop and go whilst the safety car is deployed, which is more often than not irrelevant to his actions?
Ryan Wood - PENALTY DECISIONS
I didn’t want to take anything away from what is already a great sport. However I had a few things racing around in my mind concerning this question: the aerodynamical winglets (gone in 2009), James Allen, current safety car rules.
Then it hit me. The one thing currently damaging the sport, from a viewer's perspective, is how races—and world championships—have been decided through unfair penalties.
I could write a small book of unjust penalties handed out in the past nine races, let alone the past 19 years...
So I’d really like to see Formula One governed by an impartial referee, who isn’t from the FIA. He would decide what and who deserves a penalty, how serious the offence was, whether it would warrant a grid drop, a race ban, or a fine.
This would make racing more fun and most of all, fair.
Long John Silver - SUSTAINABILITY
I would increase the sustainability of F1 no doubt, possible use of solar panels on the side pots, using photovoltaic cells to power the five lights on the starting grid (send a message that we are serious), greener fuels to power the engines, recycled tires...and a research development division for sustainability.
That is what I would change - make us more GREEN!
Ben Auty – Formula One Community Leader / Roundtable Co-Creator - CONSISTENCY
I think a big problem within F1 right now is a lack of consistency within the sport. You can scrap all of your conspiracy theories and stories of favoritism. These are just the raw facts in black and white.
I want to state that the FIA, the race stewards, Charlie Whiting and whoever else has the finger in the steaming pie at the time need to ensure that it is one rule for all, NOT, one rule for one and then one for another. That is not making a level playing field for our athletes.
Case 1: Let’s call a spade a spade. Whether it was controllable or not, Kimi Raikkonen took Adrian Sutil out of the race in Monaco. At the end of the day, Sutil took no further part in the race. The punishment for Ferrari after that incident was nothing.
Let’s keep calling a spade a spade. Whether it was controllable or not, Lewis Hamilton took Kimi Raikkonen out of the race at in Canada. At the end of the day, Raikkonen took no further part in the race. The punishment for McLaren after that was a 10-grid penalty in the next race.
Verdict: No consistency.
Case 2: Sebastian Vettel completed an overtaking pass on Heikki Kovalainen and to complete the move he had to cut a corner. Most would argue that the manoeuvre was completed, therefore, no advantage was gained from the corner being cut. The action taken against Vettel after this pass was nothing.
Lewis Hamilton completed an overtaking pass on Sebastian Vettel and in completing that pass he lost traction on the track. He had an option, counter the slide thus steering into the path of the overtaken Vettel or let the car correct and use the corner as a run off for safety? He used the run off rather than take himself and Vettel out of the race, risking another penalty.
Most would argue that Hamilton had made the pass and the corner was used for safety reasons, NOT to gain any kind of an advantage from the corner being cut. The action taken against Lewis was a drive-through penalty.
Verdict: No consistency.
If I could change one thing in F1, it would be the bigwigs keeping their decisions consistent.
I do not want to start a debate about which of these decisions are right or wrong; that's not the issue here. I am saying these examples are exactly the same, yet the outcomes were CLEARLY different.
Therefore, there is no consistency, and that's what we need to make the playing field level so everyone has the same chances to be successful.
Michael Griffin – Roundtable Co-Creator - POINT SCORING SYSTEM
If I could change one thing about Formula One, it would be the points system. It would involve a driver would receive two extra points for pole position and one extra point for the fastest lap.
I think that this would be a radical change, and would give a real meaning, of sorts, to getting the fastest lap.
I would also use this system, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. That’s right, if you finish in the top 10, you get at least a point.
This would help some of the smaller teams that get ninth and 10th places in high-attrition races.
It isn’t really that radical, but if this were implemented, it would mean that qualifying would have a genuine effect on the race and the world championship.
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Thank you for reading the very first round in what we hope can be a long line in our series of articles. This Round Table has been created to promote the F1 Community within Bleacher Report, so we appreciate your support.
Please give generously by scoring this article with 5 stars and a Pick of the Day vote. The aim will be to get the article to front page by its popularity alone to further promote our beloved community.
Thanks to all the writers for their contributions and like I said before, if you wish to be considered for a seat at the Round Table please contact either Michael Griffin or Ben Auty. Thanks again.
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4 months ago
I would remove huge chunks of downforce by severly reducing the aerodynamics on the car. I know they are doing this for next year but I would like to see it taken one step further so that the only affect areo has on the car is sticking it to the ground and not creating turbulent air that will affect a following car. My changes would include:
- A ban on all add-on 'winglets', including horns, mini-wings, front wing add-ons, etc
- A severe reduction on the rear diffuser
- A maximum of two planes on both the front and rear wing, with both to be flat with no indents or flexes
I would think that if these changes were made we would see a drastic change to the racing, both in terms of levels of grip and overtaking. It would also give the engineers and aero specialists a challenge because they would then have to find extra aero grip from what is already on the car and not throw something onto it to create more downforce
from 4 months ago
Yeah it certainly is going to be interesting just how much next year changes not only the face of F1 but the results and just how much overtaking we get to see, I am worried that too much is changing at once to try and get a result ... Slicks, Winglets gone, KERS ... All at the same time, I think it will work but I just hope its not too much of a change at one time ... Lets wait and see !
from 4 months ago
Mate Ben -
we deserve a cheers for making the top home page dontcha think ?
from 4 months ago
Hey yeah of course ... You are right ...
CHEERS EVERYONE ... Great work ... We are on front page and have been for the majority of the day so far ... Looks like a POTD could be on the cards ... We are doing well so good on ya boys !
CHEERS !
(Hows that?)
4 months ago
Its finally here, I have been waiting for the first ever F1RT discussion.
Such a great idea, I really enjoyed reading everyone's ideas, and all of them are such good ideas.
Glad to see great minds think alike ben!!, oh and Billy and Michael, I think your points scoring ideas are great. I'd like to see fastest lap and pole rewarded, maybe not by so many points billy. Michael's 1 point for Fastest lap and 3 points for Pole seem to be the most viable.
The sustainability idea is also very good, some of the ideas could easily be incorporated into a race, solar panels on the teams trucks roof to power lighting in the pits, etc.
Well done everyone, a great Roundtable discussion, I hope to read and contribute too many more. Thanks to Michael and Ben, its such a great idea. POTD and 5 stars!
from 4 months ago
Yeah I know mate ... Finally we get the ball rolling !
We told you it was worth the wait ... Ha ha !
Yeah I noticed that, quite funny how we are on the same wavelength ... Must be a McLaren thing ... No im not bitter at all ! Ha ha ha !
I am loving the points for fastest lap and pole, that would be awesome !
from 4 months ago
I will also POTD it later, as mine is currently unavailable.
Haha sounds like it took a while to get formatted etc, but it was well worth it, this is great stuff.
from 4 months ago
Yeah next time will be a lot quicker now I know what I am looking for ... I just had to troubleshoot initially to get it right but it looks okay now !
from 4 months ago
definitely Ryan - i feel so proud for us doing this mate - cheers ! love the impartial referee as well, get someone from a place where no driver is from - posibly
from 4 months ago
I heard that the impartial referee is a good looking guy, ha ha ... But he aint gonna get involved with no debate, he just posts em up, ha ha !
from 4 months ago
me ?
from 4 months ago
Ohhhh ... I thought you meant F1RT is the impartial referee ... In which case that would be ... ME ... Ha ha ha ... Misunderstanding !
from 4 months ago
Ben = you, impartial .... am not sure
you might cause a lot of grief - for us 'Tifosis' ... and am not too keen on that prospect
from 4 months ago
Ha ha ha ... Yeah yeah yeah ... Okay ... But when I am in the F1RT role trust me I am not biased ... When I am in Ben Auty role I dont like Ferrari ... Ha ha ha ... I respect you guys and I know your cars are awesome and your history is fantastic and the competition is incredible ... But I dont know ... I guess that your just the rival to my team so yeah ... I am allowed to be that way. But DEFINATELY not when I am posting on behalf of everyone, that wouldnt be fair of me !
from 4 months ago
hmmmmmm ... OK, I believe ya
but as long as you realise that - for every good decision you make for us, a lovely bottle of good dry red - Chianti
from the hills of Milano - will find its way to your home mate -
ha ha
from 4 months ago
Now were talking ... SCORE ! Ha ha ha !
4 months ago
Its been hard work getting everything together what with Michaels E-Mail problems and then once I had the article even though it was shown in the same format on WORD everything was sourced differently so i had to strip the article right back to just text format in notepad and then re edit in WORD ... Great fun but we got there and its out on the floor finally, its a proud moment so lets keep those POTD coming and LOTS of stars !
What a great article ... I have 5 starred it for now and I will POTD it later on when I get my vote back ... I think I abused mine late on last night when I voted for Dans article about team mates ... So that will be on its way, I cant say enough to people that we have to 5 star these articles and POTD them to promote the F1 community ! Its going to act in our favour !
Some amazing points being made on there ... I will summarise some quick answers to them all ... Afterall I would hate to leave anyone out ... Enjoy !
Billy Sexton / Michael griffin - You both have very similar ideas and I like them I think points for pole and fastest lap should definately count, Would certainly make things more interesting, can you imagine having the title decided by a lap that was done in the dry but then the current championship leader couldnt make the time back up because it was raining, would that be a positive or a negative ... Either way things would be spiced right up ! Quality !
Sheiban Shakeri - Agree completely on drivers being more accessible, I know they have a lot of sponsor time but lets have some fan time, I would love to be able to get to speak to a driver ... Just sit down and have a conversation with him, I know that wouldnt happen but they do need to be more available to the kids, the real fans ! Not just rich people on corporate hospitality !
Steven Stones - Yeah that would be really interesting but I just think that the funding and money is just too much of a issue now, so many fee's for entry and racing and licensing and drivers and then there is the running of the car which is no case of pocket change ... Must be so hard so I feel that the environment we are in now may be here to stay.
Mark Andrew - Would be great to see a Force India banging the car onto the front row of the grid because all cars would be of more of an equal to each other ... On a negative though I feel that could add excitment but then doesnt give much scope for the engineers and technicians to stretch their legs with improvments, its about who dares wins and if your quick with technology then your in, if your off the pace then your last !
Daniel Chalmers - Going back to the old days hey, no re-fuelling ... Interesting and would certainly throw a spanner in the works as to how the teams deal with ride height in a fully loaded car and an empty one ... Personally I think I prefer the way it is now, I like not knowing who is carrying what and that first round of pit stops is exciting when you find out who is running what ... Great stuff !
Alex Levy - Ohhhhh interesting one, you know my thoughts on this after my safety car article earlier in the month, its a strange one and it seems as though every one has an opinion on it, they really need to do something with it and what they did in Magny-Cours wasnt the answer I dont think ?
Ryan Wood and Me - Great minds do think alike ... Ha ha ha ... So what more can I say apart from, I couldnt agree more mate !
Long John Silver - Definately mate, the future of the sport needs to be put together with the environment in mind ... I am sure with all the travelling and racing and testing and tyres and lack of recycling and just everything tied together our carbon footprint is bigger than the earth ... Ha ha ... So yes it is something that needs to be looked at !
So thats all ... What a great article ... I have a good feeling about this series ! Its going to be a winner.
from 4 months ago
Ben - thanks mate, long might it be, love your work and responses - and reading it
from 4 months ago
Anytime man ... I enjoy writing them !
4 months ago
and yet again ben auty writes a comment longer than the article. lol.
good article. lots a very good valid points raised about how to change the game.
this should be done more often !!
5 * + POTD
from 4 months ago
alright so its not bigger than the entire article but it might a well be
from 4 months ago
Hey ... I had lots of points to make ... Point made I believe !
It will be done more often, dont know how ofter but more often if we get enough interest !
Plus yeah I didnt wanna say but its not quite bigger is it ? Ha ha !
Cheers marra !
from 4 months ago
and thats PRECISELY why U love Ben -
from 4 months ago
I love Ben
4 months ago
haha nick, your brother does like to write some corking (but long) comments!
from 4 months ago
Howay lads ... Leave it out yeah, ha ha ha ... I just like to make sure my point is heard ! Ha ha ha !
4 months ago
hahaha - fair point. take as long as you need. its all worth it in the end !!
from 4 months ago
Oh thanks ! Ha ha ... Now I have permission I'll just go nuts hey ?
4 months ago
What a great start to the series. Just brilliant, thanks to everyone who sent in their contributions and persevered (spelling?) through the gremlins. Cheers everyone, and make this a success with 5 stars and POTD's a plenty!
Loved everyones ideas, especially me and Billy. Great minds think alike I guess, and pole and fastest lap does deserve to be rewarded!
Great ideas everyone, not one single poor idea, just shows the calibre of writers we have here. Well done again everyone.
from 4 months ago
What are we going to do today Brain ?
Same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world ... MUUUUHA HA HA HA !
from 4 months ago
Mike .... we made the drong page mate
what a brilliant start mate - woke up, got my grande iced americano from Starbux and rocked up t work, and this was brilliant -
thanks for putting this together mate
from 4 months ago
Mike .... we made the front page mate
what a brilliant start mate - woke up, got my grande iced americano from Starbux and rocked up t work, and this was brilliant -
thanks for putting this together mate
from 4 months ago
Michael ... You are the grand master, great thinking Batman !
4 months ago
This is excellent, thanks for the heads up Ben, you where right, I am not disappointed, what an amazing article, well done everyone, and well done Michael and Ben for getting that flag flying on this endeavour. It really is a great way to promote the F1 community and I have no doubt in my mind that this will work. Excellent work boys and well done to all the writers, you are continuing to churn out the quality. I am impressed. 5 stars for now and then POTD later when I have my vote back.
from 4 months ago
Hey Miles ... When have I ever let ya down man ? ... I told you it was quality, thanks for the stars and comment BUT dont you forget about that POTD later, I will be checking mind you ! Ha ha ha !
Its been a bit tricky to get the wheels in motion but we are there now ... We are approaching that first corner at speed ! Ha ha ha ! Bad metaphor ... I apologise !
But glad you like it mate, will give you a shout for the next batch !
from 4 months ago
hey Ben, speaking of approaching corners at speed, I have just had a proper look at the Valencia street circuit, ti's bloody bonkers! It's got 25 turns! It's mad, go on the f1 website and have a look, i so cannot wait for the end of aug