http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/32751118 So refuelling is back. Wasn't it removed for safety reasons?
It'll stay in until some poor sod in the pit crew gets set on fire or clocked in the head by the hose... Then they'll bin it and go back to self-destructing tyres...
The only way I could see them make it safer is if once the pump is inside the car, theres a switch that automatically turns off the accelerator, or depresses the clutch.
The Bit-Tech F1 2015 Thread - Round 6: Monaco I don't care about refueling, in fact I don't really want it. All that's going to do is lengthen the pit stops again. That's boring. At the moment they are the fastest they've ever been, in any sport. That's what F1 is all about, extremes. More horsepower, more downforce, faster pit stops, ridiculously advanced technology seen almost nowhere else in the world... And yes, lower lap times. The lowest lap times in any form of four wheeled motorsport. They have been managing just fine without refueling, both with the V8 and V6 turbo engines. And what's this about louder, higher revving engines? So every engine manufacturer is going to have to go back to the drawing board and redesign their power unit and exhaust to extract more revs and noise? Have they not been watching Renault and Honda this season? The 2015 engines are closely enough related to grenades already without asking them to get more revs, notes and presumably power out of a PU in two years time. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. They're definitely going backwards.
well most of the changes have been to try to make it a better spectacle to see and experience. The return of the skid-plates to create showers of sparks is a good example. I expect the engine changes are in the same taste, especially as people complained about the lack of noise the hybrid cars make
I think the engines are to throw it up a bit. Ferrari and Mercedes are too far ahead now for anyone else, and with the potential talks around Audi possibly they need to make everyone catch up.
I like the idea of refuelling being brought back and the teams being able to pick their own tyres. I want to see drivers racing their cars at the limit of the car, not slowing down because the tyres can't take it or the car is too heavy. I'd much rather have that and longer pit stops than drivers not pushing for most of the race and sub 3 second stops.
But will drivers push all race? It could bring back races where teams just give up before starting with such small engine limitations now.
Still some way to go, remove the fuel flow rate and free up the number of available tyres - that in addition to free choice of tyre and refuelling creates more strategies and reduces the nonsense of tyres and fuel management to the extent it is now.
They are trying to make it cheaper, I understand that but still most of me just wants to see the fastest most advanced car win. I guess those days are gone & they are trying to level the playing field a bit.
Bollocks are they trying to make it cheaper [imo]... One of the reasons for ditching refuelling [on top of the safety issues] was to cut costs, both the cost of the refuelling rigs and the cost of shipping them. They constantly talk of cutting costs, but the costs never really come down.
One way loses Bernie a ton of dosh from the teasm, another loses Bernie a ton of dosh from the viewers and sponsorship. He's going to do everything he can to have his cake and eat it.
The thing with equalising performance is that the cars struggle to follow nowadays with a pretty differentiated field. If they were all alike, it'd be one hell of a boring procession. They need to sort aero, DRS and KERS to have meaningful impact on the racing. Bringing back refueling is a bad idea, IMO, because it shifts the action away from the racetrack. I love the tactical nature of the races, but let's not forget we tune in to watch them race, not flounder around with hoses in the pits. Mixing things up with the tyres was an excellent idea. Maybe going a step further and letting them thrash the tyres in quali (provided you use the same type - albeit unused - in the race) would be cool too. Oh, and good luck cost cutting with refueling back in the mix. They axed it for financial reasons back in the day, so bringing it back just makes them look DUMB AS ALL HELL. EDIT: clarifications: 1. Aero needs to be less affected by following. This means things like active suspension and ground effect. It's been 20 years, I'm sure we can do this s**t safely and smartly FFS. 2. DRS: is artificial and discourages passing elsewhere on the track, limiting the bulk of action to one or two straights. I prefer the F-duct days where the driver decided when to use it and when not to. I'm not really sure how one can fix DRS without descending into safety issues, but someone should be thinking about it, because you simply should not be wasting that kind of ability on one or two corners in a race. 3. KERS: first thing first - up the capacity. Let it come into play more through a lap and race, instead of just being a boring defensive aid, like it is 99% of the time.
I agree with all three of the later points, however I for one enjoy the in race strategy element of F1.
Refuelling might add another stragetic element to the race, run lighter, undercut etc, be better than the be at the front win scenario it is now.