Does Formula 1 Need One Oval Race.

[Fuzzyfelt]

I don't think the F1 season needs an oval race. A wider variety of street races would be good though - Street racing always show more 'local colour' than some of the blandodromes they race at these days.

I agree with Kirk though that the Indy 500 would be great if it was an 'all comers' race for the best of the best in all categories. Wouldn't McLaren, Williams or Ferrari love to build an Indy Car and attempt to whip those Indy boys in their own Brickyard? (Ah, Lotus, ah, those glory days (sigh)). Surely with the technology at the disposal of the F1 teams building a (relatively) simple Indy car would be straightforward

On the same subject, didn't Ferrari have an abortive Indy Car project at some point in the past? I think it may have been a purely political move motivated by the FIA, but didn't the car get to a prototype stage? Anyone know where there's any info?

[Jordi]

That Ferrari was designed by Gustav Brunner, and if I'm not mistaken, Bobby Rahal and Michele Alboreto were the only ones to test it at Fiorano. I think also that a Truesports engineer, maybe Steve Horne came to Italy with Rahal to exchange feedback. I've also seen two versions of this car. One is pretty plain, while the second one featured winglets in front of the rear-tyres just like the Marchs had at the time in IndyCar racing. But I suppose it was only a move to pressure the FIA.

The footnote to this story is that the engine Ferrari designed for this car would be used 2 or 3 years lated by Alfa Romeo in IndyCar, but by then it was already outdated.

[Tamás]

I would look at it but in my opinion it's fully unnecessary. I dislike these oval races, and I think formula one wouldn't become better if one oval-race were organised. I don't know how different the performance of cars are in the American series, but the gap between teams would be bigger at this race.

[RaceFreak]

Absolutely ! I personally am getting bored with 'no passing zones' like the Hungaroring. Lets put 'em on a huge oval, pack in 200,000 plus and see if they really are "World Champion" contenders. Let 'em go three abrest and watch the carbon bits fly ! The series races road and street circuits so the diversity would be fun. Also I think we oughta go back to the OLD, original Nurburgring.

[Snrub]

I'm not sure that an oval would be good in F1, but

Originally posted by RaceFreak
I think we oughta go back to the OLD, original Nurburgring.

I really like that idea. I know it's been said before and people dismiss it as unrealistic or unsafe. CART can race on tracks that are unsafe for F1 because they're stronger vehicles. Make F1 cars stronger, set up sturdy barriers and set them lose on a track so complicated that it will make the driver take on a larger role. This is actually a plausable solution to issues currently being debated. Think about it, Mosley has been talking of making the cars safer, slowing them down, etc. 200lbs of safety-enhancing weight would acheive the first goal, keep the manufacturers happy because they get to produce the same engines and slow the cars down substantially on the straights and corners.

[RCSKULLY]

Slow down F1 cars? Weigh them down? What are the chances of that happening? I have heard a lot of talk about it and I am sure it's big on this site but I just want to know the chances of it actaully happening. I really don't want to see F1 ruined like many other types of racing due to safety issues. It's already dangerous in the the first place and the drivers choose to do it anyways....ok sorry about all that. I just really hate the idea.

[RWC]

An oval race would add real credibility to f1-something it needs every tiniest bit of it can get!!

The harsh reality is that f1 cars aren't safe enough for oval racing.They just aren't built for it.
It's not a simple matter of retuning the engines,tuning the wheels/suspension and reducing downforce while increasing drag.The chasis themselves would need to be built differently
In short they would need to mandate building the safety into the chassis at the start of the year and run with special rules for aero/engines at the oval
It could be done but bernie wants money and max wants power.Neither of them are interested

[QuickSilver]

Part of F1 racing is the amazing braking capabilities of the cars. IMHO that would completely wasted on an oval.

Ovals in F1 are about as likely as F1 cars on the Isle of Man TT circuit ... fun yes, but not what they were built for. It's a bit of a "round peg in a square hole" story.
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[Snrub]

With all the talk happening, I would be surprised if F1 didn't switch to a 2.4L V8 or take other measures within the next year or two. I'm proposing something a lot more fan friendly than the FIA, etc. have been talking about. The weight is a consequence of increased safety structure, not just dead weight and increased ability to race on different tracks, what's so bad about that?

The teams currently weight their cars down to get them to meet regulations. Ferrari is notorious for having an extremely light car. Where are the complaints that this practice is stupid and ruins the sport?

[mac]

No.