It's official - no Sunday warm-up, no fuelling pre-race etc

[Glen]

I'm quite surprised that this didn't fizzle away as an overly complicated idea... but it is here to stay it seems.Those extra few hours on Friday are looking quite attractive for the "Heathrow" teams.

Qualifying is going to be very odd and unpredicatable - I'm personally pretty sure that we'll see some lesser teams going for the front spot - I might even have a bet on Fisi for pole.

[Mekola]

Oh no! Now what will happen with BMW and their qualifying engines???

[Glen]

Big three all have quite extreme qualifying strategies - qualifying engines: lighter, higher rev limit, lighter exhausts... qualifying gearboxes: skinny gears, lighter etc... radiators: slimmed down to minimum. That's just the stuff we all know about!

Same spec cars for all teams might reduce gaps in qualifying - but there again the serious teams will be qualifying with sensible fuel levels to start the race as they mean to go on, and lesser teams will thus be presented with a chance to shine, albeit for a few short laps before they have to come in for gas.

This rule (I have only just twigged!) will cut the engine costs by one third across the board, at a stroke.

[JamesJimmy]

Though many of the staunch traditionalists probably will dislike this, I think it could be pretty good. We might even get to see a Sauber or Jordan lead the field for a few laps if they play their cards right. In the end, it will probably have little effect on the outcome. The Ferraris are awfully good (which is fine with me). But it could make getting to that outcome much more interesting.

[Jay]

They had to do something.... it definately makes me more interested in 2003. But, I feel the results at the end of the race will be as they were last year with Ferrari drawing straws to decide who should take the win.

[avsfan733]

so now when do they add a point for pole qualifier?

[alesi95]

So correct me if I'm wrong but, Ferrari, Williams, Mclaren on the non-Friday teams just....

turn up,
qualify
and then race.

[EERO]

The issue that troubles me is that no one seems to be considering is that we won't have a clue who is actually "leading" the race and how the running order is sorting out until afeter the first round of Pitstops.

Say that one of the minnows opted for a light fuel load in order to get some time at the front, does that make them the "race leader"? Suppose Schumacher opted for a heavy load and a one-stop, late in the race strategy, how will we know how it sorts out until he finally stops?

Where is the excitement in watching Verstappen pace the field in a Minardi if I know that he's stopping in less than five laps?

The danger is that the rare brilliant drive might be lost in the shuffle and we won't know that Fisichella has been hammering around with a heavy load in order to nail a podium.

This will only lead to confusion and will do nothing to enhance the race.

[Adam43]

It's a shame they didn't try the new qualifying without changing anything else first.

A for who'll be on pole with this new procedure. My money is on Michael!

Glen, where did you see it was official? There is an article on F1live.com http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html I also thought it would just be forgotten.

Someone remind me how will Friday qualifying work? Will we see one lap specials to get the best position for Saturday's single flyign lap attempt?

[Adam43]

Originally posted by EERO
...Pitstops...

F1 is like Chess you know.

[EERO]

...And another thing....


How do you determine among the teams who has the faster cars and within teams who is the faster driver? This makes the Friday qualifying session the benchmark for those standards. But given that there will be only one hour of free practise before qualifying, (for all but Minardi, Jag, Renault and Jordan) it really doesn't give drivers much time top optimise set-ups.

I will also go out on a limb and say that Senna's record of 65 Poles is for all intents and purposes safe, because Qualifying is no longer a measure of pure speed but a complex set of responses to a myriad of varying factors, ie., weather, fuel load, set-up time, race strategy.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by EERO
...Senna's record of 65 Poles is for all intents and purposes safe...

That had crossed my mind too.

[Dutton]

With regards Senna's tally, yep that looks safe now. Michael was shaping up to have a very good chance of beating it, or getting damn close, had the rules remained the same. At this point I pray this topic doesn't get diverted and twisted into a predictable outcome of irrelevancies, and if it does then I accept that I will have been part of the problem.

Anyway, I can understand why changes have been made etc: I just wonder if too much has been done at one time, perhaps they would have been better to do it bit by bit (maybe introducing in staggered stages), so as to make gauging exactly what rule alterations are affecting what and why.

I'm intrigued to see what differences the new set-up will bring, no doubt about that, but the I think, with pretty much every change so far, it is all incredibly cosmetic.

It just isn't going to change much, and will make me irritated with psuedo-achievements etc.

We'll see.

[Asp]

I've got the feeling that this is something that's just spiralled out of control:
- OK, we go for 1 lap qualifying
- How do we stop teams making 'true' qualfying cars?
- Impound them between the sessions.
- Great. Oh, what about the warm-up?
- Hey, we can ban it.
- And what about fuel?
- Ban that too then.

Maybe they could have thought a few things out better, looking at alternatives instead of this problem-ban it approach that appears to have happened.

[Sodemo]

I would still like to see mid -race re-fueling banned all together.

[Adam43]

I couldn't agree more (with Monster). I think a lot of driver skill's have been lost since it was allowed.

They could even make the drivers qualify on full tanks, I suppose.

[avsfan733]

I'm sorry but I must disagree. I think this is stupid, isn't the point after last year to make the racing more exciting? With this idiotic rule how can we tell if the cars and drivers are equal or if one is just lighter on fuel than the other? Does the simple fact that a Minardi might lead a Ferrari for 10 laps make it more exciting? I can understand the need to reduce costs but please, this is excessive. Impound the cars, yes. Stop them from changing parts, great! But this will not do what it is claimed to do.

[GTV27]

Originally posted by avsfan733
I'm sorry but I must disagree. I think this is stupid, isn't the point after last year to make the racing more exciting? With this idiotic rule how can we tell if the cars and drivers are equal or if one is just lighter on fuel than the other? Does the simple fact that a Minardi might lead a Ferrari for 10 laps make it more exciting? I can understand the need to reduce costs but please, this is excessive. Impound the cars, yes. Stop them from changing parts, great! But this will not do what it is claimed to do.

Yep - I believe it will make the racing more exciting - it opens up a lot of new strategy issues - which will vary at different tracks depending on the ease of passing.

I agree with the principle of whatever the team qualifies with they have to race with (excepting changing tyres for weather changes, which is a safety issue).

That this will save money seems probable (but we shouldn't underestimate the ability of F1 teams to spend money in ever more innovative ways).

I can't wait to see a "lessor" team claim the front row with a light strategy and then see how long they can hold on, and potentially use track position to end up with a higher result than what might have previously occurred.

[Inigo Montoya]

Originally posted by EERO
...And another thing....


How do you determine among the teams who has the faster cars and within teams who is the faster driver?

The one who finishes ahead of the other is the faster one.

[Armco Bender]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: This is all getting to confusing for us old guys :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[downforce]

How come the Michaels and the Montoyas havent reacted in the way we are? They dont seem to be THIS confused????

A Minardi leading a Ferrari for ten laps is'nt interesting?? Lastime round was Mazza/Hakkinen...Indy'00?...and from what i recall everybody loved it!

[EERO]

Originally posted by Inigo Montoya
The one who finishes ahead of the other is the faster one.

Well, "duh", Inigo.

The point is that until the final roun of pitstops, we won't know who is leading. There will be no way to understand the pace of the race and the eventual victory will seem like a Deus ex machina. Its not racing, its a gimmick.

And downforce, (welcome back) Marzipan (sic) leading Hakkinen at Indy was exciting because it it wasn't an engineered event, it was chance,. As I said above, Verstappen tooling around at the front of the field with a light fuel load early in the race doesn't mean that he is leading the race. Heck, Minardis have been in front of Ferraris on the track before-just before they were lapped.

[Glen]

Well hang on - it is no different to the current situation in many ways... Any team can run light for ten laps if they want, like Arrows did. I don't think it will be all that confusing. And anyway - don't we all want a reason to watch the whole of a GP instead of the first 20 laps? There will be a lot of frustration and getting held up - and then the good overtakers will prosper and the whimps will whither. Bye-bye Ralf, hello loads more JPM moves.

[neilwaynesmith]

Originally posted by EERO
Well, "duh", Inigo.

The point is that until the final roun of pitstops, we won't know who is leading. There will be no way to understand the pace of the race and the eventual victory will seem like a Deus ex machina. Its not racing, its a gimmick.

So, to expand your theory, a Minardi (pick one) holds everyone off until the final round of pitstops (Say at Hungary for example), makes an absolute blinder of a stop and still comes out in front, they are not the true or worthy winner?

Racing is about that, racing. being faster and better. Senna was arguably the best because he could pick off traffic while driving inferior cars.

As for dictating the pace of the race, thats down to the guy in front. If someone wants a faster pace, then pass him!

Many people stand Gilles Villeneuve in an almost god-like light (me included), but don't forget, when he drove a Ferrari that handled like a blancmange-on-a-unicycle, he was still able to dictate the pace and win races in much the same way that you are moaning about now! No-one complained then......

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by EERO
Well, "duh", Inigo.

The point is that until the final roun of pitstops, we won't know who is leading. There will be no way to understand the pace of the race and the eventual victory will seem like a Deus ex machina. Its not racing, its a gimmick.

Common guys, you're over reacting. For a start, we've had cars on one, two and even three pit stops in the one race before so nothing is new here. And when Albert Park quals are over, everyone will say, "Hey!! There's no difference". The faster drivers are still at the front of the grid.
And you don't think SchM won't break Senna's number of poles? Just watch. In all probability, most of the faster guys will be on the same strategy anyway. Maybe Rubens might get a few more poles if they send him out on a lighter fuel load as they often did previously, but to think that JPM and SchM won't be contesting pole is going a little far, don't you think? Teams will be basing their strategy to ultimately win races rather than get high up the grid so that they can be near the front for a third of the race like Arrows did. Just calm down, wait two weeks and one day, and then enjoy quals, OK? Ross Brawn, the Jedi tactician will figure it out. Just ask Red if I am right.