Oval

[BARrouette]

Would you like to see a oval track in f1 ?
I would like it verry much...
...and it should be in the usa.At the indy, they should race in the same track as the cart does..or indy 500 for f1 ...What do you think?

[Zaius]

I am a relatively new F1 fanatic (only been following it closely for 3 seasons), and have never understood the concept of oval tracks in terms of entertainments. I have been told that they are good for the audience, because they get to see everything.

When I ask how one could possibly enjoy watching cars turn left, left, left, left for so many laps, I never got a satisfying answer. Could someone make the case why oval tracks would even be entertaining to watch considering how driver skills factor into the mix (such as negotiating chicanes, etc.. being gone). I simply cannot understand how oval tracks would ever be entertaining, but would love to know how others feel about it.

[Wrex]

Me either Zaius

Ovals are for IRL and Nascar. I'm not sure it would be that entertaining to the average F1 punter. There are also other issues with safety (the cars are not built for it).

[BARrouette]

Oval track is more technical than you think Zaius hard on the tires and on gas, a good driver can make a difference in this kind of track.

[Zaius]

I'm sorry if my post seemed to imply that I thought oval tracks didn't provide real "racing" in some form. I really think they do, but the difference I think is that while both ovals and non-ovals are hard on tires and on gas, and both involve the drivers making decisions about pitting, how hard they push etc... there SEEMS to me to be another dimension in non-oval that requires the driver to make a tremendous amount of quick decisions regarding negotiating turns, which direction, what gears etc... that IS present in oval tracks, but seems to me to be much less extensive.

This "dimension" is to me a huge reason why watching F1 and other non-oval racing is entertaining. The drivers need their reflexes to be continually sharp (again, something which is present in ovals, but I think less extensive) while still needing to be able to make wise long-term race decisions.

[Wrex]

I guess the best answer to your question then, is with another question. Why dont they race on a dirtspeedway as well then?

Short answer is it is'nt F1.

[BARrouette]

True Zaius ...
With 1 oval track in f1 we will see more f1 fans from the USA and maby some rich state guy will trie to build a new team ...

[Don Rennis]

Oval racing just doesn’t appear to sit well in the European racing culture. On a personal basis I must admit I don’t really get it.

The newly built Rockingham oval speedway in the UK is basically going broke, attempting to bring the oval racing culture this side of the pond.

I’m sure it’s for the same reason that American football or Baseball doesn’t work here and Soccer doesn’t really work over there. We’re just different.

[Gt_R]

The reason why OVAL seems like good racing is because more or less, everyone in it uses very similar if not identical cars but differing setups, with aerodynamics which are fixed to promote slipstream and passing.

It's a different theory of racing from F1, looking at racing from another angle.

I would like to see Indy reprofiled, using majority of the oval, but at the back straight, put in a tight sequence of right left right and back on the oval...just to promote overtaking.

[jetsetter]

No, F1 doesn't need Oval racing. They can leave Oval racing to the Americans.

[racer69]

In the early 90s, there were rumoured plans for the evolution of Formula 1 which Bernie wanted to implement for the future, which among other things included only about 12 races to make each race more of a 'special event', and around about 2 or 3 oval races included in the schedule.

Obviously it never happened, but in my opinion an oval race wouldn't be a bad thing, the current breed of f1 cars couldn't race on one though, they are not built to handle an accident on that type of track.

[krt917]

And because they're not designed specifically for ovals, they probably wouldn't be that quick. I'm not sure that F1 cars that aren't faster than CART/IRL cars would impress the Americans very much.

I do quite like oval racing, particularly when combined with road and street circuits (as with CART and, hopefully, soon IRL)in a series, but I'm not convinced that it's the way F1 should head. I think we should make sure we've got a few more decent road-racing circuits, like Spa and Suzuka, and get rid of places like the new Hockenheim before we start looking at ovals.

[gttouring]

The only answer to this would be to make the Indy 500 an F1 round again and dump the Infield.
Make it like the good old days when the F1 circus came and ran with the USAC and Indy boys-everyone will be happy, as an open race the Champcars guys can race and it'll count and there will be no need for IRL or the openwheel bickereing.
but i think F1 should stay clear of ovals, it isn't what F1 has come to be.

[ralf fan]

could be interesting..... but i like it the way it is!!
safety factor would come into play with OVALS.... F1 cars would go with great top speeds and crashing into walls would most certainly be life ending

[BootsOntheSide]

The Indy 500 as an F1 World Championship round was a joke. The F1 regulars barely entered, and the 500 was dominated by guys who spent most of the season running in the US< never entered other grand prix, and so got false high championship positions.

I think a lot of the driver skill in voals races isn't in goign fast, it's in going faster than everyone else, by positioning the car exactly right, making best use of one of the many racing lines available, and keeping your nerve when running 3 abreast at 250mph.

Appreciating the technical skill and following the strategies is exciting as well.

I hope that sounds exciting to you. Look at all the last-lap shootouts in the IRL this season, and the fact that you rarely go more than a handful of laps without a change in teh order.

[ss_collins]

ralf fan - not really F1 would probably be slower than CART on an oval and should be able to with stand the shunts

[crozier74]

Yes, sounds a bit too dangerous to me, and I doubt the teams and drivers would approve of, and may possibly even boycott, an event on an oval on safety grounds. Although there's nothing to say that F1 cars aren't any less safe on ovals than ChampCars and IndyCars. They are actually licenced to run on ovals you know, according to Appendix O (the circuits section) of the FIA rulebook.

I would like to see maybe one race a year on an oval, just to add some more variety to the sport, and if it was just that one single event then it would have added sparkle in F1 and in motorsport in general. I agree with everything BootsOntheSide says, I appreciate the skill involved in oval racing, and think it should get represented in the top championship of motorsport. A race on an oval would perhaps throw up some interesting results, and the power and reliability factors involved would put an added incentive on the engine designers to get it right for such an event. I don't think it should be at Indy, we don't need another big single-seater race to "rival" ( LOL! ) the 500. Maybe make it at somewhere like Michigan.

But if it were to happen then there should be a regulation put in place that states no more than "x" number of races can take place on ovals in an F1 World Championship, to stop F1 straying too far from its roots, eg. ChampCars started off as an all-oval all-USA series, and look at it now, only 3 or 4 out of 18 events held on ovals, and about 3/4 held in "foreign" countries. And also look at the financial problems its in as a result. F1 can't be allowed to become like that.

Allow one or two oval races, but "keep it real".

[kristof14]

I think the recent incidents in IRL and CART would be more than enough of a reason for F1 to decide to never race on ovals.

[Adam43]

Seeing as we have moved in complete fantasy land now I think a single non-championship oval race with big prizes would work better. And a decent TV deal. Why not run it at Motegi - probably get as much if not more support in Japan.

[Redblurr]

For a second I thought I was in the cricket forum. I say no to oval in F1, it does not do anything for me, in fact after a few laps It would be quite boring to watch.

[racefanatic]

No no no please no ovals in F1!!! I would be so nervous every lap and we would all have to pray that no one crashed! Plus, the cars wouldn't really be able to handle it, would they? I've been a huge CART fan for quite a while and I watch the IRL, and we need to leave the oval races to them and to NASCAR. Even THEY need to work on them though as far as the safety.

[Smokey 6 litre]

I think F1 would suffer if it went to an Oval, it MAY recieve a slight increase in viewing figures in America but it would drop dramatically elsewhere.
I beleieve that the best drivers in the world need the best curcuits, and i dont get excited by the prospect of Alonso, Kimmi and Montoya travelling at 220mph with nothing to do!

[pirenzo]

Ovals, no! Nearest thing to an oval i'd like to see an F1 car on is Brands Hatch

[Snrub]

Sure, why not? Ovals are a very pure and concentrated form of racing. If they ran the Indy oval with the same wing they run now then it would be pointless. No skill involved. Oval races can require just as much driver skill, because traditionally the cars are setup very loose compared to a road course setup. A F1 oval race might get boring because the cars are not that close together. Lapping the field on a typical road course would mean lapping the field three times+ on an oval.

There have been plenty of oval races that have not resulted in dangerous situations. The lack of accidents in F1 is partially to do with the lack of close racing. An oval done right should not be any riskier than road races. Road courses have more obsticles to run into. CART has had 3 recent deaths, two of them were on road/street courses. F1 cars would have to be beefed up to safely handle the force of slaming into a concrete wall. That's a big reason why CART and IRL cars weight 200lbs more than F1 cars.

[gttouring]

and the aussie dirt oval Sprint cars are pretty big eh, the states get its fair share of Oz sprint racer going over there- leave the oval to the Yanks?
Nah Aussies are good on em too.