2 Car teams/One car teams in future F1

[Splatz the Cow]

There are a few things commonly accepted about F1:
1. Michael Shumacher is very fast in a Formula One car
2. He is faster than Barrichello.
3. Ferrari are a highly capable team.

I think most people here would agree that Barrichello two main priorities are;
1. Get as many points as possible for Ferrari team.
2. Protect Schumacher.
This is probably the order of priority also, as Ferrari's history indicates that the team is the main priority.



This had me thinking about what Ferrari would be like with only one driver. In fact what if each team only had one driver in a race. I can see some positives, (clearer team strategy and no team orders,) and negatives, (no team mate comparison and individual driver skill disguised by car quality.)

How do you think this would change F1?

Is there an alternative that allows Barrichello an attempt at the championship?

How would this affect the smaller teams like Sauber, Jaguar and Jordan etc.



One idea I had is for the top teams to have one car and the lower guys to have two.

Have fun,

Splatz.

[Aysedasi]

Barrichello is a No.2. Just like Irvine, Verstappen and Herbert were. Anyone who drives for a team including TGF will be a No. 2. The team was built around TGF and, one has to admit, both driver and team have reaped the benefits. I always thought RB was a great driver - I remember watching him in Brit F3 - and I was frankly very disappointed when he went to Ferrari. OK, a chance to pick up a few race wins here and there, but no chance of a drivers championship while he was left to pick up the crumbs from TGF's table.

Single car teams? I personally don't think it would make a great deal of difference to Ferrari. It would for other teams where both drivers are of (near) equal calibre and therefore share the testing and development work. But with F1 dominated by money considerations, what I do think is that we'd have some rather small grids......

[Red]

Anyone who drives a car in a team built around Schumacher IS a number 2 driver.

However, he can try to close the gap. Why would the team build by Schumacher/Brawn/Todt be more loyal to a newcomer anyway? (let alone "why would they think that this newcomer would bring them better results")

Originally posted by Aysedasi
[...]with F1 dominated by money considerations[...]

PS: I know, everyone would like a Formula 1 dominated by breathtaking overtakings, but who's going to pay the bills? The engines and spare parts don't grow in trees, at least not when I last time checked...

[Aysedasi]

Agreed. But why is it that so many people tune in to processional driving instead of going to their local circuit to see some real racing? Do they just not know any better? (Taking into account all the time that 2003 was much better entertainment than we've had in F1 for many years).

[Red]

I don't know. Why? And why should I care? (and what's "racing" and "real" anyway)

[ralf fan]

1 car teams!! NAH!! would make the WCC boring!!!

[ralf fan]

the thing is RUBENS has never really come close to MS durig the start of the seasons and is always behind MS!!
Id like to see RUBENS winning or outscoring MS in the 1st 2-3 races and then we can see where FERRARI's loyalties lie

[Smokey 6 litre]

I think 1 car could be good for the smaller teams, the top load could run 2 as now but smaller one could run only 1, tere would be more cars, more teams and more competition.

[paulzinho]

Originally posted by Red
PS: I know, everyone would like a Formula 1 dominated by breathtaking overtakings, but who's going to pay the bills? The engines and spare parts don't grow in trees, at least not when I last time checked...

Seemed to work alright for all those years until teams started throwing silly money at it, mind you it was always kind of revolving door so you have a point.

[DriverT]

Well, we at least have 22 cars which can reasonably compete. If you compare that to when Life and Osella were around.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by ralf fan

Id like to see RUBENS winning or outscoring MS in the 1st 2-3 races and then we can see where FERRARI's loyalties lie

You mean like 1999? Eddie was leading the WDC for the first couple of races, but the teams priorities were obviously with Michael, you only need to watch France 1999 again to know that, Michael was in a car that had problems, Eddie had to sit behind him and finished 6th. Had he been allowed to go past he'd have proberbly taken Rafe for 4th. After what happened to Michael at the following race in Silverstone, decisions like France cost both Ferrari and Eddie a WDC.

[The Zuschauer]

Originally posted by Splatz the Cow
This had me thinking about what Ferrari would be like with only one driver... I can see some positives, (clearer team strategy and no team orders,).

At least the team orders is quite obvious when it happens now.

If they had one car teams, I'm sure there'd be a "very similar to Ferrari" team, also with one car. When that car was leading the race, and Michael coming second (and needed the win for the championship), you'd be skeptical when the almost-Ferrari stopped with a "hydraulic problem" with a lap remaining.

Then they'd have to ban inter-team orders.

Thats my "conspiracy theory of the day"

[Splatz the Cow]

I guess Zuschauer you're touching on the idea of close associations such as we see at Sauber where logic suggests that their future with Ferrari engines is not improved by challenging for positions when it is disadvantaging Ferrari.

I also find there is a lovely visual symmetry in a two car team.


But to take the "Ferrari philosophy" once step further, if each team took the same attitude then there would be half the field of drivers who would be subordinate to their team mate, and we would never get to see their true skill.

And in essence when this happens isn't it similar to a one car team anyway? With a second car lapping the circuit to remove points from the opposition.

But what has made this situation so intriguing is Ferrari's extradinary reliability. For if they struggled as they did a few years ago with endurance, then Ferrari would be unable to take advantage of the two-tier two-car system.