Is Briatore off his rocker again?

[PSfan]

Just read that Briatore has suggested that a race weekend could be spiced up by following a similar flavour as A1GP in which you could have 2 races (a sprint and a feature) at each race weekend:



In an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the flamboyant Italian says he would like to see the sport reinvent itself by staging two races per Grand Prix weekend.

Briatore envisions a 45 minute sprint race in the morning following by a one hour timed event in the afternoon. The sprint race would act as a qualifier for the afternoon race with the top eight finishers starting in inverse order for the second event.

As well, Briatore says points would count for both races

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_story/?ID=205463&hubname=auto_racing


Well, I must say this can't be the first Idea for an F1 weekend I truly despise, but it did get me thinking, what if they replace qualifying with a sprint race, and gave out points for that? And the starting positions for the sprint race made up from the best times from the 3 practices, and then have the finishing results of the saturday sprint race dictate the starting positions for the Sunday race, which would be of normal distance...

OK, now I know I read way to much into that article :p :

[Timber]

I think it is time for him to go away and take care of his others buisnesses
Someone has to stop him from only signing the drivers that he manage to drive for Renault regarding of their talent .
He got lucky twice , now , he must go before we see Piquet inn the car !!!

[V12]

No, no, no and no!!!

And while we're at it, ditch it in GP2 and Euro F3 as well!

[Hawkmoon]

So instead of one long, boring race we get two shorter, boring races?

If the regulations governing the cars stay as they are then it doesn't matter how you rearrange the weekend, you are still going to have the same problems with processional racing.

Change the cars so they can race each other first, then worry about the format of the weekend.

[raphael123]

I think it is time for him to go away and take care of his others buisnesses
Someone has to stop him from only signing the drivers that he manage to drive for Renault regarding of their talent .
He got lucky twice , now , he must go before we see Piquet inn the car !!!

That's not very fair. Alonso, Trulli & Heikki aren't poor drivers by any means!
And he's had other good drivers like Button and Fisichella, who weren't under his management.

[ShiftingGears]

So instead of one long, boring race we get two shorter, boring races?

If the regulations governing the cars stay as they are then it doesn't matter how you rearrange the weekend, you are still going to have the same problems with processional racing.

Change the cars so they can race each other first, then worry about the format of the weekend.

Agreed 100%.

[ArrowsFA1]

Briatore has always maintained that F1 should be entertainment. He came to the sport having sold Benetton knitwear so views things very differently from the likes of Frank Williams and Ron Dennis who have climbed the motorsport ladder.

It's no bad thing to have a different perspective, but this latest idea sounds like he wants to make F1 more like GP2, which he has a stake in and which has been a success. But GP2 is not F1 and F1 should not become GP1.

[Easy Drifter]

Briatore doesn't stir the pot any more than Max and Bernie do. It gets publicity for F1 and that is their idea.
Ron Dennis does it to, just in a different way.

[Ian McC]

I don't see any reason why people can't debate the future of F1 and put forward suggestions, crazy or not.

[jens]

45-minute long sprint race? It would be about half of the current Grand Prix and in that case compulsory pitstops (or even two, like in DTM) must be included, otherwise nothing spectacular happens...

[truefan72]

No, no, no and no!!!

And while we're at it, ditch it in GP2 and Euro F3 as well!


agreed

[555-04Q2]

If the powers that be wont change car design regulations you could have this scenario:

Have two races on Sunday ala A1GP style. A 45 minute "sprint race" and a 90 minute "feature race". Then, allow drivers to have one replacement car each so that if they have an accident trying to overtake in the sprint race, they can compete in the feature race with the spare car.

Make the sprint race points double the feature race points to try and promote overtaking during the shorter sprint race and throw in a compulsory pitstop window of 5 laps in the middle of the race.

Quali would remain the same and final quali times count for the sprint race only and race classification for the feature race is determined by your finishing position in the sprint race.

OK people, let me have the criticism now :D

[Valve Bounce]

Why not restrict the cars to run on Aussi V8 engines, and use Aussi V8 bodies? That would even make it more interesting. :p :

[555-04Q2]

Forgot to add this to upset you guys even more ;)

Points for sprint race:

1 - 20
2 - 16
3 - 12
4 - 10
5 - 8
6 - 6
7 - 4
8 - 2

Points for feature race:

1 - 10
2 - 8
3 - 6
4 - 5
5 - 4
6 - 3
7 - 2
8 - 1

Trust me, drivers will be pulling off Sato style overtaking manouvers to try and get the top spots in the sprint race.

[555-04Q2]

Why not restrict the cars to run on Aussi V8 engines, and use Aussi V8 bodies? That would even make it more interesting. :p :

I cannot argue with the highly entertaining V8 Series you guys have. Some of those accidents are bloody scary :s hock:

[Valve Bounce]

We could change quals to a short 10 lap race on the saturday. The grid for this would be the finishing order of the previous race.

[555-04Q2]

What about putting a few lions on the race track and getting the drivers to run around the track for 1 lap. The one who doesnt get eaten gets pole!!! On the plus side, we may just be able to get rid of some of the "hanging on in F1" drivers while keeping the wildlife fed, fit and healthy.

[ArrowsFA1]

With a couple of references to A1GP here we should make clear that GP2 kicked off its life as the F1 support event of the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix in April. A1GP's first event was in September 2005.

GP2 has been a huge success, and the two race format has contributed to that success, but that isn't a reason for it to be introduced to F1.

555-04Q2's idea of lions on the track sounds interesting though :p

[raphael123]

Forgot to add this to upset you guys even more ;)

Points for sprint race:

1 - 20
2 - 16
3 - 12
4 - 10
5 - 8
6 - 6
7 - 4
8 - 2

Points for feature race:

1 - 10
2 - 8
3 - 6
4 - 5
5 - 4
6 - 3
7 - 2
8 - 1

Trust me, drivers will be pulling off Sato style overtaking manouvers to try and get the top spots in the sprint race.


The main problem with this in my view is that all the previous records achieved will be irrelevant, when every weekend has 2 races rather 1. And when you start getting 20pts for a win rather than 10pts, it won't be long before we get mediocre drivers beating records set by the likes of Senna and Prost. Already the amount of points scored is fast becoming an easy record for drivers to beat. Look at Coulthard, only Schumacher Prost and Senna have scored more points than him!

[555-04Q2]

The main problem with this in my view is that all the previous records achieved will be irrelevant, when every weekend has 2 races rather 1. And when you start getting 20pts for a win rather than 10pts, it won't be long before we get mediocre drivers beating records set by the likes of Senna and Prost. Already the amount of points scored is fast becoming an easy record for drivers to beat. Look at Coulthard, only Schumacher Prost and Senna have scored more points than him!

Indeed :up: But if it improves the racing, records are not a major factor for me. Records that count in my book anyway are WDC and race wins.

The points accumaulated and races won during the "sprint race" dont have to be featured in the record books for a drivers career wins and points collection. Only the "feature race" points and wins can be recorded to protect records if you want, but that creates a whole lot of problems in itself.

[Ranger]

The answer is in aerodynamics.

Look at MotoGP for example. Any MotoGP race that is F1 length would still be interesting, whereas a time basis for F1 wouldn't change anything.

Maybe if F1 banned over-car winglets and promoted ground-effects maybe we'd see a difference in racing. Hell, stick that bloody wooden plank on top of the car if it makes great racing!

I agree with Briatore that F1 should be about entertainment first. And the fact is that good racing makes good entertainment. In comparison to other major racing series' around the globe, F1 is a bit of a step behind in the racing aspect, unfortunately. Casual viewers who don't care about the historical status/importance of F1 watch for the racing, and continuously seeing cars maintain a 6-second or so gap for more than 25 laps isn't everybody's (especially not my) opinion of great racing.

Call me a pessimist, but seeing something like the Bahrain GP 2007 hailed as a "great motorsport event" seems stupid to me.

[raphael123]

Indeed :up: But if it improves the racing, records are not a major factor for me. Records that count in my book anyway are WDC and race wins.

The points accumaulated and races won during the "sprint race" dont have to be featured in the record books for a drivers career wins and points collection. Only the "feature race" points and wins can be recorded to protect records if you want, but that creates a whole lot of problems in itself.

Yes, why would you not count the Sprint races? :dozey: If you don't want to count them as important enough to go into the record books, why have them at all?

If its improving racing you want, then there are other alternatives such as aerodynamics of the cars. However if all your interested in is racing, there are many more motorsport series with a lot of action and more excitment. Have you ever considered trying those out? :)

PS: I think History is quite important. It gives us something to compare one generation with another, and what they have achieved. It'd be a shame if what the drivers of today achieved couldn't be compared against what the guys in the 50's to 80's achieved.

[555-04Q2]

The answer is in aerodynamics.

We all know that. The problem is the men who count dont seem to want to change the regs. Another problem is teams have invested heavily in aero research, wind tunnels etc and would not be happy if their large investments were no longer required.

[555-04Q2]

If its improving racing you want, then there are other alternatives such as aerodynamics of the cars.

Agreed :up: See post #23

[555-04Q2]

Yes, why would you not count the Sprint races? :dozey: If you don't want to count them as important enough to go into the record books, why have them at all?

1. The regs are not going to change due to teams investment in aero research and the stupidity of Max, Bernie etc. I see no other way to improve the racing besides changing aero regs.
2. The sprint race is to provide a bit of entertainment for us, the viewing public.
3. By not counting the sprint race, you will protect the records that you want to keep intact by only officially recording the feature race results in the history books.

[raphael123]

I think Sprint races would be a sh!t idea. I think F1 should try and stick to it's tradition. Qualifying on Saturday, Race on Sunday.
I know its cliche, but I miss the old 12 laps in 1hr qualie - even if it was boring for the first few minutes. And I miss the fact Schumacher could be the quickest guy on the Saturday, but after Sunday's morning practice session, Hakkinen could have finally found his sweet spot in set up, and he was the quickest guy. I don't like the parc ferme rules at all to be honest.

[555-04Q2]

I know its cliche, but I miss the old 12 laps in 1hr qualie - even if it was boring for the first few minutes.

I was also a big fan of the old quali system :up:

[Ranger]

Another problem is teams have invested heavily in aero research, wind tunnels etc and would not be happy if their large investments were no longer required.

What'd be the difference? the rules change every year (or sooner) anyway!

[555-04Q2]

What'd be the difference? the rules change every year (or sooner) anyway!

Rules change, yes, but wind tunnels are still used. Imagine if your 300 million dollar wind tunnel suddenly became obsolete due to aero regs changes. Teams would not be impressed hence there has been no change in making aero less of a factor in F1.

[raphael123]

You can have aerodynamics in F1, and have close racing. So the windtunnels would still be of use.

[Valve Bounce]

What about putting a few lions on the race track and getting the drivers to run around the track for 1 lap. The one who doesnt get eaten gets pole!!!

Cool Man! I think Bernie would go for it too - the ratings would skyrocket. :p :

[Valve Bounce]

Ban all on board computers, and ban all wings, F1 would take off and we'll have real racing.

[jso1985]

I think Sprint races would be a sh!t idea. I think F1 should try and stick to it's tradition. Qualifying on Saturday, Race on Sunday.
I know its cliche, but I miss the old 12 laps in 1hr qualie - even if it was boring for the first few minutes. And I miss the fact Schumacher could be the quickest guy on the Saturday, but after Sunday's morning practice session, Hakkinen could have finally found his sweet spot in set up, and he was the quickest guy. I don't like the parc ferme rules at all to be honest.

even I didn't like the old qualy system, it's good to know there's still some warm-up fans around :up: