Bernie: "Hey, no one is talking about F1 at the moment!"

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Even more bile from Bernie:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80852

The key part:
autosport
Ecclestone also revealed that he had more radical proposals to improve the show - starting with a controversial plan to introduce 'shortcuts' at grand prix tracks that each driver could use for a limited number of times per race.

"I think it would be very easy for us on each circuit to have an area where you could gain a bit of time so you could overtake - a shortcut if you like - which a driver could use five times during the race, so it would stop people getting stuck behind somebody," he suggested.

"It's good for TV, good for the TV commentators, they could talk about somebody having three [shortcuts] left and somebody else having two and what's going to happen and so on."
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WWeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :dunce:

Completely bonkers mad.
 
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:lol: He needs to put the pipe down asap...
 
Ardius
Even more bile from Bernie:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80852

The key part:


WWeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :dunce:

Completely bonkers mad.
Click to expand...
Okay, yes: Bernie is as mad as a bus (or maybe he just thrives on conflict). And it's probably never going to happen.

But I'm going to humour him on this one instead of just discarding it out of hand. A shortcut would never work, because people want to see passing as a result of driving ability, not because of the circuit. And what is there to stop the leader taking the short cut every lap for the first five laps and building up a lead? Some drivers would feel obliged to follow, with the end result being that the field is separated into two groups very early
on.

But there could be a solution that is similar to a shortcut: a split circuit. Imagine that I'm following you, but I just can't pass. I'm within a second of your car, the point where the aerodynamics makes it harder fr me to get by. But we come up to the split section. You go right; I go left. The split section would be two pieces of road that are absolutely identical, except that one is the exact mirror image of the other. I've got the speed to get by you, but I don't have the open air. The split section would afford me that. It then becomes a very short race to see who can clear the split first.

Of course, there are inherent problems: a split would require a dividing barrier, and I don't like the idea of someone hitting it. You could always use road markings and coarse tarmac to dissuade anyone from doing it, but what if they lose control? And then there's the problem of an improperly-placed split section: too close to a corner, and one side it going to give quicker lap times, and no-one will use it.
 
Too much Mario Kart, eh? Maybe we should allow the drivers to pick up shrooms in the pits. First come, first served... just like on a carousel.
 
Shortcuts? What is this Burnout or Midnight Club? I can't believe he formed his lips to make that statement.
 
Ok, I think the old age is getting to Bernie.... This is probably the whackest idea Ive heard this year... and its still January.... I dont know what he's smoking but if you come with stuff like this and try to pass it as plausible, then you got some major issues.... This is not Midnight Club or a Destruction Derby... Why in the world would ANYONE want to implement shortcuts in a race....???

In my eyes that takes away the whole challenge of getting past the car in front... What are your thoughts on this?? Is he crazy? Should he go? Or should he just stop hitting the pipe?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/jan/13/bernie-ecclestone-shortcuts-formula-one

Bernie Ecclestone wants to introduce "shortcuts" on race tracks to boost entertainment and allow the top drivers to do more overtaking.

The Formula One commercial rights holder said: "I've tried to push the teams with a number of proposals. Imagine a shortcut which a driver can use five times every race. It would stop people getting stuck behind others. It would be good for TV."

Ecclestone, who wants to change the points system to aid leading drivers, also complained that brakes in Formula One cars were too efficient and reduced the amount of overtaking which fans like to watch.

Despite believing the sport can be improved, he thought this season would be among the best with Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and the returning Michael Schumacher all on the grid.

"We've got four world champions for a start. It's going to be a good year. There'll be good competition inside the teams and between the teams," he said before declining to name his favourite for this year's championship, which starts in Bahrain on 14 March.

Ecclestone also confirmed an agreement had been signed to hold a grand prix through the streets of Rome in the coming years, although no date has been set.
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PS - Sorry if this has been posted already... Looked around and searched but found nothing...
 
what is he thinking? I cut the track a tiny bit in GT5P and I get 5 secs of slowdown, But Bernie whats to allow drivers to take shortcuts? We need a facepalm!

edited by moderator
 
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Split from the "Bernie's Lost His Marbles" thread, as it warrants a thread of it's own IMO.
 
race'emhard
what is he thinking? I cut the track a tiny bit in GT5P and I get 5 secs of slowdown, But Bernie whats to allow drivers to take shortcuts? We need a facepalm!
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Here let me help you ;)

facepalm_4.jpg
 
It is starting to smack slightly of desperation - and is probably a step in the wrong direction... "more spectacle, less sport" seems to the order of the day. Still, as a spectacle, it might be quite good - and if the tracksplit idea was used, there would be no shortcut, just more passing opportunities... oh, and probably more accidents too :sick:
 
What we need is someone at the side of the track throwing half open bananas on at strategic intervals.
 
Touring Mars
It is starting to smack slightly of desperation - and is probably a step in the wrong direction... "more spectacle, less sport" seems to the order of the day. Still, as a spectacle, it might be quite good - and if the tracksplit idea was used, there would be no shortcut, just more passing opportunities... oh, and probably more accidents too :sick:
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I assume that quite a bit of people here have some knowledge of; lets call it "Racecraft" in this instance. Now I agree that this might blossom out to be a great spectacle, but it also takes away from the sport as a whole imo... I mean there could be strategy in using shortcuts if they were limited to a certain number, but even then I still find it more exciting to watch someone work hard to be able to pass another... and then wait for that magic moment to slip past the car in front. That is what makes racing so nice and rewarding for me as a person. A shortcut is just to easy imo... and more along the line of cheating if you think about it...

Next to this I can also understand that Joe Blow sitting on his couch, scarfing down a bag of Lays and clutching a beer in his free hand would most probably rather watch something like this. But this should be about the sport and not getting good footage for TV. If you want good footage put them on a blank track with no lines and let them have at it... Exciting, yes... but then it wouldnt be racing anymore... So I think the man is just crazy and he needs to keep him self focused on the sport, not his pockets or TV ratings...
 
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daan
What we need is someone at the side of the track throwing half open bananas on at strategic intervals.
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And not only at Valencia and Barcelona?
 
This will just be Bernie doing his usual "make an outrageous suggestion that'll get everyone up in arms so that the next thing he suggests will be seen as normal and will be acepted" thing. He does it all the time.
 
interludes
Okay, yes: Bernie is as mad as a bus (or maybe he just thrives on conflict). And it's probably never going to happen.

But I'm going to humour him on this one instead of just discarding it out of hand. A shortcut would never work, because people want to see passing as a result of driving ability, not because of the circuit. And what is there to stop the leader taking the short cut every lap for the first five laps and building up a lead? Some drivers would feel obliged to follow, with the end result being that the field is separated into two groups very early
on.

But there could be a solution that is similar to a shortcut: a split circuit. Imagine that I'm following you, but I just can't pass. I'm within a second of your car, the point where the aerodynamics makes it harder fr me to get by. But we come up to the split section. You go right; I go left. The split section would be two pieces of road that are absolutely identical, except that one is the exact mirror image of the other. I've got the speed to get by you, but I don't have the open air. The split section would afford me that. It then becomes a very short race to see who can clear the split first.

Of course, there are inherent problems: a split would require a dividing barrier, and I don't like the idea of someone hitting it. You could always use road markings and coarse tarmac to dissuade anyone from doing it, but what if they lose control? And then there's the problem of an improperly-placed split section: too close to a corner, and one side it going to give quicker lap times, and no-one will use it.
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No, interludes, this is not something you can play devil's advocate with. Its not meant to make sense at all.
I mean, do I really need to point out the several very big problems with such an idea? I'm sure you are not that stupid.

daan
This will just be Bernie doing his usual "make an outrageous suggestion that'll get everyone up in arms so that the next thing he suggests will be seen as normal and will be acepted" thing. He does it all the time.
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Indeed, this is what I'm thinking too, same as the Hitler comments, etc.

Very little of what Bernie ever says is serious, there is always some hidden agenda or simply trying to cause more headlines and more talk about F1. See, Bernie doesn't see good or bad publicity, only publicity.

Still doesn't stop me from being amazed at such a suggestion :lol: What a crazy and completely ludicrous idea!

Oh and I dislike the thread title :p Totally not my style. Thank you edit button.
 
Why is there still a crazy old man at the head of Formula 1?? This man should have been out years ago, if anything like this is actually implemented it will soon send the sport down the drainpipe, when it has worked very hard to achieve the status it has now. Bernie might want to think it's all down to him, but he thinks up a lot of ridiculous things...
 
Emu76
Why is there still a crazy old man at the head of Formula 1?? This man should have been out years ago, if anything like this is actually implemented it will soon send the sport down the drainpipe, when it has worked very hard to achieve the status it has now. Bernie might want to think it's all down to him, but he thinks up a lot of ridiculous things...
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Because Bernie is a genius. Although it may seem he is mad with power and doesn't know whats going on, he's actually cleverly maniuplating people towards his goals - which is primarily making money and running F1.

Ironically, you're suggesting he is going to ruin F1 after all the work put in to make it what it is. I guess you don't know who is behind that work then?
 
daan
This will just be Bernie doing his usual "make an outrageous suggestion that'll get everyone up in arms so that the next thing he suggests will be seen as normal and will be acepted" thing. He does it all the time.
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👍 You're probably right.
 
Wouldn't it be cheaper to put headlights on the F1 cars so they can flash their headlights if they want a free pass? :dopey:
 
Oh my god, put the bong down Bernie, shortcuts? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
 
Radracing
Wouldn't it be cheaper to put headlights on the F1 cars so they can flash their headlights if they want a free pass? :dopey:
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:lol:

I've already had a few laughs out of this thread. Bernie would make an excellent stand-up comedian methinks.
 
Bram Turismo
:lol:

I've already had a few laughs out of this thread. Bernie would make an excellent stand-up comedian methinks.
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Mind you when he stands up it doesn't look like it!
 
Bah dum tisshhh!!! :lol:
 
I was reading elsewhere that Indycar used a very similar concept back in 2007 at San Jose. They painted a white line down the centre of the circuit in all of the major braking zones. When two cars approached it the drivers could choose which side of the line they wanted to go - and once they and made up their mind, they were committed to it; they couldn't cross over it. It was intended to cut out blocking and weaving in braking zones, and I'm told it worked. There was enough overtaking that the winner was actually the guy who started 15th.
 
I dislike the idea of using the track to manipulate the racing in that way, it seems so artificial and really not necessary.

We have seen overtaking, its not impossible, but the design of the cars I feel needs to be properly addressed. We can see from other forms of motorsport that the circits, rules and racing ettiquette are not the problem, its the abilities of the cars which are hampering the overtaking to an extent.

I don't believe such drastic rule changes are necessary and would take the sport down an endless path.

I also would like to see again the statistics for average numbers of overtakes per race each year. If I remember right, the numbers have declined but not in the exaggerated sense people like to imply, which makes me wonder what all these people complaining about overtaking were watching in the "good old days"? Its all well and good quoting the Arnoux/Villenueve battle, but that wasn't a frequent occurence. I start to wonder if such people are not expecting something from the sport that never existed in the first place?
 
Ardius
We have seen overtaking, its not impossible, but the design of the cars I feel needs to be properly addressed. We can see from other forms of motorsport that the circits, rules and racing ettiquette are not the problem, its the abilities of the cars which are hampering the overtaking to an extent.
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The problem is that you have to find a balance between regulating the rules and allowing design freedom. Designers will do whatever they can to increase aerodynamic grip becaue they know it gives them an advantage; I've heard that by the middle of 2010, the cars will be producing more downforce than they were at the end fo 2008. The obvious solution is to tighten up the rules, but it's difficult because if they're too tight, you run the risk of essentially having a spec series. I actually think some spec parts like a diffuser and the undertray would be a good idea, but the problem is in the wings. They should be single-plane, with none of these lips and curls, thanks. Of course, f the FIA were to introduce that, the designers would fight it every step of the way.
 
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