Formula One with Weight Penalties

  • Thread starter Thread starter vat_man
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Are you in favour of weight penalties in Grand Prix racing?

  • Yes - anything to improve the 'show'

    Votes: 3 33.3%

  • No - we need the slower teams to speed up, not slow down the quicker teams

    Votes: 6 66.7%
  • Total voters
    9
V

vat_man

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It was reported over the weekend that Bernie Ecclestone suggested the possibility of weight penalties being imposed on winning drivers. Bearing in mind that this was in the context of a discussion on how to improve the F1 show, the quote was:
"If Schumacher is 20 points ahead of Rubens Barrichello, then he has to drive with a car that's 20 kilos heavier"
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I had a bit of a think about this, and realised I have a bit of an issue with weight penaties being introduced - it would, in my mind, detract from the 'purity' and elevated status of the world championship. The rules are the same for everyone - the fact that Ferrari have got the game shot to bits at the moment simply suggests to me the other teams (and tyre manufacturers) need to improve their game.

Thoughts and comments?
 
I agree - I admire Ferrari for being successful. Why punish them, or whoever may be leading, for it? Isn't the whole point to win?
 
That would make F1 a joke, and like Jordan said why punish the great teams who spent millions of dollors to get the advantages they have. I hope it never happens.
 
I agree with you guys, but i don't think there is any way to make all the cars as fast as the ferrari. Then they would all have to have the same aerodynamics + horsepower + driver ??

The only way to make it equal= more exiting is to make the fastest guys heavier. :(
 
The FIA brings up weight penalties for good cars every so often...lucky for us all they never really approve the measure.

No, it's a bad idea.

With Schumacher's point spread at the moment, he'd be driving a Buick!
 
I'm not so sure I agree with the sentiments others have expressed here. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I think that while the hardcore F1 fan understands that there will be periods of domination, the casual fan does not. F1 has lost a significant portion of its audience this year, and, worryingly, this is mainly in core markets where you would expect there to be a hardcore following - i.e. Germany and Italy. It's definitely something to be aware of.

And in response to pupik, is that really the case? Bernie suggested that the weight be applied only after a certain points threshold had been reached. If that threshold was 0, MS would be 64Kg heavier than Rubens, and 87Kg heavier than JPM. This isn't much more than a stint's worth of fuel.
 
If the first couple of races next year are close, this will be dropped faster than a struggling US fantasy/sci fi series.
 
My other concern is that if a team starts to approach the point where the thresholds come into play, the other teams might 'come off the gas' so to speak (mysterious double retirement due to 'electrical problems',that sort of thing).
 
Originally posted by vat_man
If the first couple of races next year are close, this will be dropped faster than a struggling US fantasy/sci fi series.
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Is this a veiled reference to ChampCar?!
 
Originally posted by vat_man
My other concern is that if a team starts to approach the point where the thresholds come into play, the other teams might 'come off the gas' so to speak (mysterious double retirement due to 'electrical problems',that sort of thing).
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This sort of thing doesn't seem to happen in any of the other series where weight penalties are applied in a more on/off manner - I'm thinking BTCC, DTM etc.

It would add another tactical dimension to the sport!
 
I think it would be a cheap :2cents: way to improve competitiveness between teams.. but arguably unfair..

However whether this idea is good or not, I think it's great to see Bernie thinking about improving the Sport? :D
 
This from Autosport.com...

F1 team bosses reject handicap plan
Whitmarsh, Head and di Montezemolo left unimpressed

Formula 1 team bosses from Williams, McLaren and Ferrari have scoffed at a plan to overhaul grand prix racing with a weight handicap system.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, the president of motorsport governing body the FIA, are behind the raft of changes which was made public at the weekend. A dossier of the plans was delivered to the teams on Monday.

Although Eddie Jordan spoke in favour of the changes yesterday, some of his rivals made it clear that they will fight to stop handicapping being introduced.

Williams technical director Patrick Head said: "I find the suggestion of adding ballast to anyone's car distasteful. Will Arsenal have to field nine men when they play Chelsea - or Pete Sampras have two strings cut from his racket when he meets Tim Henman?

"It is just a knee-jerk reaction because Ferrari have been so dominant. But it is up to the other teams to overtake them and that is something we feel we are more than capable of doing."

McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh said: "We will not sign up to any handicapping. Ferrari have done a fantastic job and we and Williams have under-performed. It's up to us to put that right."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezmolo, whose team clearly has the most to lose from such a move, warned that "F1 is not a gymkhana".
 
How will the weight affect the cars' balance? Even if placed carefully, I would guess that weights could cause enough suspension adjusting that teams competitiveness may be adversely effected twice, both in slowing the cars down because of mass and in handling, which is a given but I think the margin of error in set ups for F1 is smaller than it is for GT racing.
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie


Is this a veiled reference to ChampCar?!
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:lol: Actually, Farscape, but your interpretation is funnier.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezmolo, whose team clearly has the most to lose from such a move, warned that "F1 is not a gymkhana".
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:lol: Nice line.

I must admit after I posted this I thought 'there's no way the team bosses will let this go through - not because Ferrari are dominant, but because if they get into a position where they're dominant, they don't want the weight penalties'
 
Originally posted by Talentless
How will the weight affect the cars' balance? Even if placed carefully, I would guess that weights could cause enough suspension adjusting that teams competitiveness may be adversely effected twice, both in slowing the cars down because of mass and in handling, which is a given but I think the margin of error in set ups for F1 is smaller than it is for GT racing.
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That's an interesting question. Since F1 cars are basically built to be under weight, and then ballasted to the minimum weight, how will they cope with simply trying to package the success ballast? I mean an F1 is not like a DTM or BTCC car - there's not exactly any spare room in there.
 
Funny scenario:

Ferrari would find a way to create "sliding", rather than fixed ballast (of which the former is illegal); so the balance of the car would be nicer under braking, turning, acceleration, etc. And if they got caught, the FIA would surely look the other way (like they almost always do for Ferrari). Eventually, everyone would have non-fixed ballast, until the idea was completely scrapped...

Just a thought or two.
 
Very bad idea: imagine you just spent god knows how many millions of $$ to improve your team, get to the top after over 12 years of **** and all the sudden here comes arrows, hasn't been seen for god knows how long, Minardi who in over 16 years of racing has only managed 29 points, Jag and BAR who've spent toooooo much $$ which goes to show that you realy need to know what your doing to get to the top of F1 and the rest of the gang complaining about how much there ass's hurt because ferrari and MS have been kicking it all over the world!!! Give me a break! Plain and simple this should not even be a discussion.

This is formuls 1 we are talking about not some weekend league some where in the back woods of Europe, or any where else in the world for that matter.

Weight restriction my ASSSSS!!!
 

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