The End of Third Cars

[Blake]

Link.

This is a really bad decision in my opinion. Third drivers had a great opportunity to learn how to drive F1 cars at all the circuits that Formula 1 visits. Now they will miss out on a great opportunity.

Makes me sad.

 

[Lee]

Ah that sucks for the current third drivers to show their stuff, Davidson, Kubica, Wurz and co best hope they get a drive for next season...

Bad FIA 👎

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Wow, that sucks. As if it wasn't hard enough to get into an F1 car.

 

[Kylehnat]

That doesn't mean they aren't allowed to still have test drivers; they just can't run on Friday.

I agree: the FIA is going crazy.

 

[Brett]

Does the FIA ever think about any of their rulings before they actually put them in place?

The logic behind this is to force the race drivers to appear on Fridays which at the moment is not happening because the teams are choosing to preserve their engines by not running, and are leaving their testing work to the third drivers. The new rule will mean that test drivers will no longer be able to show their paces.

So they want race drivers to appear on Fridays? Sounds like to me there are going to be very few cars on the track on Fridays next year. Yet another blow to fans watching each F1 race. The FIA should be trying to showcase the cars and get more and more people interested in F1. This ruling does the exact opposite because of the engine regulation regarding engine life.

Well yet another ruling by the FIA that I doubt many fans will agree with. It may be good for cutting costs during the race weekend, but I just see the teams doing more testing at each individual track on the calendar.

 

[kikie]

The FIA should make on 1 important rule; not to make other stupid rules.

 

[Brett]

Good luck on that one! 👍

 

[MustangSVT]

This is stupid. I actually enjoy watching Alex Wurz as well as Robert Kubica running and showing their pace on friday. What's F1 coming to.

 

[Blake]

So they want race drivers to appear on Fridays? Sounds like to me there are going to be very few cars on the track on Fridays next year. Yet another blow to fans watching each F1 race.

Yep. Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, and Toyota all manage to get away with doing very little mileage on Fridays. So will everybody else. This will just destroy an interest that there was in watching the Friday sessions. 👎

 

[TS]

Boo! 👎

 

[Mclaren_Man]

stuff like this is the reason why I havent watched a full GP for over a month now, also I hardly ever post in this F1 section anymore. I dont know if it is a general trend amongst F1 fans, but I am rapidily losing interest in this sport which is a shame. I used to look forward to races now I just set the tape recorder and if I have some spare time I watch the race sometime during the week. Making decisions like this doesnt make sense, I mean seriously what good is coming out of this?

 

[L8 Apex]

This is ridiculous; F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsports technology and prestiege. The FIA's "cost cutting" measures like this one have done little if anything to do so, while at the same time the fans who love the sport as it is, the privateer teams that need every advantage they can get and, in this case, the third drivers who want to showcase their abilities in hopes of landing a race seat all get screwed. 👎
So what's next, Max & Company? Carbuerated V8s and 4-speed transmissions?

 

[Brett]

Yep. Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, and Toyota all manage to get away with doing very little mileage on Fridays. So will everybody else. This will just destroy an interest that there was in watching the Friday sessions. 👎

I don't always catch the Friday practice coverage for every GP, nor do I make a big effort to always catch the coverage; but if I were to be at an actual race, I would like for there to be as much possible going on during the Friday session. Now the Friday practice is going to be completely devoid of any excitement whatsoever. 👎

 

[Kylehnat]

So what's next, Max & Company? Carbuerated V8s and 4-speed transmissions?

WHOA!!! Slow down there, Mr. Future! Starting in 2008, teams will be required to run 1936-spec engines and drivetrains, which must last two full race seasons. Cars will be in parc-ferme for the entire season. All car settings and tire selections must be declared before the season starts, and are not allowed to be changed.

This will give the fans a good show, I'm sure of it.

 

[Solid Lifters]

It's sad to see FIA try so hard to make F1 different that they'll end up destroying it.

And what for? So they can get others involved in the sport that normally couldn't afford to? Don't they have enough teams? Don't they have enough participants? Are current teams complaining about how much money they're spending?

 

[red70mach1]

Nice going FIA. Finding way to limit testing.}:[

 

[Andrew R]

Makes the thought of staying up for Friday practice live timing even less appealing.

Doesn't seem like a very good move at all.

 

[STLbarcelona5]

Well this sucks. I always enjoy getting home from school/work on Fridays and seeing the practice that I just Tivo. Even though the big names aren't out there, it doesn't matter, seeing the mini battles between Davidsion/Wurz/Kubica are always fun.

Gonna miss that.

EDIT:

God, what the hell is the FIA doing . . .

 

[MustangSVT]

Even though the big names aren't out there, it doesn't matter, seeing the mini battles between Davidsion/Wurz/Kubica are always fun.

Agreed. It's even worse if you're going to the GP itself. I went to Nurburgring this year and let me tell ya it's great to see all those cars on friday, they sound great and they have those mini battles. Now there'll be even less to see on Friday. Like F1 needed to offer "less" to its viewers/spectators already.