What Now?: Qualifying Edition

More possible changes to the Formula One I know and love? Maybe. The new rumor that has spread to the world’s press is that qualifying is now about to go under the knife and come out looking much different. Why? Why does something that works need to be changed? As I wrote in my last piece, it seems as though when F1 is working well, someone has to screw things up by changing something that is universally regarded as being the best way.

            First they took away the good looks of the cars, then they went and screwed over North America while getting an Oriental Massage, and now they want to change the format of qualifying that has worked very well for the last couple of years!!?? Dammit, just stop.

            The main change comes from the fact that there would not be a three tier qualifying format any longer. Essentially the first part of qualifying would be a 14-lap sprint race that would eliminate the slowest car after every lap. This leads to a lot of messy problems. For one thing, drivers have been complaining for years about traffic in the first session of qualifying, and now they want to put all 20 cars on track for 14 flying laps? What the hell are they thinking? If a faster driver happens to have a slip, or loses all sorts of time behind a slower car, he will be eliminated, and that will lead to accusations and finger pointing. I really don’t see any upside to this new format that is on the table.

            Or look at it this way: Have you ever played a video game in which there was an elimination race? If you have, then you know the frustration that sets in when you are trying to get some clean air, or just trying to keep the car on the track. If you slip up, you can just restart the race and do it over, but these guys can’t. I don’t think anyone has looked into that. And what if two guys are racing for a grid position, and they get into an accident? Like I said, it will be crowded out there, and with these new wings, there is bound to be some contact. Will they be allowed to fix their cars without penalty, or would they be relegated even further down the grid?

            This opens a whole can of worms that should have never even been brought to the fishing hole. When the dust settles, and the final six are left, they will go out again – like Q3 now – and vie for pole position and a possible World Championship point….oh wait, so now there are going to be points? So how will points figure in if Bernie wants medals? Will the points only go toward the Constructor’s Championship, or will there be some sort of double secret point system in use for the drivers that we won’t know about until the season is over? See, this thing is getting way too convoluted and we are still over 120 days away from the season opener in Melbourne.

            So I ask again: What is wrong with the way it works now? Why does every part of a Grand Prix always have to change? Can’t we just have something continue from one year to the next without it drastically changing? Get Bernie out and leave the sport to prosper by itself. If this is the way that Formula One is going to be run, I’m not sure how much longer the sport will survive.

The Ugliest Racing Cars Ever

            I agree with Christian Klein. His assessment of the new BMW Sauber – and to a large extent the rest of the F1 field – is that it is the ugliest Formula One car he has ever seen. Why in the name of all that is holy did they go from a gorgeous, swoopy, technically superior shape to one that is square, boxy, upright and looks too skinny at the back and too wide at the front? Mr. Dictator Until My Body Is Six Feet Under (Bernie Ecclestone) will tell you that it is for the betterment of the racing; that there will be more chances to pass other cars with less downforce. As good as that may sound, it sure turned out to look like the ass end of drunken mule.

            Why is there this incessant need to change the sport every year? Can’t they – and by “they,” I mean Bernie – just leave the regulations and the sport alone so it can grow into something great. It seems like there have been massive rule changes every year now for the past decade. And while some have certainly worked (three tier qualifying) most have not or look like they won’t (single lap qualifying, these butt ugly new cars, possibly the new medal system).

            Why is it that one man can have such control over a race series? Shouldn’t there be a committee that votes as a Democratic unit rather than have some egomaniacal dictator and czar run the show? Wow, what a crazy idea! I mean, that would never work in the real world, so how could it ever work for a series of races? Of course I’m being sarcastic now.

            Back to these ugly new cars though. I have put up a couple of pictures below that highlight the difference in the two cars. The first one is from 2008 and you can see how that car looks just so right. It has swoops in all the right places and the dimensions are such that it doesn’t instantly cause you to puke when you see it.

In the pictures below, you can see just how BMW have made their car to conform to the new 2009 rules, and my god it is one horrid looking machine. The rear wing is far to skinny, the front wing is way too wide and the whole car just looks upright and too tall; like it would fall on its face when it comes to a corner.

            Of course, it being a Formula One car, that won’t happen. But what might happen, and what Mr. Klein thinks will happen is that we will see many more front wings coming off the cars. And I can see how he thinks that. Take a look at this picture and tell me how these F1 drivers are going to do any wheel-to-wheel racing.

It can’t be done anymore. If there is even the slightest bit of contact, the whole wing will be ripped off of both cars and any car behind them will be in a world of trouble as well. The wing seems to stick out beyond the wheels on either side. If this is how a 2009 spec car is going to look, then expect that first corner in Melbourne to be a bit of a doozy.

            I am going to go on record as saying that this next year will be a rebuilding year for F1. With no races on the North American continent, no race in France (for the first time in forever), a new race in Abu Dhabi plus that stupid race in Valencia, medals on the podium and uglier cars than what run around in NASCAR, this season will be the most disappointing in years and will hopefully spell the end of Bernie as head of FOM. Please teams, just rise up against him and say no. Bring back the pre-2003 point system and make some better looking cars and just start racing again. Everything Bernie does just hurts this series.

No Points For You!

            And here I thought that the Olympics wouldn’t be seen for another couple of years. Unfortunately for me, and maybe many F1 fans, the FIA (read King/Dictator until the day he dies Bernie Ecclestone) has recently announced his plans to rid the sport of the horrid points system for the drivers. What?!!? Now the drivers on the podium will receive gold, silver and bronze medals for finishing in first, second and third. Listen, this is dumb. Not only does giving out medals make a mockery of the whole trophy ceremony, but no one will care anymore about who finishes in what place. The FIA already changed the points system back in 2002 to keep Michael Schumacher from winning halfway through the season. However, since they have gone to this new system, the last two years have come down to the final race, and both have been massively exciting.

            I’m not sure how the new medal system will work out, but it may end up being like the old one flying lap qualifying sessions that were boring and contrite. Why not go back to the old, pre-2003 system and make a larger points spread for finishing first. I don’t care that one driver has won three gold medals, four silver and one bronze to the other drivers four gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze because the first driver would have 68 points under the current points system to 66 points for the other driver, and yet the second driver would win because he finished in first more times. Plus, under the pre-2003 scoring system, the two drivers would be tied with 58 points and the championship would again go down to the wire.

            I really do believe that the points system is the way to go, and they should work on figuring that out instead of handing out medals. Plus, in these days of cutting costs, how much more does the FIA plan on spending on gold, silver and bronze materials? The last time I checked, handing someone some points cost about….oh….nothing. But of course, cost-cutting measures are another subject for another day. I will give this a chance, but I really do think it will come back to bite the FIA and F1 in the butt when it really comes down to it because, just like this year with everyone griping about the points system, the teams will be griping about the medals come the end of the year.