Comments on: The foolishness of crowds

By: DG

DG — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:15:41 +0000

On the subject of getting the teams closer to the fans, they would do well to follow the ways of the BTCC, who have a real Pit Walk period during the day of three races where the fans can meet, talk to, get autographs from and be photographed with all the drivers, and if you are lucky you get short visit inside the garage of those more towards the back of the grid.
Also, shouldn’t it be possible for the teams to sell dedicated ‘Kangaroo’ type devices to their fans, and let them hear the team talk during practice and races?
Another aspect that could be borrowed from NASCAR is the non-racing events that happen every so often, usually a Pit Stop Challenge for the Pit Crews. These could be staged in places like the Goodwood Festival, the NEC and Docklands Arena in the UK and similar locations around the world. (Also fulfilling Bernies need to bring F1 into the cities).
There are also the football matches, kayak racing etc that go on between the teams over a race weekend – couldn’t more be done to allow the fans to watch those?

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:43:18 +0000

Yep it's called Kangaroo - more information about it here. But you can't hear much more of the team's radio than you can by watching the television broadcasts.

By: alan

alan — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:59:50 +0000

On the subject of radio – when going to watch rugby at murrayfield you can buy a small radio that gives you the chance to hear the referee’s comments on why penalties or other decisions are given and you can select a commentary as well – never seen snooker? and th same thing for the crowd makes it more enjoable and the fans feel more included with the action – was their not something with video for F1? for hire
openess not secrecy is good for sport to broaden the knowledge of fans and help explain what and why things are happening especially when you can only see part of a circuit

By: Gman

Gman — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:30:14 +0000

Bernification, I had not considered the team orders issue- that most likley is a driving force behind those teams being opposed to opening up the airwaves.

I do agree with those of you who think hearing the radio traffic will make for more interesting and entertaining viewing. As an example on a much smaller scale, I offer the US television broadcasts of the Arena Football League(AFL), a form of American football played on smaller fields at indoor sporting arenas. The AFL has teams in most major American cities and it’s feeder league, the AF2, has teams in many smaller cities, including one here in my area where I work on the gameday crew.

AFL games that are broadcast on American TV have the quarterbacks of both teams with mics in their helmets, allowing the TV audience to hear every play call before it happens. Microphones are also present in the sideline boxes, allowing fans to hear conversations between players and/or coaches after big plays and scoring drives. It’s obviously a much different sport than F1, but the insights this practice brings are amazing, and I can just imagine what it would be like if we were able to hear all the teams and drivers on a race weekend.

By: Pete Walker

Pete Walker — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:17:33 +0000

Its a sad state of affairs when the *governing body* can’t enforce such a simple thing as opening up all radio transmissions. No one team would gain or lose out, and it would not cost the teams more than they spend already.

I agree team order transmissions might be a factor, but I think Ferrari’s refusal is more a case of maximising their opportunities – why risk giving away crucial information when there is no rule enforcing you to?

Its a shame, but thats Ferrari.

I can’t say I agree about waiting to fix the safety car problem. We don’t want a rushed fix, but at the same time, leaving it until next season and allowing more drivers (and there will be more) to lose out through a flawed regulation will only damage F1′s reputation further.

What bothers me most about the latest safety car rules is that we were managing just fine before them. I realise we don’t want drivers racing through a yellow section to reach the pits, but with a sufficient threat of a punishment for blatant disregard of waved yellows, the drivers would respect them.

I can’t help but think that this regulation found its way through because it would help mix up results occasionally, for the ‘benefit’ of the sport.

Cynicism overload this afternoon. Sorry!

By: Michael Counsell

Michael Counsell — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:17:09 +0000

That a good idea but its up to the teams to decide when to pit and how much fuel to leave in the car. McLaren have often made a point of doing this when leading.

Safety cars always bring in a bit of uncertainty and that can only be a good thing. The same rules apply to everyone and the risk of ruining a race can be minimised. I do agree with the title of the post in that for probably 7 out of the 10 teams they are more likely to gain from a front runner being given a penalty for refuelling when the pit lane is closed, than they are to lose out.

When the racings done, all there is to talk about is controversy. Thank God for controversy!!!

By: D Winn

D Winn — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:55:41 +0000

On the subject of fuel behind the safety car -
Would it not be possible for cars to be fitted with a ‘reserve tank’.
It might need to be controlled remotely, and if sensors can be used to monitor lap times, there should be a way to turn on the reserve tanks when the safety car is deployed.
To avoid giving a car an advantage of staying out longer, the reserve tank would need to be ‘refilled’ from the main tank. The cars on reserve must refuel as soon as the pit lane is open.
I am sure there are snags to this, but more on the ‘cheating’ side than the technical.
Feel free to flame me if I am just a mad scientist !

By: William Wilgus

William Wilgus — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:36:58 +0000

Radio communications of no value to competing teams? I distinctly remember hearing `Stay out one more lap.’, etc., during the race. Of no value to a competitor? Hardly.

By: the limit

the limit — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:19:21 +0000

I would love this aspect of modern motor racing to be applied more openly in F1. Sadly, for some teams, it would seem there is no appetite for this at all, which is a big shame.
Getting the fans closer to the teams they support, and the drivers they idiolise cannot be a bad thing, and as for keeping secrets well, some of these teams are pretty crap at keeping secrets anyway. And that has nothing to do with radio conversations.
Taking top secret information to get developed at some high street printers has be the dumbest move in history.

By: Sush

Sush — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:02:49 +0000

Hearing Alonso and Sutil talk about they’re tyres gave them humanity.

Ferrari employ robots.