Shortcuts on F1 tracks? Bernie Ecclestone’s winding everyone up again

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Ecclestone made his suggestion to journalists at Ferrari's event in Italy

Bernie Ecclestone’s contribution to the debate over what should be done to improve racing in F1 is another one of his wind-ups:

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.
Bernie Ecclestone

We’ve had similar ‘ideas’ from Ecclestone before, not least the ‘Gold medals’ plan which was hastily introduced then dropped last year. His ‘shortcuts’ brainwave, reported by Reuters, will surely not be taken seriously.

Unfortunately it may serve to make some of the other poor ideas for “improving the show” hinted at by Stefano Domenicali earlier today seem more palatable.

Predictably Ecclestone didn’t have anything to say about the kind of innovations F1 fans really want to see – like broadcasting more team radio and the long-overdue arrival of HD coverage.

It’s all well and good for those of us who know not to take this kind of thing seriously. But tonight and tomorrow there will be a lot of headlines about the latest crazy, contrived changes being cooked up by F1’s boss.

And that will do the sport’s image no good at all.

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Image (C) Ferrari spa

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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122 comments on “Shortcuts on F1 tracks? Bernie Ecclestone’s winding everyone up again”

  1. I have a great idea to keep the lead changing all the time. Each driver gets one blue shell during the race.

    1. And every lap the driver in last place gets a star for 10 seconds

      1. Yes! We can SO sell this idea to the IRL!

    2. Ha! Exactly what I was thinking!

    3. Perhaps the marshals could scatter some Wumpa Fruit for the drivers to collect on their way round

        1. Haha, I was going to suggest you reposted that video. But I still maintain that Crash Team Racing was better than Mario Kart!

          1. Totally agree with you there..

          2. The second most funny thing i’ve heard today Ned! But I do respect your opinion :)

          3. agreed Ned. i guess ctr felt more like you were racing. mariokart was a bit messy. (still amazing tho!)

          4. I love Mario Kart, really I do, and have done for many years…but CTR was on a whole other level. By far the best kart racing game ever developed.

        2. Ha! That’s brilliant…

      1. wumpa fruit to recharge their KERS

    4. Spot On Tommy!!!

    5. just like in mario kart, it seems that Bernie has been speeding on mushrooms. Its the only explanation for his ideas

    6. You have to give the Coin collecting trick Stallone Does in DRIVEN a chance… it would be a great trick to pull off and award the driver points for every coin picked up (but he’s got to catch it)…

      FIA can install coin cams to thrill the viewers…

      that’s all from me…

      some people called Mosley Mad Max, i think Bernie is the one that truly deserves the Mad pre-fix.

  2. Yeah, we could put wings on the cars as well.
    This isn’t Wacky Races, it’s Formula 1. It should be taken seriously.

  3. Oooh, I see potential here. Once the driver has taken the shortcut, the car could automatically crawl at 30 miles an hour for 8 seconds, whilst the driver desperately tries to keep the car he just overtook behind him.

    And if he takes the shortcut more than 5 times per race, his car could mysteriously run out of fuel. Just like in the games!

  4. Oh dear he doesnt do himself or F1 any favours does he.

  5. The sooner F1 cars start flying the sooner its gonna take the world by storm.

    An if the requirement is ray guns on the cars then i am essentially FOR this motion.

    Anyways ecci is know for being in many ways a very hunmourous man, utterly deadpan and dry humour but a wee bit of a joker streak definately presant.

    This plan is obviously stupid and no one should take it seriously. Like Keith said what we should take seriously is this disaterous plan to introudce mandatory numbers of pitstops.

    1. I long for the days when F1 becomes F3600…

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipeout_%28video_game%29

  6. This would mean a possibility for the least spectacular, the most boring, the most lame “overtaking” manoevers known to mankind.

    1. Wouldn’t that be fun to watch… Anyway if someone was lining up the car in front of them, they’d both just take the shortcut. One of the worst ideas ever. Bernie thinks F1 is just for TV: “It would be good for TV,” but its actually a sport and there is more to it than just providing a spectacle for those who don’t actually like F1.

      There is already sufficient technology to improve the show for fans without changing the rules of the actual sport, only there isn’t sufficient brainpower to implement any such improvements…

  7. They may as well just let them cut chicanes, 5 times a race, and keep the stewards out of it. That idea doesn’t sound HALF as crazy as Ecclestone’s.

  8. How about the cars can spray oil or tacs from behind the cars once a race.

    Bernie will love that one.

    He must have gone clinically insane

  9. I have an idea that will revolutionise F1.

    I suggest adding an extended cockpit so cars can carry a passenger, this passenger can then man a rear mounted mini gun with a limited amount of rounds for the duration of the race.

    Also I suggest that all cars have front mounted machine guns that the driver can use when chasing down another car.

    I would allow a select amount of fans to enter a bidding process where a few can gain access to sniper rifles at select points in the race to take pot shots at anyone they like.

    Lastly I would add 90 degree turns in the track so that cars might pile up and crash out.

    Ohh, I forgot… throw in a few nitro boosts as well Need For Speed style.

    Too much or do you think Bernie might like my ideas?

    1. “Ohh, I forgot… throw in a few nitro boosts as well Need For Speed style.”

      There’s no way F1 will ever have anything like this boost system. Oh wait a minute…

      1. “throw in a few nitro boosts as well Need For Speed style”

        isn’t that what KERS was supposed to do.. kind of

    2. I think we should institute ‘pub rules’. The loser has to run around his car twice with his trousers round his ankles. That’d spice F1 up for us ladies at least ;)

      1. Or instead of switching cars after every race, drink a pint for every lap you lead. Keith, do you know how i can get in touch with bernie?

        1. Turn the lights off, light a candle and say his name three times while looking into a mirror.

  10. HAHAHA! Cue Italian voice announncing “Welcome to-a Mario Kart-a!”

  11. All racing points awarded are multiplied by 12.5 then divided by the size of your underpants, but only after 4:15pm or above 28c.

    1. ummm, thats the V8Supercar point system.

      1. LMAO thats gold!!!!
        As Homer says “its funny cause its true”

  12. People used to say the Earth was flat. People said Fantasy football would never take off. And people used to think the moon was made of cheese! (ok, only loonies thought that) What do we know?!

    My point is mabye in 50 years time people will be sat watching Mario Kart style F1 races thinking: ‘wow, to think F1 never used to have short cuts… madness!!’

  13. People used to say the Earth was flat. People said Fantasy football would never take off. And people used to think the moon was made of cheese! (ok, only loonies thought that) What do we know?!

    My point is mabye in 50 years time people will be sat watching Mario Kart style F1 races thinking: ‘wow, to think F1 never used to have short cuts… madness!!’

    1. Sorry for the unprecedented 5 identical comments, not sure why that’s happened, delete the duplicates

  14. Ive just put a bet on Luigi to become 2025 F1 champion at 1000/1. Marios odds were rubbish at only 50/1 so not worth it.

    1. Nah, you’ll win it! :D

    2. How about Princess Peach and Yoshi? ;)

    3. Luigi never wins though :-P it’s all about Peach!

  15. NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Mr. Ernie Becclestone has lost his last remaining marble gone completely bonkers.

    What a ridiculous idea!

  16. This is crazy talk by Bernie.

    The easiest way to improve overtaking is by limiting braking by reduced size steel brakes, and also shortening the cars so they fit on a track

  17. The sooner that lad withers and dies the better, he really needs to clean the crap between his ears!
    The day F1 has “shortcuts” is the day i stop following F1.

    Perhaps the drivers can have banana skins to shoot out the car and whoever is last can have a magic mushroom or a Harry Potter spell!

    I am very worried by this man who is not fit to continue his job.

  18. OK Ned you’ve made your point. ;)

    But seriously, I’m not sure what we can do to prevent races from being dull. Maybe the FIA could ban wings altogether?

    1. without refuelling, the only thing needed now is reduction in aero performance. the fact that it is possible for a trulli train to exist is all the proof anyone should need that something is wrong with the cars.

    2. Not sure Red Bull would vote for banning wings…

  19. I think bernie should stop smoking things before he gives interviews…

  20. At least now we really know that Bernie is too old to run F1 business.

    By the way, Steven, from Checkpoint10 blog, have a good idea on his blog about shortcuts.

    http://checkpoint10.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-improve-overtaking-without.html

    Below an excerpt from his post:

    As two drivers approach the “T” split between Turns 9 and 10 [ín Cataluña], they can choose to either turn right or turn left. The slightly faster driver would choose the direction his opponent does not, and try to push hard enough to emerge ahead of his opponent on the exit. Both paths are identical and would result in the same lap time. The section where the paths merge would be designed in such a way as to allow for maximum visibility for the two drivers involved. In fact, if the overtaking maneuver turns out to be incomplete, a driver might have the option of placing his opponent onto the tricky side of the circuit approaching the next corner.

    1. Terry Fabulous
      13th January 2010, 22:53

      I like it! Nice idea.

      Look I think we need to be aware that comment like this are not serious but they do challenge us to reconsider the sacred rules of our sport in order to make it more exciting.

      I’m sure twenty years ago if you had suggested KERS to and F1 fan you would have gotten a similar reaction to what this proposal is getting now.

      After a year in which a clever interpretation of the rules managed to undo all of the hard work that the OWG had done, maybe we do need to think more radically about ways to encourage overtaking.

      1. “twenty years ago if you had suggested KERS to and F1 fan you would have gotten a similar reaction”

        I feel that way NOW. KERS is hardly any better than this, but people shut their eyes and put their fingers in their ears because they don’t want to be forced to realize what a joke the sport has become – closer to ‘professional wrestling’ than motorsport.

        People who support KERS and similar measures should stay away from race tracks and hang out at WWE matches where they belong.

  21. Terry Fabulous
    13th January 2010, 22:48

    Interestingly, there is a novel by Matthew Reilly called Hovercraft Racer (an easy summer read) which is based losely on Formula 1.

    One of the features of the races is that they have devilishly difficult and confusing shortcuts that drivers have the option to take if they can’t overtake.

    It certainly did spice the races up in the book.

    1. Terry Fabulous
      13th January 2010, 22:59

      http://www.amazon.com/Full-Throttle-Hover-Car-Racer/dp/1416902287/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_10

      Worth a look if you want an amusing three to four hour diversion

  22. This is F1!!!!

    Not some virtual racing series, some of the ideas on here sound like they could be off a racing game or something.

    Racing should be done on the track, the track that everybody else uses not some short cut/extra bit of track, for the driver to run along to gain advantage. This isn’t mario karts or some other type of futuristic or cartoon racing game.

    Obviously Bernie is getting too old, and after comments like this more people will now see he is missing a few marbles, or perhaps he’s a sausage short of the BBQ.

    1. Don’t you like our ideas?

      1. I think there ok, it’s not F1 though

  23. Finally passing returns to F1. Bernie you are a genius.

  24. Prisoner Monkeys
    13th January 2010, 23:32

    Okay, let’s be serious for a moment. We’ll ignore the fact that Ecclestone’s idea is rubbish for the time being, and humour him. First of all, the idea of a short cut isn’t going to work. I don’t see how you could reasonably enforce it, unless you’re intending to disqualify a driver uses it too often. And secondly, it would be a very cheap form of passing.

    But there may be a solution, as wild as it sounds: a split circuit. Here’s the idea: I’ve been following you and I just can’t get past no matter what I try. As we come up to the split section, you go left and I go right. The split would be a mirror image of itself: exactly the same length, consisting of exactly the same layout. And they’d be fairly short. It becomes a race to see who can clear that section faster. They’d also be very close together so that the fans could see who was racing who the entire time.

    The obvious downside is that the split section would have to be in the middle of a straight. You couldn’t stick it too close to an actual bend, because then one would have a better racing line and no-one would use the other. And there’s the obvious hazard of a divider sticking up in the middle of a circuit; I don’t want to imagine what would happen if someone hit it. Then again, you could get around that by having road markings so that the cars get split long before the actual barrier appears.

    Of course, it would never take. People want to see passing actual passing that is a result of skill, not because a driver takes a shortcut.

    1. you wouldn’t need a barrier just a line. the car in front would have to pick one side of the line and the following car could use the other to try and overtake.

      1. Prisoner Monkeys
        14th January 2010, 0:07

        That’s the whole idea. There would have to be a few turns in the split section instead of simply having a straight-line path to give both drivers a fighting chance, but it’s the only possible way I could see it working.

        Of course, it will never happen.

      2. I second this idea. Champ Car introduced exactly this rule in some of its street circuits in 2007 and it was a *huge* success. The idea is simple–paint a white line down the middle of the track just the braking zones for corners that present passing opportunities, and the drivers are not allowed to cross it. The driver ahead can defend by choosing the inside, but the attacker is then free to use the outside braking zone to outbrake. It worked–the result was that at San Jose, a ridiculously tight street circuit (length 1.44 mi) that had previously been a processional, the winner came from 15th on the grid.

        Now, the genesis of the idea was that it was going to be a way to enforce Champ Car’s no blocking rule, which is traditionally enforced in US road racing a bit more rigorously than in Europe. And it may not be quite as effective in F1 as the steel brakes Champ Car used increase braking distance. But I still think this is something that F1 should adopting, if only at Singapore and Valencia. It’s a fair rule, it’s not outlandish like Bernie’s shortcuts or (to a lesser extent) split tracks, and the cost of implementation is that of a bucket of paint.

        1. Oops, didn’t see Prisoner Monkey’s reply. Just to be clear, Champ Car’s line was painted in the braking zones only, to eliminate weaving and blocking under braking–it didn’t extend into the corner or create separate lanes through the corners themselves. Again, in Champ Car, they were highly effective and turned street circuits into very racey affairs.

    2. HounslowBusGarage
      14th January 2010, 7:36

      The split track – ‘joker’ track – is in use in European Rallycross and has been for a couple of years.
      To be honest, it can get a bit confusing and of course it’s only manageable in a race of four or five laps where each car must use the Joker track once.
      I don’t really think it’s viable for 26 cars over 60 or 70 laps.

  25. Those that say Bernie has lost it and should step down have just gained some ammo…

    I really hope this was Bernie being clever, i.e. saying something just so it would get him and F1 in the media – If I was him, I’d do such things and sit back and laugh as the media go crazy over it. Well done Bernie!

    On a side note, what would you do if you owned F1? http://bit.ly/Ecclestone – he’s a top bloke, but time to step down?? It can’t be far off, surely…

  26. I said on the previous story that F1 was shooting itself in the foot by constantly messing around with the points system, but this takes things to a whole new level. Bernie clearly sees the future of F1 as a big joke. If he can’t take it seriously then its time for him to go!

    1. Bernie is a clown in the formula 1 circus.

  27. Bernie’s age is definitely catching up with him.

  28. Each car should carry a 2 gallon tank of oil that they can spill onto the track to mess up the others. Orrrr…the crowd should be able to pelt them with banana peels.

  29. a bit like Scalextric’s most modern versions :P

    this guy is nuts! :D

  30. Bernie has gone mad.How can shortcut be good for TV?
    HD will be much better for TV.
    I don’t know what changes they will make in 2010,but I hope they don’t bring mandatory pit stop & shorten the race distance to 250 km from 305 km.

  31. … even then I wouldn´t want Piquet near a F1 event…

  32. This idea is not new, remember reading about this in Autosport maybe 10-15 yrs ago ?

  33. It’s the sought of thing a 5 year old would come up with.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      14th January 2010, 4:51

      This might be a solution:

      http://www.tracksplit.com/

      1. interesting idea PM, as I have read your above post as well.

        However you have to take into account that the split track will never be the same as the original due to firstly the cleanliness of the track, the amount of tyre residue, the track temperature,.. etc; by taking the split side the driver could in fact spin off or end up going slower ;).. simply because one of the split sides of the track may not have been used as much as the other, and may have considerably different asphalt conditions

        However, overall I think it is a good idea and should be implemented :]

        1. Prisoner Monkeys
          14th January 2010, 23:15

          That’s why you add a split track from the very beginning – so that it is always a part of things. There’s no way you could reasonably add one to Spa or Monza …

  34. Bernie realises that many new tracks- prett ymuch all tracks, in fact- have multiple different configurations, so this is his way of using that to stir up controversey and PR.

    Yawn….what else is new?

  35. the only short cut Bernie needs to consider is to his hair

    1. LOL. I’d add to that another shortcut he should consider – to his career…

  36. OMG! Bernie must be on something!

    I just read a report in Autosport where he made a few good suggestions (allowing single car entries and customer chassis) and thought “well done Bernie, at last he is starting to make some sense”, then he comes out with this nonsense!

  37. LOOOOOOOLLL
    imagine at monza. straight on through the chicane..then another car is just exiting the chicane. BOOM a 200mph inpact.. great for tv! (sarcastic)

    Turbos > shortcuts tbh.

  38. Some of the ideas from tracksplit.com are actually quite interesting. Logistically, the split would have to be symmetrical as well as equidistant. If they were only equidistant (left split is a slow corner then fast corner; right split is a fast corner then slow corner) the difference in speed between two converging cars would be a recipe for disaster.

    Secondly, all other things being equal, there would still be an optimum line. If we were to take Cataluña (between 9 and 10) as an example, given that it a clockwise circuit, it therefore has more right handers. So, naturally, drivers would be inclined to use one side more than the other in order to minimise/equalise tyre wear. Then, when the opportunity arises to overtake someone using the split, the less used section will have all the problems that afflict the car’s when they run off line now (dirt, marbles etc.)

  39. This isn’t a shortcut, but a return to the full (but now incomplete) track at Monza would be great. :)

  40. Improving the show… Reduce downforce, increase mechanical grip and maybe increase engine power (turbo’s maybe? there very common among road cars nowadays) and voila, f1 is f1 again.

  41. HounslowBusGarage
    14th January 2010, 8:34

    Bernie’s new proposal is ‘Medals’ all over again!

  42. Talk about silly season….

  43. OH MY GOD. ahahaha, Bernie.

  44. How about not changing anything.

  45. This may be a joke from Ecclestone but what sort of message does it send out to the general public when one of the most powerful figures in F1 comes out with something like this?

    Perhaps it is the old tactic of make some outlandish suggestions in the hope of that people will be more likely to accept his other ideas, well personally I am sick of this type of thing from the people in charge of F1.

    1. “This may be a joke from Ecclestone but what sort of message does it send out to the general public when one of the most powerful figures in F1 comes out with something like this?

      Perhaps it is the old tactic of make some outlandish suggestions in the hope of that people will be more likely to accept his other ideas,”

      I agree, and I think that Bernie may be more smarter then we all think. Simply put, he knows that it is a funny idea but he is placing a seed to trigger something better. Overall, the message Bernie sends to everyone is “go on lets see what idea you can come up with, because at least I came up with something”. So at least he is “working” the problem, even though it may not be a solution.

  46. Was one of the reason for banning refuelling to simplify race tactics so it was not confusing to the occasionally fans. Adding these shortcuts adds another stratagy and if you start watching a race late you will have no idea of who has what left etc. Thought Bernie wanted to make racing simpler and more exciting.

    The Best way to make F1 better is for bernie to hand the reigns over to someone who cares about the sport!

    And at least the fia won’t be biased to Ferrari this year now they have a new (ex ferrari) man in charge!

  47. Bernie should leave it the hell alone so that we all have something to complain about this season!

  48. David Sherwood
    14th January 2010, 10:45

    Is this Bernie’s answer to Tilke?

    How about a half way solution – make corner entries and exits on Tilke’s boring circuits a little bit wider, so that cars can outbreak, carry more speed through a corner and then out accelerate the car they are trying to overtake.

    Having said that, please do not think I am in anyway trying to justify the actions of a man(?) who must shoulder at least 50% of the responsibility, along with Mad Max, for getting F1 into the state it is now.

    As for a fixed number of Pit Stops, why don’t they announce the finishing order before the start of the race? The number of Pit Stops, along with all the other elements of car setup and race strategy are one of the variables that allow a team to play to the strengths of their cars and drivers. Are we heading towards a fixed engine / chassis formula that stops every 10 laps?

    Ban aero and open up the rest of the technology!

  49. It must be a joke. Well I really hope it is. Bernie’s just an attention whore.

  50. If he wants to improve ‘the show’ then why not ban all the rules they have restricting what the new tracks can be like, have higher speed corners and more gradient changes that will make the tracks a lot more interesting and the races a lot more exciting!

  51. F1 needed a good chuckle after last week’s Flavio farce, so it’s good to see Bernie come out with another classic.

    I find myself liking the idea of having split sections of the course, and then reminding myself that I’m an F1 fan and not to entertain the idea ;-)

    Hopefully though, as Terry has said, it’ll challenge assumptions in a positive way, namely that if the only alternatives to reducing aero is this nonsense, then it’ll make the powers-that-be realise that reducing aero has to be done!

  52. If they want to bump up the entertainment value they should use more figure 8 tracks with ramps in the middle so the cars have to cross each other in mid air. Might need a few more drivers and cost a bit more for the teams but i bet it would get ratings!

  53. I’d like to see more echelons than shortcuts…

  54. David Sherwood
    14th January 2010, 12:31

    Let’s have a “loop the loop” like my old Hot Wheels track used to have and instead of fly overs, why not crossovers and miss out the centre section of bridges so cars have to leap across.

    No, hang on, we are talking about a serious sport, not stunt car racing, although the Piquets may have other ideas.

    Please, somebody, get a grip on Ecclestone (preferably his neck!) and stop him making F1 an even bigger laughing stock than FOM and the FIA have already achieved. Rules are made up as they go along, procedures are farcical (see Briatore and the French courts), partisanship and bigotry are rife and instead of it being a technology showcase, it is a miserable shadow of what it should be.

    F1 should have lead the sporting events being broadcast in HD, they should be looking at 3D now.

    New tracks should be better than older ones, not complete wastes of tarmac, that look pretty, which is just as well as no one is watching the cars.

    The sport should be leading the world in environmentally beneficial engineering and so on.

    That it is not anywhere near any of these is a sad reflection on those that are in charge.

  55. Accidental Mick
    14th January 2010, 13:15

    Oh how I wish that the teams had had the guts last year to form a breakaway series.

    1. Oh how I wish F1’s rules and regulation were developed by engineers rather than solicitors, businessmen or accountants. I’m going to set up my own race series and call it F0. And if that doesn’t work out we’ll have The Historic People Carrier Racing Championship Challenge instead.

      1. “I’m going to set up my own race series and call it F0.”

        Sorry – Nintendo beat you to it.

        1. Blast

  56. Someone PLEASE put this man in Asylum.

  57. i think Jonathan Ross’s idea about about the last lap being done on foot was a great idea :D

  58. Stupid Idea. Need we say more.

  59. Funny stuff to say the least. But lets look at it another way. I believe that Bernie, although very old, may not as stupid as we all think. His idea may be laughable but one could say that at least he come up with one! To start a conversation with “Imagine a shortcut.. ” is in itself a seed to think of a similar idea or something even better. We can all agree that we are sick and tired of a faster F1 cars not being able to overtake a considerably slower one. So even though his idea is funny, at least it helps trigger designers to think and come up with similar or better solutions – such as the split track mentioned above by PM.

    1. Bernie, may not be as stupid as we all think.

  60. That has to be the second worst idea about ”improving the show”. The first one is Max’s idea about making drivers switch teams every race…

    On a more serious note, Joe Saward says on his blog that was a tongue in cheek comment and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

  61. Doubt he knows what HD is!

  62. lol lol lol @ Bernie Ecclestone! Did he get nervous because Formula 1 has not generated a big enough headline in the last say 3 hours…

  63. Bernie is the idiot savant of F1. Totally incomprehensible ideas, but we/me always wind up asking the question: What brilliant concept could he be thinking of, that we are all missing?

    Even a blind squirrel finds the occasional acorn.

  64. So everyone has the same short cuts available 5 times in a race right?
    So just how does that address the passing issue?
    Just another BE idiotic suggestion.
    I do wish he was put out to pasture.

  65. How about allowing each team to crash one of their cars on purpose and deploy safety car. That will bring excitement surely, it is tried and true after all!

    And teams will have to choose between going for an unlikely race win vs collecting championship points with both cars. See, there is even strategy involved. I think it is genius!

  66. We should have F1 drivers start the race Le-Mans style where they run to the car to start their engines. But the catch will be that the driver on pole will have to run the length of the entire pit lane while the driver who is last will just be in front of his garage. Mechanics should also not be allowed during the start process and the drivers will have to start the cars themselves. Only their engineers will help them buckle up!

  67. How does someone like this get control and stay in control of F1? It is because of people like this that the GFC threw the world in a spin last year.

    Maybe he mentioned short cuts to make reverse grids look like an acceptable compromise.

    I think the link to Computer games in this discussion is an interesting one as I have no doubt that we will see this sort of racing appearing in future years. You only have to look at slamball ( On OneHD here in Oz) and it will remind you of the old NBA Jam arcade game.

    The question is which computer game/ sci-fi film will be closest to the emerging sports. do we get Wipeout or Nitro Crash Kart or is it Death Race or Pod racing from Star Wars?

    no matter the choice it is not just about the racing. There is always power ups and pain!

  68. short what? oh cut. Sorry Bernie ;)

  69. What about for one race they throw Bernie in the racing line. That should break the lap record

  70. Employ a sniper to take pot shots at drivers tyres, that’ll make things more interesting!

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