Alonso hopes new rules are here to stay

2014 F1 season

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Fernando Alonso wants Formula One to keep its new rules unchanged for several years while fans adjust to a new style of racing.

“The new Formula One rules are very different to what we were used to,” he told Ferrari’s website.

“I think the concept of what constitutes a grand prix will actually change this year, with Saturday and Sunday being very different from one another.

“In qualifying, one will be able to get everything out of the car, pushing the new power unit to the limit, trying to get the absolutely best result. But in the race you won’t get anywhere near that level.

“Last year, towards the end of the races, on new tyres, you could do very quick lap times, whereas in the closing stages this year, you will have to bear in mind how much fuel you have left, the state of the batteries and that of the tyres.

“You will need to be very clever to manage these parameters and the new race strategies could see drivers being unable to go flat out to the end.”

“As drivers, we will get used to it quickly and so I hope these rules aren’t immediately overturned and that they stay unchanged for a few years,” he added. “Otherwise the spectators could lose confident in this new Formula 1 which is very complex, even for the viewer.”

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Keith Collantine
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39 comments on “Alonso hopes new rules are here to stay”

  1. After reading the first line, I can only say that YES PLEASE do that.

    1. I agree. Except for DRS, starting on quali tyres for the top 10, double points, and probably a few other things which I’ve tried to repress.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        6th March 2014, 18:03

        hahaha… let’s see if this set of rules suit Alonso better, especially the double points finale.

        1. cheap shot @omarr-pepper !! But valid…

        2. @omarr-pepper
          He would have won the 2012 championship with that rule. ;)

          1. I personally would have hated that… just as I would hate if somebody wins WDC with that stupid rule!

          2. He would also have gotten second in the 2007 WDC with that rule.

        3. @omarr-pepper I’m sure Vettel and maybe Hamilton have better records in season finales than Alonso (except the last two years for Hamilton). Vettel has a great record anyway, so I don’t really see how it suits Alonso.

          1. @craig-o
            Alonso has finished five out of six (bar Abu Dhabi 2010) season finale on the podium. Hamilton’s record is much worse – 7th in 2007 and 5th in 2008.

            Vettel wasn’t exactly imperious in Brazil 2012 either. Finished 6th with a car that was 2nd best behind McLaren. Out-qualified by his teammate, involved in a 1st lap collision.

          2. @kingshark Hamilton wasn’t to blame for retiring from the last race in 2009 or 2012 though. Alonso was not on the podium in 2009 too. Vettel has wins though from season finales, something Alonso hasn’t done since 2005.

          3. @craig-o

            Hamilton wasn’t to blame for retiring from the last race in 2009 or 2012 though.

            Those races weren’t title deciders for him. He retired when not fighting for the WDC. When he was under championship pressure, he looked very average in both 2007 and 2008.

            Alonso was not on the podium in 2009 too.

            Alonso was in WDC contention in 2009?

            Vettel has wins though from season finales, something Alonso hasn’t done since 2005.

            Alonso hasn’t had to win often.

            In 2005 he needed a podium in Brazil, got the job done. McLaren were untouchable on that weekend.
            In 2006 he only needed a point, comfortably got the job done with 2nd place.
            In 2007 he did everything he could have done. 3rd was the maximum for any driver in a McLaren on that weekend, seeing how dominant Ferrari was.
            Abu Dhabi 2010 – the only title decider he underperformed in.
            Brazil 2012 – 2nd place was the maximum for anyone in the F2012. Button in the MP4-27 was something like 20-25 seconds ahead of Alonso/Massa before the SC.

            Alonso’s record in title deciders has been pretty good IMO. He’s never made any silly mistakes and been outperformed by his own teammate in championship deciding races, unlike Hamilton in Brazil 2007 and Vettel in Brazil 2012.

      2. The DRS problem would be so easy to fix: Simply let the drivers use it whenever and however they want. The cars would be faster and there would be no artificial passes.
        FORGET all the rules about when you can use it…it’s up to the driver’s skills to use it and control it all over the track just like the turbo charger on the new V6.

        1. A better analogy I should have used was the KERS.
          Most people don’t hate KERS because you can use it at the drivers discretion anywhere on the track…not some silly rule saying you have to be trailing a car within 1 second. KERS makes the cars faster and so does DRS…so why make DRS so stupid with the current rules????

        2. But if they were to let them use DRS at their own discretion, then it completely negates the need for it, don’t you think. It’s not really like KERS where they would have finite use of it. Realistically they can only use it on straights or long sweeping bends.

          1. @gjessopp Not really. You may have a car with a really high downforce package especially with their rear wing to negotiate turns, and another car that may have a lower drag setup, which would then give them even less drag upon usage.

          2. I don’t see how that doesn’t negate it. What you’re saying is that low drag team keeps a drag advantage over a high drag team even when both cars use DRS So how is that any different to neither using it in the first place?

          3. @gjessopp good question. As @beejis60 points out, it could allow a high downforce setup for corners without the high drag penalty in straights.
            But for the fun aspect, DRS reduces so much drag that its like adding 160hp At top speeds! And at a track like Monza it would save nearly 4MJ per lap which would allow them to race rather than conserve fuel to finish with the 100kg fuel limits!

          4. The whole point of DRS is to reduce drag, and the whole point of these new engines is to use less fuel. Using DRS all the time would allow more fuel to be burnt for acceleration and less maintaining speed. The issue would be where you can use it since the drivers already complained about using it everywhere being too dangerous. If it would be only 1-2 straights like now then it might as well be automatic not driver activated, which would still be ok in my books. Active aero is the next thing in road cars, might as well perfect it in F1.

          5. @daved You are doing an admirable job in selling DRS, but it is of course based on what they could do, but not what they are actually doing with it.

            I don’t think I want to see the challenge removed of the teams having to seek an optimum scenario of high vs. low downforce and having to live with their decision for the race. This ability to instantly shed drag at will with a button by all drivers at once, aside from being even more gadgety, would increase speeds which does not appear to be the direction they want.

            For me fixed wings of low profile, acceptable tires, and no gadgets please, if we’re going to dream of things. I hope this year they have to run less wing in order to help save fuel. I hope this is a good fresh start, and with any luck the beginning of the end of DRS and a continuation of a trend towards less downforce.

          6. @robbie Yes, I think we all agree that the current DRS is abhorrent. I have no idea what they were thinking. That’s why I think I need to stick with my campaign to rename the fix: MAD (Movable AeroDynamics) We’re going to race in anger so we might as well get MAD!! :)
            Anyway, I was thinking the same thing about low downforce vs high downforce setups. I do like to make the teams apply some strategy and live with their choices. But I don’t think fixing DRS would eliminate that, just make them all more aero in general, but they could still have discrepancies in their setups.
            However as @ajanu pointed out, it might make sense to integrate the movable aero into the ECU system or some such. But then, I hate to take the drivers out of the equation as I want things to require them to show their skills. :)

            Robbie, back to your other point. I’d be happier with lower profile wings in general. Actually, I’m not sure why they don’t look at the front wheel spoilers the way F1 did in the 70’s (http://www.britishracecar.com/SteveCook-March-741.htm) or even the way Formula E is doing today. I kind of like the Formula E approach because it leaves room inside of the “spoilers” for them to still do some aero work to differentiate between teams yet reduce the overall aero footprint http://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/29.jpg
            I think it comes down to the fact that I’m a high speed and low aero footprint fan. As you say, I’m not sure that’s the direction they’re going but if they want to keep them racing the whole time on a track like Monza rather than conserving fuel at 100kg….they need to do something in this direction anyway.
            So I’ll continue my private campaign for MAD! :)
            Unless everyone gets really tired of hearing it and tells me to shut up lol

      3. @matt90 I actually think the top 10 qualifiers starting on their qualy tyres is a great idea.

        It’s bad enough when a Marussia or Caterham gets lapped before half race distance. If the top 10 (generally the fastest 10 car/driver combo that weekend) had fresh tyres, it would be a massacre of sorts, they’d just be gone with the wind.

        The move to them starting on their Q2 tyres instead of Q3 is a wise move though. It provides the small handicap needed to avoid the scenario described above, but it doesn’t wear too much on the tyres. A fastest Q2 lap from a top ten contender is usually a completely different beast to their Q3 laps.

        Should be interesting..

        1. If they’re getting lapped anyway, I’m not too fussed if it happens a few laps sooner.

          1. @matt90 It’s not solely them getting lapped. It reduces the chances of anyone outside the top 10 getting into the top 10. Heck, KERS and DRS were introduced to promote overtaking, which was almost a rarity. Fresh tyres for the top ten would be a step back and they’d just add another gimmick to bring back the overtaking that has been lost all over again

          2. they’d just add another gimmick to bring back the overtaking that has been lost all over again

            I don’t see how you expect a huge reduction in overtaking.

  2. He obviously isn’t talking about double-points nonsense, but about technical regulations. DRS and double points, are nonsense to everyone except Bernie. Quali rules are stupid, if you ask me, but at least they are not monumental idiocy like double points.

  3. I’d ban all the radio comms between pits and drivers. A nice fuel indicator for the driver would be enough!! Let the driver make the changes he wants to do, according to his feeling and let the team use the good old pit boards, like we all do in the minor series

    1. I’d like that too. Since none of us wants F1 to be spec series of course, this would be a great way to have drivers make more difference than they do today.

    2. Paul (@frankjaeger)
      6th March 2014, 21:14

      No communication between the pitwall and the drivers? In an age where the cars are becoming increasingly complicated and technological it’s pretty much a safety requirement to have communication between engineers and drivers. I don’t think a driver can absorb all relative knowledge about his car and drive at the same time due to the limited controls and displays in his cockpit

      I would however be in favour of limiting or impeding teams from giving certain orders, but that opens up a whole new kettle of fish..

    3. How would they warn drivers about streakers or dears?

      1. Joshua they wouldn’t. I agree with OBE. A driver capable of remaining focused for nearly 2 hours, taking care of driving, attacking and defending, tires, batteries, diffs, brake bias, temperatures, fuel, traffic, DRS would actually make a big difference.

  4. “In qualifying, one will be able to get everything out of the car, pushing the new power unit to the limit, trying to get the absolutely best result. But in the race you won’t get anywhere near that level”

    well, the 2014 format is a farce. How fun is this???? For sure, people will loose interest in eco-drive racing very quick. I can not understand how the FIA people thinks here. Complete madness! The F1 magic is gone. Sad times.

    1. Like in the ’80s?

      1. Yeah thats right…why are we complaining so much. I was watching some race clips from the 80s turbo era..fuel management was a big deal back then too. The drivers had a display in the cockpit that told them how fuel they had left presented in the number of laps they can do with their current consumption. The only difference is that back then, the driver had to adjust their driving style to use less fuel while keeping the lap times up…now the car does it for them.

        1. Well they still have to adjust their driving style. For example they may end up using more of their depleting mechanical grip while fuel saving to keep the laptime roughly the same. When their tyres begin to go, they may then turn the engine up to compensate.

  5. Do Spainards do irony , probably. Fernando can’t be serious .

      1. Because I have allways looked at his performances as those of a great ‘racer’ ,if he is serious,I am sad to see him accept a future for F1 where most of the event (I can’t call it a race) is run at 80% or thereabouts.

        1. But F1 for the last 30 years at least has been about saving fuel, saving tyres or both. It’s just that as fans and spectators, we have been unaware of it. I doubt if there’s ever Been an F1 race where drivers have had pedal to the metal for it’s entirety. Even 80% of a race @ maximum grunt seems quite high to me. Relax, it’ll be fine.

  6. Feeling old Fernando?

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