Rabid F1 fan here. What do you think about the introduction of DRS? (DRS is a "drag reduction system" which allows drivers to move the rear wing to reduce drag when passing.)
I like that it's making the race more exciting with more passing, but it doesn't really seem like a fair race at the end. For example, a driver could lead the whole race and then get passed in the last lap due to the unfair advantage of the DRS.
I know this will probably sound heretical, but I think that there's no such thing as an "unfair advantage". If we really wanted to see technical innovation in F1, there would be virtually no restrictions on the cars - just some basic safety stuff for the drivers.
that would be boring since it would basically mean the biggest wallet always wins. by limiting the cost and finding ways to equalize the cars, we get more exciting races.
as for innovation: there is constant innovation. unfortunately teams are not in the habit of telling the world about parts you don't see.
btw, the other day I learned that they use 3D printers to manufacture parts for the gearboxes. 3D printers that can can print metal parts. (I'm not sure if they use titanium parts, but according to a guy from Cloudfab, the titanium 3D printing process produces results that are superior to casting)
Well the problem with that is that most of the best innovations come in the face of these restrictions. Nearly every advancement we have in cars today come from F1 in some for or another and many of them due to some restriction (e.g. restriction on motor size leading to much more efficient motors than we had before).
But the DRS does have a lot of rules which may deem it unfair. For example, if one car is leading and another following, the following car is allowed to use DRS, but the leading car isn't.
due to the aerodynamics you generally need a 1 to 1.5 second per lap speed advantage to pass a car. as soon as you get close to the car in front you lose a lot of downforce. this would not be a problem if the cars were always moving in a straight line.
to even out the playing field DRS is activated if you are closer to the guy in front than 1 second at a certain point on the track. once activated the DRS system can be deployed beyond a certain point.
the alternative is to keep the wings and have parades with almost no overtaking. or no wings, which would mean no more exciting 5.5g seventh gear turns. which would kinda suck.
I can't imagine how many drivers would be killed each year if there were no restrictions. Safety measures can only do so much good with the amount of energy that would be thrown around.
This is the story of the 60s and 70s in F1. The BBC recently aired a brilliant documentary about that era and the abysmal safety record. Drivers were dying every few races.
Sure, but it would be so awful to watch that it wouldn't survive longer than five years. Schumacher's Ferrari domination years were just terrible for fans.
Not really, the car behind still needs to get in the one second window to have the advantage of DRS.
They still need to tweak it so that passing isn't too easy but thats just a case of trial and error, they'll get it right eventually. If you compare this with last year (and particularly 2009) when cars could be up to three seconds a lap faster but still not be able to pass the car in front, it was obvious that something needed to be done.
I am surprised they would use something like this. Formula one has experimented with variable geometry before, and the conclusion was that it is very dangerous, because a fault with the variable geometry can cause nasty crashes. If this thing gets stuck in drag reduction mode and the driver does not realize that it is stuck, the car will not have enough down force to take the turns at the speed the driver is used to, so it will slam into the wall in the first turn.
So we will see how it works, but it is very dangerous.
I think there is a noticeable slowdown when the wing goes back into normal position so the driver will know if something doesn't work. It may still be a problem.
I don't think the last race did the DRS right, but the first few races used the DRS better. The point is the DRS should bring a driver almost along side, so if you have the advantage in terms of grip, you'd be able to pass. Before the DRS, you can be catching a car 1+ seconds a lap, but can't get close enough because you start hitting the turbulent air from the car in front. The whole point is to get rid of this problem without making passing too easy.
I like that it's making the race more exciting with more passing, but it doesn't really seem like a fair race at the end. For example, a driver could lead the whole race and then get passed in the last lap due to the unfair advantage of the DRS.