Horner: 2021 rules should focus on driver influence
- Published on 01 Jun 2019 12:54
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the new regulations that are set to be introduced in 2021 should focus on improving the influence of the driver in the car.
F1 is set to soon sign off rules for the 2021 season, which include changes to both the technical and sporting side of the regulations.
The 2019 season has seen Mercedes take six consecutive victories, while it also won the last two races of 2018, meaning its winning streak stretches back eight races.
MORE: Horner: Verstappen leading Red Bull development | Porsche built 2021 engine before F1 interest diminished
While Horner maintains that Formula 1 should shift to have more teams competing for race victories, he believes that the driver should be able to show their skills more and have more of an impact in how the race result shapes up.
"Hopefully, the concept of what they are looking at should put more inference on the driver to be a bigger variable than he or she can currently be,” Horner said.
“That’s what Formula 1 desperately needs. It needs the drivers to be the stars, to be modern-day chariot racers and that we have wheel-to-wheel, exciting, and unpredictable racing.
“Serial winning like we have at the moment, the teams in many respects are getting too good at predicting the outcome of a weekend with the updates they introduce."
Horner maintains respect for dominant Mercedes
However, Horner keeps his admiration for the Mercedes outfit, who is yet to be defeated in the world championship fight in the turbo hybrid era.
“But hats off to Mercedes," Horner added. "They’ve done a better job than anybody to be in the position they are. But hopefully the technical regulations will be the biggest driver to shuffle that around and change that, and hopefully introduce more variance.”
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Replies (8)
Login to replyf1ski
Posts: 726
They way you do that is allow differing strategies to make up more time than absolute lap time difference in qualifying. Let teams refuel
If a team makes 1 stop they need to use 2 different compounds. If they stop 2 times or more one compound can be enough. Allow more fuel to be consumed to allow engine manufacturers more rule to make power while enhancing longevity(eliminates or reduces the need to burn oil). This will allow drivers to save tires and fuel while still being fast or drivers can go all out for the duration of the race to make up time lost in the pits. Bring in a over boost mode that can be used like in Indy car that will allow more passing keep this info private to each team so
teams can't communicate to the drivers . A greater spectacle will bring more fans in.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Yeah, some of this issue could be resolved that way, such as mandating that the teams use all 3 compounds during the race. But I think offering differing strategies would highlight the strategists more than the drivers.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Didn't hear Horner whinging when Red Bull was winning consecutive championships.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Always that way, innit? All fine when you are winning, but when shit hits the fan it's time to pull out the pitchfork-shaped tongues.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
No to refuelling. It doesn't make sense in a time when we want engines to become efficient. Anyone can build a fast engine that can gurgle as much fuel as I gurgled booze when I played my F1 drinking game back when Renault and Honda were busy playing whom can use the most components. The task at hand is to build a fast yet efficient package. Besides, how would it level the field? The midfield can be as creative as they please with strategy, it won't help against the current top 3. Let alone a pitstop extended due to refuelling.
My suggestions are the following:
-Allow more allocations, or at least allow free choice of X amount of allocations. They can grab X amount to allocate into ICEs if need be, or split them... as any sane team would...
-Do not penalize drivers whom loses their PU due to e.g incidents they were caught in, not causing
-If there is a team-related issue, punish the team, not the driver
-Implement a budget cap. Even a soft cap would at this rate work wonders to level the field, and levelling is what we need
-Implement some kind of BoP block, where the teams with the most points cannot introduce certain upgrades
-Allow teams to use one compound during an entire race. This might be a bad idea, but this could be circumvented in that at least one set has to be "used". More or less just throwing it out there
-It might be a good idea to ban double-pitting. Not so much for improving racing as for safety, but it has lead to a few concerning situations, Monaco coming to mind
At the end of the day, there is only one way to make F1 focus on the drivers, and that would be to make it into anything but F1. F1 is a mixture of an engineering sport, a team sport and a driver sport. Removing one of these pillars would lead to it crumbling into the dark abyss of boredom.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Largely agree, especially with that last part. It's in F1s DNA to have some teams at the sharp end of development, usually the ones with the big bucks, and in order to really level the playing field you would need to have all the drivers in the same identical cars, which just ain't F1.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
I agree with some of the points but not all. I think it is good for F1 to have periods of dominance, this is, after all F1 - it's an engineering sport, this is not the place you want to see mediocrity, if you do, go watch touring cars. The best drivers always end up in the best cars - fact. It is for the rest of the teams to work out the pro's and cons of being in F1 - do they have the budget and or desire to reach the top? Rule changes are a key event for the designers, we've seen many many times how changes make racing interesting change the order, look at Brawn and the double diffuser. So, below a few things I would vote for to make the spectacle more of a spectacle
1. Stop racing at any track that doesn't offer overtaking.
2. Better distribution of prize money and and end to Ferrari's annual legacy payment (USD100m per annum?)
3. End 'B' teams - not because of the business model itself, but because of the anti-competitive element this essentially introduces
4. End pit-wall race strategy management - bring back the old fashioned 'feel' and 'judgement' skills for the drivers - let them drive the car they want, if they burn the tyres, great, their choice......get back to humans winning races and not scenario planning
F1 has a lot to be proud of, but it is too predictable, Horner is right in saying it has to be more about the driver.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
1. I find variety to be an important element in racing, so I'd prefer if they simply altered such tracks to promote overtaking.
2. Agreed, and Liberty has actually already altered that system to an extent (that is, the prizes are more proportionate nowadays, though legacy teams still get legacy bonuses).
3. I would agree, but remember that this is how teams like STR and Sauber survive. I'd rather see them remain than to remove B-teams. The influence the A-teams have over them can however be regulated with decent success, methinks.
4. This was already tested, and it was a shitshow. I personally don't think it would work a second time.