What a stir Newey and Brawn created with the whole "doubel diffuser"!

Now it will become a footnote in F1 history . . .

 

Seems like they have been banning everything in the past couple of years..

 

It really did set the tone for last season when Brawn was far and away the fastest team with the double diffuser. It's not like they'd be the only ones with the diffuser at the beginning of the season this year again but I'm cool with the FIA banning them just for the sake of consistency.

On the other hand, I really wish they'd bring KERS back. Maybe not make it mandatory, but offer certain benefits to teams that used it (perhaps give them $1M per race they used it or offered them an extra constructors point per race). I really saw that as a huge leap forward for the sport and it kept the racing really interesting by adding an extra level of technology that the sport has been missing for so long.

 

Like Horner said in the artcile, I am confused as to what the governing bodies want F1 to be.

Is it meant to be the fastest, most advanced racing league in the world or is it going to be the most disfunctional??

 

I want F1 to be the tech center, the proving ground, etc. Let them run whatever - ABS, traction control, launch control, dual-clutch gearboxes, big-capacity NA or small-capacity FI, etc. Of course some teams will dominate certain seasons because of developing new tech, but isn't that the point?? If I want spec racing, I'll watch Porsche SuperCup or NASCAR.

IMO, it was a mistake to turn off the technologies at the end of the '90s. And that nonsense about it affecting drivers vs. machines? Ridiculous - Schumi won in both eras. The best drivers will always rise to the top. That's why I think the ridicule of Button's WDC is silly, too. I don't care how good the car is, the driver has to win the races.

 

Had to slip that in there did you??

You are a Schumi nut!

 

Agreed... where do they draw the line on allowable technologies?

 

I think that when the world economy crashed F1 paniced.

They foresaw a racing league with only a few competative teams and a total loss of interest by those nations that could not compete due to financial considerations.

They wanted new blood and with the regs the way they were, it wasn't going to happen.

I would like a no-holds-barred tech love fest as well. But it was getting too damn expensive.

Very few teams had $500 million to spend annually on development.

Look at Honda. They spent nearly $800 million in 3 years and were NEVER competative.

That is, until Ross Brawn took over . . .

 

Well it certainly looks to be a competitive 2010!

 

Yes it does.

The new teams should be very interesting to watch.

And I must admit - begrudgingly - that Schumis return is just what F1 needed.