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[pants]

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/9493375/Prost-wants-proper-Formula-1

Alain Prost has backed a study by F1's powers-that-be into how to make the cars more difficult to drive.

The current generations of cars may be technical beasts but according to the drivers are actually easy to drive.

And with F1 becoming easier over the years, that has opened the doors for teams to sign drivers such as Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman will be just 17 when he lines up on the Australian GP grid with Toro Rosso next season.

However, Verstappen's sign has raised eyebrows and has prompted a study into ways to make the cars more challenging.

According to Autosport, the FIA is looking into the matter and could introduce new regulations in 2016.

One person who backs that decision is four-time World Champion Prost.

"I don't know what's going to happen with Max Verstappen, but it's true that he's going to be able to drive the car no problem," he told Autosport.

"This was absolutely not possible in our time - the cars were so difficult to drive.

"Every year we were testing in Portugal, we were stopping sometimes for a month testing.

"But the first time we went to Portugal it was not possible to make a complete day of testing at all, no way!

"It was physically really difficult, which is not the case today.

"That doesn't mean you absolutely want to go back to the way it was, but I think the speed of the cars during the races and the grip is not very good. It's quite slow, so you need to have a proper Formula 1."

I'm using this article as a springboard to call on ex-F1 fans or old time F1 fans (anyone from before the Schumacher era basically) Why did you stop watching F1? When did you stop?

Personally I still very much watch every GP, but it's out of habit. I kinda fell out of love with F1 when they started introducing the anti-ferrari and cost cutting rules. I've been watching since 1989 when my dad first told me to sit down with him and watch Senna and Prost go at it. I used to love driver drama up until I became an adult then I became more interested in the development side. I used to marvel at teams creating parts the morning and having put in 200 laps by the afternoon, cars would vary track to track and some cars would have specialty tracks they go well at. These days I just don't see that kind of development in the cars and that makes me sad.

 

[dalin80]

Change all the rules they want, while having all of the races only on Pay TV they will never get back to the best interest in the UK. Our only hope here of a decent season to watch is waiting for Bernie to die and hoping that the races come back to regular TV.

 

[DBT85]

The development still happens, it's just that the sport as it was is not sustainable in the current climate.

I know a that bunch of people have stopped watching in the UK since Sky got the broadcast rights, and that others have stopped because the car's don't sound the same with the new V6 Turbo Hybrid engines.

Personally I've really enjoyed it for the past few years even with Ze Finger willing 4 in a row.

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

It's the rules that are killing F1, get rid of the rules, and you'll have amazing shit being created by the teams that will make F1 exciting again.

If they really want to regulate everything to artificially make F1 exciting, then they might as well make it a spec type sport where every car is the same.

 

[pants]

It's the rules that are killing F1, get rid of the rules, and you'll have amazing shit being created by the teams that will make F1 exciting again.

They kinda dont really have money anymore after tobacco left and big manufacturers started coming in and raising the bar. But I do agree a return to the 90s rule set would be amazing

 

[runningjoke]

On one hand I think F1 should be the pinnacle of technology so cram whatever you can think of into the car to get over the line quicker. On the other hand it should be the pinnacle of driver skill so remove all electric assists and power steering/breaking. So... eh...

 

[Dougald]

They could make Formula 1 the most exciting sport in the entire world and I still wouldn't pay for Sky Sports

In the last few years I've gone from watching every race to catching it on the off-chance I remember it's on.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

I still watch it when I can but I think that there's too many silly rules and it doesn't seem like the pinnacle of motorsport any more. I want drivers to race, not moan like a child when their team mate won't let them past.

 

[SmokyDave]

I fell off F1 just as the Schumacher era began. It just lost something towards the end of the 90s. I think Prost is right, the modern cars just don't have that raw mechanical appeal of the older vehicles, and it shows out on track. Modern F1 racing is just nowhere near as exciting because everything seems to be micro-managed to the nth degree (I died inside the first time I heard the fucking fuel efficiency beep in the drivers ear). Literally every other motor racing discipline is more exciting than modern F1.

Nowadays I just can't bring myself to watch it at all. I just get by on old episodes of 'The Racing Years' and any archived GPs I can find online.

 

[markot]

I lost interest around the time hakkinen retired and Schumacher started winning eveything.

 

[Nyx]

Prost's ego still shattered from Senna moving up?

Jeez...

 

[pants]

- Tire rules
- Refueling rules
- Engines 'lasting'

A bunch of these conspired to make me feel this isnt the pinnacle anymore but an endurance sport where the order of the day is driving within yourself. That kinda killed it for me.

And I HATE the new qualifying format

 

[cyberheater]

I stopped watching when they reduced the width of the cars. They've never looked right to me.

 

[Deadman]

And I HATE the new qualifying format

I'm interested to know why you hate them. To me its the only rule change they have got right in the last 10 years

 

[Woz]

I'm using this article as a springboard to call on ex-F1 fans or old time F1 fans (anyone from before the Schumacher era basically) Why did you stop watching F1? When did you stop?

I quit when Senna died. But before that, I found the boredom was increasing because of Mansell and his Williams were too ahead of the competition.

 

[Milchjon]

I love how the fact that a Dutchman is able to drive these cars is grounds for immediate investigation.

Spoiler

;-)

 

[itsgreen]

I'm interested to know why you hate them. To me its the only rule change they have got right in the last 10 years

Yeah, I remember the good old 12 laps qualifying... was fun but there were session where there was just action in the first or last 15 minutes...

 

[Aegus]

I want big engines, no grip and less "he made contact with someone else. 20 second penalty".

 

[Leunam]

There were concerns about Kvyat doing well because of his age and he's managing just fine.

I like Prost, but this is kind of amusing when you consider what series his sin races in. Lots of people wouldn't consider that real racing.

 

[avaya]

To make the cars more difficult to drive you need to return to genuinely powerful engines with unforgiving torque.

The return to balls out sprint racing moving away from 'managed' endurance farces we have seen for the last 6yrs. Be on the fucking limit at all times. Will separate the shit cunts from the rest.

The ability to have more than one fucking chassis in the weekend, so if you total it in practice you still have a fucking car for the race because jesus christ just because some fucking pikey cunts at the back can't afford a car with a packet of fucking crisps doesn't mean everyone needs to be a pikey fuck.

The rest of Prost's comments about it being difficult to drive - tough shit Alain, your era was pre-fitness regime. The only thing you have a point about regarding physicality is a return to stick shifting. The rest is rubbish.

My F1 finished after 2002. The farce rules crept in post 2002 and the over reaction to Ferraristone.

 

[freddy]

Stopped watching towards the end of the 90's, I can't remember why but the reason I won't watch it now as the results seem all dialled in. There's only a few teams that can win and then those teams decide who passes the finish line first.

 

[Burger]

I remember my dad watching all the races he could when I was young, Prost, Senna, Hakkinen etc.

He used to go and watch when the track was fenced off with a rope and you could go and chat to the mechanics who had spanners and fags hanging out of their mouths.

He doesn't watch it at all any longer.

 

[pants]

I'm interested to know why you hate them. To me its the only rule change they have got right in the last 10 years

I prefer 12 laps, 4 sets of tires and go. Plus i despise parc ferme post qualifying. I want them to go all out and then change to their race setups.

And 107%

Yeah, I remember the good old 12 laps qualifying... was fun but there were session where there was just action in the first or last 15 minutes...

I was never bored, the commentary always covered interesting topics. To me it was like watching a cricket test match, half the fun is the stories from the team in the skybox.

 

[IISANDERII]

"That doesn't mean you absolutely want to go back to the way it was, but I think the speed of the cars during the races and the grip is not very good. It's quite slow, so you need to have a proper Formula 1."

I guess the G forces are lower now, that's why they're less difficult to drive physically? I can see that compared to the 90's with active suspension, ground effects and the rest but even compared to the 80's the cars of today are less difficult physically?

 

[Metal B]

Time to level up the sport by introducing Anti-Gravity and call it Fomular 0.

 

[pants]

Time to level up the sport by introducing Anti-Gravity and call it Fomular 0.

You got boost power

 

[Aiii]

Verstappen is an exception, not a rule. Kid started racing professionally at age 4, he's not just some random guy that walked off of the street and stumbled upon the Torro Rosso garage. This overreaction some people are having to his coming in is silly, pretending you have to drive a Formula Renault car for three years before being able to handle a F1 car is insane. Technology has improved, so cars are more refined now. I don't even think it's that much of a rules thing, it's a "we can build shit tons better now than two decades ago".

Hell, my old Golf 3 couldn't take a corner half as well as my Skoda Octavia can, even though both are VW Golf's, just 20 years apart. It's insane to believe that cars are gonna be as shitty as 20 years ago just because they change some rules around.

Sure, remove some of the silly rules introduced over the years, that's a great initiative, but this pipe dream that cars and technology is going to regress to the point where cars are shaky and bumpy and steer as if they were big ass trucks is just not going to happen. It's like trying to turn a 2014 PC into a Commodore 64, just silly.

 

[BearPawB]

Give me a WWE network style product and you can make whatever changes you want

 

[The Cowboy]

They could make Formula 1 the most exciting sport in the entire world and I still wouldn't pay for Sky Sports

In the last few years I've gone from watching every race to catching it on the off-chance I remember it's on.

This is the same with me, i watched every race, the practice sessions, the qualifying and the red button after a race - then it was sold to SKY and the BBC coverage went to the dogs. Now i hardly ever watch anything to do with F1, i am not paying a yearly sub for a bunch of crap i have no interest in just to watch what i am interested in.

They could make advancements to F1 to turn it into pod racing, i still wouldn't watch it whilst its tied to SKY.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Formula 0.
Formula Libre.
Formula Infinity.

I'm pretty sure it's been tried in the past.

 

[ComputerMKII]

I lost interest in Formula 1 somewhere in the late 1990s/early 2000s because Michael Schumacher was always winning so there was no point in watching. Also, from what little I've heard these past few years, everything seems to be managed by computers now, and the rules are incredibly complex.

Have I missed anything? Edit: I remember rooting for Hakkinen, so what year was that?

 

[theignoramus]

Its still quite challenging to extract peak performance from the new crop of V6 hybrid cars, just ask former world champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Was Alain saying these things during the blown diffuser era, when the cars were even easier to drive? Legit question.

Have I missed anything? Edit: I remember rooting for Hakkinen, so what year was that?

98,99 and 2000 are the years when Mika was going toe to toe with Schumacher for the championship. (actually, 99 was more of a war with Schumacher's teammate, Eddie Irvine, since Michael was out for half the season with a broken leg)

 

[DBT85]

It's the rules that are killing F1, get rid of the rules, and you'll have amazing shit being created by the teams that will make F1 exciting again.

If they really want to regulate everything to artificially make F1 exciting, then they might as well make it a spec type sport where every car is the same.

Get rid of which rules? It's not as simple as just saying "get rid of the rules" because some are there for genuine safety reasons, some are there for genuine financial reasons.

Anyone is wholly and completely free to start a deregulated open wheel racing series with V12 3l NA engines and no restrictions on anything. It would get very boring and very dangerous very fast as only maybe 4 of the current F1 teams would even be able to compete at all, spending would spiral out of control, cars would be cornering at even higher speeds and the series will either fail or have to adapt and make rules to reduce costs and increase safety.

A pinacle technology based racing series using the engine tech they were using was comical and needed changing and I'm more than happy with the results.

 

[Unparalleled_Mediocrity]

Bring back stick shifts

 

[theignoramus]

Get rid of which rules? It's not as simple as just saying "get rid of the rules" because some are there for genuine safety reasons, some are there for genuine financial reasons.

Anyone is wholly and completely free to start a deregulated open wheel racing series with V12 3l NA engines and no restrictions on anything. It would get very boring and very dangerous very fast as only maybe 4 of the current F1 teams would even be able to compete at all, spending would spiral out of control, cars would be cornering at even higher speeds and the series will either fail or have to adapt and make rules to reduce costs and increase safety.

A pinacle technology based racing series using the engine tech they were using was comical and needed changing and I'm more than happy with the results.

The racing has been fine this season. I still vividly remember Luca D of Ferrari saying this year's formula was a joke and shortly after we got one of the best races of the last decade.

 

[Vitten]

They can begin by getting rid of the stupid engine and tire restrictions.
F1 is about massive power and the few elite drivers that can control it. Not about toting around in an 'eco-friendly' V6 which is only marginally faster anymore than other classes.

They should also tip the scale back to mechanical grip instead of aerodynamic grip; makes it easier to overtake.
Allow those big fat tires again and big back wing so they don't have to add those 100 ugly side and front wings.

 

[Burai]

The racing has been fine this season. I still vividly remember Luca D of Ferrari saying this year's formula was a joke and shortly after we got one of the best races of the last decade.

Yeah. Bahrain. And Bahrain is never exciting so he looked like even more of an idiot.

The issue with the cars isn't really anything to do with them being easier to drive and everything to do with young Verstappen being astonishingly well prepared. For a start the drivers are far fitter than they were back in Prost's era and people really underestimate the impact that simulators have had on the sport. A driver can get into a decent simulator (as all used in F1 are now) and just pound around in the car all day every day at a cost of £hundreds rather than the thousands they'd spend on a fraction of the track time with real testing. You may not feel the physical exertion but everything else is there. So when they get out onto the track at a race weekend 95% of the hard work is already done.

Add to this that Max does genuinely look a bit special and you've got the ingredients for a future world champion. I can't wait to see the guy get out there.

 

[Kotetsu534]

I don't watch it (much) nowadays, but I was enthralled by it when I was younger - could name any driver/team, knew all the tracks inside out, could remember lots of races. Spa, Hockenheim (old Hockenheim, with the huge straights through a massive forest, leading into chicanes), Monza, Monaco, Magny Cours (such a tight course), and the A1 Ring (with that ridiculously sharp turn at the crest of a hill) got me especially hyped. I think a lot of the newer tracks lacked the "identity" of the old ones, and the changes made to tracks like Suzuka, Monaco and Hockenheim were for the worse.

Also, I watched a race a couple of years ago (possibly last year) that was called off due to heavy rain making the course too dangerous to drive on. What on Earth? It's F1! Handling cars in extreme weather, with limited vision and no grip, is part of what made Senna and Prost legendary. Can't be doing with that.

Spa in the rain though. What races they were, with crazy starts leading into La Source, wild tyre choices, audicious passes on Eau Rouge, and desperate moves in the Bus Stop chicane.

 

[mikeyw85]

The racing today is usually better than it was 10 years ago.

I've watched F1 since about 1997, so I've witnessed a fair few changes, but I try not to get so negative about them. I quite like the qualifying system used today. DRS and KERS both give something extra, the result of which I wouldn't complain about. Some new circuits could be better, but the range of host countries makes things a little more interesting.

It's unlikely I'm not going to be sat in front of the TV on a Sunday afternoon anyway, so BBC loosing full live coverage isn't the end of the world for me. I'll not pay for Sky Sports, but as long as I can record and watch the race or extended highlights later at my convenience, then that's OK by me.

 

[Aiii]

Also, I watched a race a couple of years ago (possibly last year) that was called off due to heavy rain making the course too dangerous to drive on. What on Earth? It's F1!

Yeah, red flagged races due to rain NEVER happened in the past...

 

[Seanspeed]

It's the rules that are killing F1, get rid of the rules, and you'll have amazing shit being created by the teams that will make F1 exciting again.

If they really want to regulate everything to artificially make F1 exciting, then they might as well make it a spec type sport where every car is the same.

What rules? All of them?

Its funny how people think the answer is so simple as that. Truth is, cost-cutting and technical limitations are 100% necessary. Without them, the sport would not be sustainable and the dangers would be unacceptable by modern standards.

I don't necessarily agree completely with the areas of these technical limitations and I think people who say these cars are 'too easy to drive' probably aren't the ones actually driving them. The drivers today are far more fit and trained for this than the type of drivers that Prost came up with. If 35+, 40+ year olds could drive those cars, then a fit 17-18 year old certainly could, too.

This is all just nostalgia goggles and complaining about inevitabilities and things that we just cant get around. F1 has room for improvement, but honestly, if you actually go back and watch the races from back then, they aren't nearly as exciting as many people make them out to be. So I'm reasonably happy with the way things are right now.

 

[SmokyDave]

This is all just nostalgia goggles and complaining about inevitabilities and things that we just cant get around. F1 has room for improvement, but honestly, if you actually go back and watch the races from back then, they aren't nearly as exciting as many people make them out to be. So I'm reasonably happy with the way things are right now.

I wholeheartedly disagree.

Obviously it's a difference we can't reconcile, but I'm just saying that you're wrong about rose-tinted glasses. Maybe we just like different 'styles' of racing.

 

[PjotrStroganov]

I was born in '80 and even remember Lauda driving. It's one of those memory fragments that I will never lose. Nowadays I still watch but during the Shumi days my enthusiasm began to dwindle. Sometimes I only watch the start. Sometimes I watch the whole race.

Personally, the constant barrage of rules after Senna died were partly the cause of the sport getting more predictable. Many safety rules were necessary but it didn't feel they were going the right way with it. Even with the rules the cars during the Shumi era were speed monsters but during a race horribly uncompetitive.

I'd almost say, start developing a chassis for all the teams and let them put in their own engine.

 

[Seanspeed]

I wholeheartedly disagree.

Obviously it's a difference we can't reconcile, but I'm just saying that you're wrong about rose-tinted glasses. Maybe we just like different 'styles' of racing.

What style of racing is that?

And I really do think there's a lot of people(maybe not all) that remember things being more exciting than they were.

 

[Randam]

I don't see what age has to do with being able to drive car or not.

 

[SmokyDave]

What style of racing is that?

Dunno. Just whatever it is that I see in older F1 that you don't. Evidently we're taking different things from the racing.

And I really do think there's a lot of people(maybe not all) that remember things being more exciting than they were.

Sure, maybe. As someone that is still regularly watching 'classic' racing, I assure you I'm not one of those dudes. It's a similar story with Group B rallying. It really was better back then, even if things had to change for the good of all involved.

Oh man, I wish the Pro-Car series had come to fruition. Looked to be a cross between F1 and the BTCC and I'd have been all over that. Sigh.

Edit: Quick vid of the only Pro-Car built, the Alfa 164. Pretty sure it was Prost test driving it at the time too!

 

[CaseyTappy]

I was hoping the return to turbo´s would bring back the horsepower but alas .
Bring back the 1500 ± horsepower 80´s turbo engines that barely survive one race, side skirts with ground effect, stick shift, wide nose and back spoilers, big tires, wider cars , stop telemetry and all in race car changes from the pit .
Probably half to 75% of the drivers now would´t race in a death trap from the early eighties anyway, lives where lost every season .

 

[pants]

And I really do think there's a lot of people(maybe not all) that remember things being more exciting than they were.

It genuinely was though. try watching any season from 1989 - 2001 ish (I would say 1997 but you'd miss Hakkinen v Coulthard(lol) v Schumacher v Irvine) there was a lot more to talk about, less nonsense and a lot of hard racing.

Grooved tires was another thing that changed for the worst D:

 

[Chris R]

I watch every race, but there are a few things I wouldn't mind seeing. Current rule set produces some artificial passing, but I guess any form of passing is better than no passing.

Bring back refueling along with some tire changes to make a real difference between possible strategy for the drivers. Tweak the aero/downforce rules to allow for passing without KERS or DRS (wouldn't mind seeing KERS stick around in some form though, only if it works well with whatever other rule changes take place)

Racing this season has been good for the most part from spots 4-10 at least.

 

[KillerMan91]

The racing itself is far more interesting nowadays than during Schumi era. Can't comment before that as I didn't follow the sport. It sucks though that you have to pay for F1 nowadays. I remember that back when I was kid races still came from the public channel.