FUMES

May 5, 2010

Still waiting, still dreaming...for a better F1.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 5/4, 2:30PM) Detroit.  There was an interesting report filed by Paul Logothetis for the Associated Press today (May 4) that suggests that FIA president Jaen Todt has been doing a lot of thinking - out loud - of late. He's concerned about the future of the sport, he's wondering about the best way to corral costs, and he's lamenting the perennial division between the "haves" and "have nots" in F1. In short, he's doing a lot of public hand-wringing, but to what effect is anyone's best guess.

For instance, Todt told the AP that he is very serious about bringing KERS back to F1 in 2011, although he's not sure how that will be rectified while trying to keep a lid on costs. He also wants to do something about helping the new and smaller teams succeed, which really means helping them to merely survive, because who's kidding whom? Success in F1 is limited to a very few, as it has always been. “We need to let the new teams live, to survive,” Todt told the AP. “We can do this by reducing costs and by doing a lot of things to improve the show. We need to put into vigor new technologies because F1 should be an ambassador to new technology, and I have hope that sponsors will then come back. And that will allow teams to compete in F1.”

New technologies? That would be fantastic but I don't see anything "new" of consequence on the horizon besides KERS, and that's not even new.

He wasn't finished. He also went straight to the heart of the boredom circus that F1 too often has become (discounting the rain races of course, which always manage to bring on a measure of excitement and produce a good show). “Unless there are extreme conditions or difficult meteorological conditions, logic says the car in front stays in front for the whole race and a lot of it is due to aerodynamics,” Todt said. “When we start to think of new rules from 2013 - with a new powertrain - then we have to fundamentally lower the importance of aerodynamics in the race, and that should provide a big boost to overtaking on the course. We’ll address this problem of the construction of all new circuits in a way that they use these new parameters.”

2013? Uh, really Jean? That's the best that the FIA and F1 can do? And what do the fans do in the meantime, play video games?

No doubt that Mr. Todt has his heart in the right place for even thinking about all of these things, but at this juncture F1 has become about as painfully s-l-o-w and plodding as NASCAR is when it comes to improving - or fundamentally altering - its on-track product.

Where are the advanced technologies, really? Or better yet, where is the fuel-efficiency formula - based on a total number of gallons allotted for the race meeting -  that would actually reduce the size of the rule book while dramatically increasing the creative solutions brought to the track by the teams each and every race weekend?

I've said it before but I'm going to have to say it again. These racing entities need to stop the hand-wringing and the out loud thinking long enough to actually take demonstrative action, because this holding pattern of incompetence and indecision is killing the sport.

Every time I read 2012, 2013, 2014 or even longer my eyes glaze over and I get the distinct impression that we're living in a perpetual state of "just you wait, it's really gonna be good" and then nothing ever changes and nothing ever gets done.

There just has to be a better way and let's hope Jean Todt can find it.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Mexico City, October, 23, 1966. Bruce McLaren debuted his new McLaren M2B-Ford F1 car - the first to be produced by his racing organization - at the Grand Prix of Mexico. McLaren would suffer a DNF that day encountering engine trouble half-way through the race in his 3.0-liter Ford V8. John Surtees (No. 7 Cooper-Maserati 3.0 V12 T81) won the race, followed by Jack Brabham (No. 5 Brabham Racing BT20-Repco 3.0 V8), Dennis Hulme (No. 6 Brabham Racing BT20-Repco 3.0 V8), Richie Ginther (No. 12 Honda R&D Honda RA273 3.0 V12) and Dan Gurney (No. 15 All American Racers Eagle T1G Climax 2.7 L4). Jack Brabham would be crowned the 1966 World Champion.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out ford.artehouse.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

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