rec.autos.simulators

Are Bernie & the gang on ***? I'd repeat the new rules here, but they
went right over my head when the BBC just ran through them. I really
must learn to pay more attention now that watching F1 requires revision
notes.

Andrew McP... only a part time F1 fan, obviously, otherwise the Bahrain
GP wouldn't have crept up on me like this. Not that the first few races
count anyway. Only the European races count, everyone knows that. ;-)

The short version of the Knockout Format:

Session 1 - Timed session in which all 22 drivers attempt a timed lap.
Bottom 6 drivers are dropped at the end of the session and qual in
P17-P22. No times valid after the session times out.

Session 2 - Timed session same as Session 1. Bottom 6 drivers are
dropped and qual in P11-P16.

Session 3 - Timed session. Teams declare to the FIA what starting fuel
level they are running. This will be the MAX level that they can top
off to after the Qual session. Only other difference is that laps
started before the session times out WILL count.

I missed the start of the show.  Are they allowed to change tires in
sessions 1&2?

I agree with you. It really does make qualifying interesting to watch. It's
been a long time since I actually watched a qualifying round in its
entirety.

I think the "who can refuel and when and by how much" thing is an
unnecessary complication as well. Still, I'm looking forward to finding
out if we see much competitive racing in the new F1 cars tomorrow. It
might make Sundays slightly interesting again until the Touring Cars
start up. Now *that's* racing! :-)

Andrew McP

I do agree on the refueling plan as it seems like an afterthought.

Max: "Hmmmm...this new qual plan is good. Anything want to add anything
else?
FIA Lackey: Sure, how about a complex refueling plan, but only for the
Top 10 cars?"
Max: BRILLIANT!

the FIA wants very different fuel strategies spread through the field.

Andrew McP

BK

Agreed. The best change, IMO, is the tire rule. The one set per race thing
sucked, at least for me. I hope that they get a bit more of close racing.
Last year was an improvement, but 3-4 cars on the lead lap (educated guess)
average per race is still sometimes boring. Anyone know if they are going
back to slicks? I think moving to slicks and decreasing downforce might help
some.......But the big money teams would probably still be able to design
around it.

Ed

A single longer segment would be a return to the "old days" of all the
cars waiting for the backmarkers to clean off the track and then the
"big" teams rolling out with 5 min left to claim their spot. I would
support a 20 minute/6 lap limit session in which all teams were
required to roll out within 1 minute of the start of the session. This
would accomplish what I want to see in a Qual session. All out speed,
no regard for having to "save tires" or "pick a fuel level" or other
horseshit rules. Get all 22 cars on the frigging track and run HARD.
Simple!

Andrew McP

1. Qualifying is split into several "sessions" to allow TV companies to
have long-ish commercial breaks without viewers complaining about their
coverage being interrupted. (You think this is bad in qualifying? Wait
until they bring out the pace car every 20 laps in the GPs so we can
have more commercials!)

2. The "best" teams are the only ones allowed on track in the final
session, and that's where the top times are set. That allows TV
companies from attention-deficiency-syndrome countries to show just the
final session if they want.

The ITV commentators themselves admitted that the "breaks" between the
qualifying sessions weren't long enough to allow the teams to do any
meaningful work or adjustments on the cars - obviously the format is
just for the benefit of commercial TV.