Formula 1 World Championship 2015 Season Discussion


  

57 members have voted

  1. 1. Who do you think will win the 2015 Driver's Championship?

    • Lewis Hamilton
      44
    • Nico Rosberg
      6
    • Daniel Ricciardo
      0
    • Daniil Kvyat
      0
    • Felipe Massa
      1
    • Valtteri Bottas
      0
    • Sebastian Vettel
      3
    • Kimi Raikkonen
      0
    • Fernando Alonso
      1
    • Jenson Button
      0
    • Sergio Perez
      0
    • Nico Hulkenberg
      0
    • Max Verstappen
      0
    • Carlos Sainz Jr
      1
    • Romain Grosjean
      0
    • Pastor Maldonado
      0
    • Will Stevens
      1
    • Roberto Merhi
      0
    • Marcus Ericsson
      0
    • Felipe Nasr
      0
  2. 2. Who do you think will win the 2015 Constructor's Championship?

    • Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
      48
    • Infiniti Red Bull Racing
      1
    • Williams Martini Racing
      2
    • Scuderia Ferrari
      3
    • McLaren Honda
      1
    • Sahara Force India F1 Team
      0
    • Scuderia Toro Rosso
      0
    • Lotus F1 Team
      0
    • Manor Marussia F1 Team
      1
    • Sauber F1 Team
      1


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That whole penalties-after-last place thing is a lot of confusing nonsense. Any drop in places that overflows past the end of the grid should result in points being taken off in the constructors championship. Why can't they do that?

Because that makes no sense whatsoever. Try doing something that only affects the race, not the amount of money each team receives at the end of the year.

Because that makes no sense whatsoever. Try doing something that only affects the race, not the amount of money each team receives at the end of the year.

 

Like what? In the current "Mercedes + Ferrari vs everyone" else, just sending teams to the back is pointless and makes things more confusing for viewers. It's teams who do the engineering, not the drivers, so they need to bear the responsibility. Using drivers as proxies to punish the teams is not fair. Besides, if a team takes a new engine or another important new component, it doesn't just affect that race, it also affects the next race and maybe even the subsequent ones. So punishment only in the context of one race does not fit the scale of the crime.

The penalty I reckon that needs to be changed is the unsafe release one; unfair to punish the driver for their pit crew's mistake.

 

Driver and team win and lose together, that's the nature of the sport. You only need to witness a botched pitstop where a wheel isn't screwed on properly to see that.

What would you do, issue fines?

 It's only been a problem this year because the limits on power units are so tight. Don't change the penalties - sending people to the back of the grid is a big disadvantage, even if we have seen a few people come all the way through the field, because most don't. Arbitrarily knocking points off doesn't just affect subsequent races, it affects the whole season. So what I would do is relax the limits on engines. The cost of a couple of extra power units is a drop in the ocean in F1, and if they're going to be used anyway, it's not saving anything at all. Teams will still aim for reliability because an engine letting go during a race is enough of a punishment as it is.

 

And what if teams who can afford to put on the new components because they want to as opposed to because they have to? Especially in last few races of the season, say they are neck and neck with another team in constructors', it could give them an unintended advantage. Clearly, this year, some teams did not get reliability as much as they wanted, so it's a lesson learnt for next season. My main gripe is with how messy the penalties situation gets once drivers cannot serve all the places they have been relegated.

And what if teams who can afford to put on the new components because they want to as opposed to because they have to? Especially in last few races of the season, say they are neck and neck with another team in constructors', it could give them an unintended advantage. Clearly, this year, some teams did not get reliability as much as they wanted, so it's a lesson learnt for next season. My main gripe is with how messy the penalties situation gets once drivers cannot serve all the places they have been relegated.

Then it's no different to previous years, there's just a few more bits involved.

If a team couldn't afford to use their full allocation of power units then I'm not sure they'd be allowed to enter the championship in the first place?

If a team couldn't afford to use their full allocation of power units then I'm not sure they'd be allowed to enter the championship in the first place?

 

But who defines what constitutes full allocation? What if the smaller teams say that they cannot afford extra components beyond a certain quantity. Some of existing restrictions are also targeted at attempting to controlling costs.

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