F1 News & Rumours

[Alelanza]

Originally Posted by mts6800 My point was not how all the races last year would have been strategized by the teams but what would happen in the last race if, hypothetically, the teams ended up with the same points/wins as was the case in Brazil last year. Would their strategies have been different? maybe, maybe the results would have been better, or worse. How does anyone know? In every season, at every race, the objective is to win races because it gains you the most. However; at some point the team realizes that pressing harder for the win risks loosing all the points and decides to take what's on the table. With the new system the teams have to decide what the balance is between getting constructor points and driver wins. I think it's going to be interesting. As far as a team being able to use their engine quota to win one race, I can't see it. There is so much more to winning than just the engine.

Correction: i meant to say Interlagos not Spa above.
Now, thing is, the last two years we had some of the closest most last minute finishes seen in F1, meaning we know the point system does work. What would have happened in Brazil? i'm pretty sure nothing as exciting as what we had. Make 1st place more rewarding? yeah sure use the 12 9 6 5 etc system that most fans agreed was best but were ignored about.
Last year, Brazil being the exception, i don't recall a race where anyone with a shot at WDC settled for 2nd place do you?, it's well known that the F1 race structure n hardware makes it so that baring a last minute breakdown a la Massa @ hungaroring or funky weather such as Spa, most positions are decided after the last pitstop is done and over with. In fact that's why they made all the fuss about downforce/wake reduction, scientifically recognizing the lack of close fighting had a lot to do with the hardware, so the teams spent millions in following the new rules. But then last minute we're told the issue was with the drivers not going for it.... cmon.....
ALso being that 5-6 wins should mean WDC under most scenarios, what would a team do once one of their drivers wins a race? can they afford the luxury of letting both drivers fight it out till the closing stages? i doubt it. A driver with 1 or 2 wins will have the team backing him up with his partner playing second fiddle, meaning very early on in-team competition could be artificially killed off. In a season with so many tech changes, it's very possible for one team to dominate from the start, meaning the only person capable of challenging the guy winning the first one or two GPs has his wings cut and we have little competition.
And now think of Hamilton in Monza 08. Terrible qualifying, so that meant we got to see the good old back of the grid comeback, which is already rare as fortunately F1 does not have artificial rules that put top runners in the back. Would we see that with the new rules? not so sure because now with this rule WCC and WDC come into conflict. On the one hand he can push to get the team some points, on the other hand it's better for him to simply spin it out and stall it after lap 2. He gets to save an engine that way, and being WDC gets a lot more publicity and notoriety it's likely that would have happened, i'm sure the sponsors would have gone that route.
And all things being equal, engine wear becomes very important. It's been said a race old engine can be up to 5 tenths slower depending on the track you're at. With the new 18k limit that may be less, but still it means you can put fresh engines at races and qualis you know you already have an edge on (ie McLaren in Monaco being the prime example) and then cruise along on the ones where you know you already suck at, heck even use a single engine on fuel saving mode on the 6 tracks you have little chances to make an impression on. Meaning in the end the winner will be the team that better gambled which races to go for.
And what about the guy that was second best in wins at the end of the championship? it's entirely possible for someone to have more points than him as he focused on wins. Yet he most likely won't get 2nd place but rather 3rd or 4th as chances are a more constant driver will outscore him points wise. So despite giving his best to get wins he gets penalized under this new scheme. Not that second place is too important, but this very likely scenario does reflect the fundamental flaw with this new system.