PPo

The new 2016 F1 tire rules are... well... You decide...

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story...mc:fscom:motor

WTF are they trying to do? I get that the complexity of tire strategy will now result in teams making mistakes... err... different decisions leading up to changes in final order.

Part of the enjoyment of watching a race is understanding the strategies and being able to guess finishing order on possible strategies. The reason why the fuel consumption rules didn't work to increase the "drama" of the race is that the viewer has no idea how the "strat 21" setting on the steering wheel impacts the overall lap times and how that will impact the speed in the future part of the race. With so much variability added by the tire complexity, will a viewer be able to understand the choices during a race and what it means?

I think Jenson Button will lead all races until 4 laps to go... and then everybody will sail past him only to crash out because of a flat tires from Maldonado's left over carbon bits on the track... then Jenson cruises to victory. So, maybe this is a good thing!

Veloce Raptor

Only the geniuses at the FIA could make such a simple thing so needlessly complex.

HRE_Jurrian

Agreed. So many hoops to jump through, and man I thought it was an annoyance for the fuel injector flow rate, now this with tires?

LuigiVampa

If they just let everyone drive as fast as they could go, with as much fuel as needed, the rest would take care of itself without these needlessly complicated rules.

The race in Australia is going to be over by the time Steve Matchett finishes his Pirelli tire talk.

wanna911

They are trying to create racing that doesn't actually have to do with real racing. They wan't badly to do BOP but it's F1, so they are trying the next closest stupid thing they can come up with to balance the field. Theoretically, a significantly lesser team could beat better teams based on tires alone since they have to pick them so far in advance.

This is really stupid..........

John H

F1 and Spinal Tap are becoming strikingly similar.

multi21

If it takes a 10 minute video to explain the new tire rules, then it's not going to work.

F1 lost the plot a long time ago and is restricted in it's core function (racing) by PC ECO officials at the FIA wanting to save the world....

MotoGP is where I'm spending my time in the spring

PPo

This may be the straw that broke the camels back... I will be patient and forgiving... this gives me insight to how it must feel to suffer from domestic abuse and be stupid enough to keep going back.

LuigiVampa

Good analogy....except F1 isn't saying they're sorry or that they are going to change!

The only thing I am looking forward to in this coming year is Haas F1. Was just at my cousin's machine shop and got to see a Haas machine for the first time. Impressive.

I hope they do well. It's a pity you can't buy any merchandise yet.

Ray S

You got that right.

The teams will obviously use simulation to figure out a tire strategy in advance as well as during the race. The fan gets left out in the cold guessing what's going on.

This is a really dumb idea, which is unfortunately consistent with the FIA's history of overcomplicating the sport.

If they want better racing they could reduce downforce and bring back manual shifting. This would open up braking distances and reduce wake turbulence to make passing easier. Getting rid of the flappy paddle transmissions would re-introduce this driver skill.

PPo

Similar to DRS, and all the electronic speed aids, the teams become so good at simulations that I suspect the optimized tire choice will be selected by the top qualifying teams with almost zero variance. Similar to the tire strategies this year. So the result will most likely be similar as the choices really need to be made before the race.

If they wanted to mix things up, they should allow the teams a less restrictive tire strategy combined with the ability to actually use the engine to RACE for the entire time without the worry of reliability for the next race or running out of fuel.

Ray brings up a good point, the FIA needs to adopt rules that allow for more driver/team errors and also allow for teams to adapt strategy changes DURING the race.

Pre-determined strategy can always be simulated and optimized with relatively very low cost. The racing is actually done in the computer simulations... we need to enter the Matrix of the teams computers to watch the real racing unfold... Hmmm... I think that will be my next company! ;-)

multi21

Hate to say it but the predetermined compound may ultimately benefit Mercedes F1 more than anyone else. They already had the most dominant car in the history of F1 winning a record 86% of the available points. The only ones they lost were the hot races where a harder compound would have been better to run. If they're were allowed to go with a harder compound than their rivals, they may have been able to win every single race last year.

Veloce Raptor

The same officials who--along with everyone else associated with F1--fly all over the world in private jets.

Two faced elitist hypocrites.

acropora157

I was drinking the cool-aid until they got to the part where the starting race tire is your tire from Q-2 which gave you the fastest Q-2 lap.
Interesting, we will see.

PPo

If I am not mistaken, that rule about the Q2 tire was in effect this past 2015 season. It was to cure the issue of people not totally pushing it in Q3 for a grid position and/or sitting in the garage to save tires for the race.

Perhaps they should decide grid order based on a drinking competition the night before. The hangovers would produce better racing as drivers would make mistakes when the in-helmet vomit distorted their vision.

(Example number 148 of why I have to remain at a private company)