That's an understatement. If there was anyone in the whole complex that didn't deserve glass bottles and other things thrown at them, it was the 6 guys actually RACING instead of sitting around looking at pretty rubber paperweights ala Michelin. Where did those "fans" get glass bottles anyway? Didn't security check people's bags and such?

 

Yeah, I'm keeping my eye on the new Daytona Prototype series (http://www.grandamerican.com/Daytona...ifications.asp). It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

l8r)

 

I really think Bernie has lost his mind. Has anybody seen this?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8317370/

Moron.

 

A lot more goes into F1 tires than just spec size. The other teams would not have considered running a race without at least doing one full race day simulation with Bridgestone. It would not have been safer for McLaren, for example, to race on Bridgestone instead of Michelin at Indy, the unknowns are just too many.

 

+1000 on the Moron part ... what a fecking idiot. Even bigger to FIA now.

It's really too bad that they are destroying F1's reputation ... I love the cars and I hope the manufacturers/constructors break away from FIA and start a more sensible series.

l8r)

 

I can't believe some people are interested in a spec tire or even a spec series. To be perfectly honest I'm not as interested in the driver skills as the engineering and technology in the sport. Personally I'd like to see more tire suppliers. More competition makes for more excitement. F1 is too much of a spec series already in my opinion. It'd be more interesting to see what the best and brightest at these companies could develop with a free hand.

 

Holy sh*t dude... that IS moronic

bad, bernie, bad

 

I would love to see them push the limits of technology as well - unfortunately existing technology is already well past human limits and/or too dangerous, hence the spec aspect of F1 and pretty much any other series. IMO tires have way too big of a performance impact on race-cars, and I really hate to see a race series degenerate into a tire company battle, which is why I have always been in favor of a single tire supplier and let the car manufacturers slug it out with engine and aerodynamics innovations.

l8r)

 

Ludikraut I agree and disagree with you. I agree that the current rules and cars really push drivers to physical extremes and that the tires play a major role in a team's performance, probably the biggest impact right now. I don't agree that the FIA should take out one part of the equation by going with a spec tire. It bites that more than half the field is using one tire. I think there are a ton of options the FIA has to slow the cars down, make the series more exciting, and cheaper at the same time. Unfortunately they're not taking the steps to do this.

 

+1

The main thing that excites me about F1 is the constant evolution and innovation. There are certainly places for spec racing, but the absolute top-level of motorsports is not one of them. If you want to see fast spec open-wheel racing, CHAMP is pretty much it. They all run lola/ford/firestone simply because those are the only suppliers left lol. Keep F1 innovative and exciting is my vote.

 

I'm pretty much done with F1....Sportscar racing is MUCH more interesting to watch at this point. If it was not for my great admiration of Kimi Raikonen, I'd never watch it. It would be much more interesting as a spec series...but maybe not. Raikonen would win every race.


Percy

 

I guess we will have to pay more attention to Formula A1 from Dubai now

 

hows this sound instead of spec racing....

totally unrestricted, open class, full scale, formula 1, RC, car racing. alanzo can race from the pits now, and we will never have to worry about tire safety because if the car crashes no one is hurt. plus it would be interesting to see the absolute limit the man made cars ability is on a road (without the wimpy human slowing it down). i cannot even fathom what teams would do to the cars if there are absolutely no restrictions. adaptive and active aero, V12 bi turbo? or turbine engines, super small cars, or bigger cars? would the shape stay simiair to F1 open wheel cars, or would a LMP style arise?

 

oh and as for the teams who sat out using bridgestones instead, it wouldn't be possible. the teams use the tires as the springs, so all the suspension tuning is based on the tires. look at how much the tire deflects compared to one of the a-arms. for mercedes, the a-arms are actually rigidly connected to the chassis without any bearings. they use the flex of the material as the compliance for a-arm travel. so just grabbing a tire off the shelf and using it on the car would have disasterous effects. similar to what happened to the Raikkonens accident in germany where a flat spot caused a suspension failure.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

I can understand your perspective, and don't mean to denigrate it.

But if I'm gonna sit in front of a TV for 2+ hours, I want to see drivers duke it out with exhibitions of racecraft.

The best F1 years I ever saw were when Senna and Prost were on the same team. Yes, McLaren won something like 15 of 16 races one of those years. But it wasn't boring like the Ferrari parades of recent years. Because I knew I was watching two of the best drivers of all time (possibly the two best on the planet at that time) duke it out in absolutely equal equipment with no team orders.

I think the next best F1 year was when Prost and Mansell were at Ferrari together. There were many who thought Mansell would get the best of The Little Frog. Didn't quite go down that way.... But it wasn't until you got the two guys in equal equipment that it became truly interesting.

For me, it's always been about the people.