F1, another sacrilege on the way? The rule that will distort the sport

F1 in recent years has been characterized by a constant and unreasonable search for show, in all-American style. The latest news is scary.

Liberty Media’s foray into F1 dates back to 2016, when Bernie Ecclestone decided to back off by handing everything over to Chase Carey. The American “mustache”, after four years of driving, passed the baton to him Stefano Dominicalia character that all fans hope will return to the top of the circus also from a passionate point of view towards the sport.

Unfortunately, even the former team manager Ferrari He disappointed and not a bit, taking Formula 1 to increasingly exotic locales, until three races were held in the United States, with the addition of nothing less than horrendous tracks like Miami and Las Vegas, which will soon debut for one year.

The best racing series has been gradually transformed into a compulsory spectacle that attracts younger crowds, but seems to have forgotten the real fans. Mercy coup was given Netflix With a TV series that old fashioned fans didn’t like, but succeeded from a business standpoint.

So many kids have come close to the world’s fastest single seater, and after Covid-19 the stands are filling up again like never before. Just to give you an example, additional stands were built at Imola and Monza, otherwise all the fans who were eager to return to support their favourites, would not have been satisfied.

All this tells us that this sport, From the point of view of interests and business, is more than just healthy, and TV ratings are on the rise again. This is not to say that there are some critical issues that are not appreciated by enthusiasts, by the “purist” race, such as circuit selection as well as pay-TV discourse.

While dwelling on the tracks, a certain Max Verstappen said on this matter, emphasizing that there are now too many street tracks in the calendar. add routes such as Jeddah and Miami, Any tracks very fast Between the city walls, the only goal is to bring money into the coffers Liberty Mediabut the offer is modest.

All of these new tracks are the same, consisting of very long straight lines where three DRS zones are placed, creating phantom widths. Remember what happened between Charles Locklear himself Verstappen In Jeddah at the end of March? Getting to the braking point before the spotting point and not overtaking those in front to allow the moving wing on the next run, things that have nothing to do with the sport.

F1, ready new penalty on power units

One of the major themes in modern F1 is related to power units. In 2014, turbo-hybrid propulsion units were introduced, but maximum can be used per season. Initially, with less than 20 races on the calendar, it was possible to fit 5 races before entering a shootout, but now there are only 3 races with a much wider race schedule.

I think in 2023 there will be 23 races plus 6 Sprints, and the number of usable engines will not increase at all. In recent years this has revolutionized the starting grid more often than not, with big names being forced to start from the back. However, this has only created a fake comeback since then Red BullAnd the Ferrari And the Mercedes They have a great pace ahead of the competition, and even if they start from the back they can find themselves in the top positions already before the middle of the race.

The most striking example in this sense was the Belgian Grand Prixwith Max Verstappen who finished pole for 12 laps after starting from 14th. The latest proposal from the F1 commission which will be discussed in the coming months seems even more absurd, as the grid penalty could be replaced by another type of penalty.

This will include the introduction of some penalties that will be taken in the race, with the addition of time at the pit stop. A good idea instead, according to him.Racing News 365It will be excluded from the number of items damaged in accidents from the number of power units.

For example, if a competitor rear-ends a car and finds themselves with a damaged drivetrain, they can ride another one in the next race without incurring any penalty. All this is still being discussed, but it is clear that some important changes must be made for the benefit of the sport. It is not possible to think of creating a show by turning away the most competitive single seater, which, given its superiority, could easily outpace its rivals, with an ease seen in the past. Regulators will face a difficult task to rectify the situation.