re: The Official F1 Thread
You're forgetting one small problem: the car has to get to top speed first.
Why do you think we're seeing some of the most dramatic revisions in aerodynamics starting this year? To me, the 2008 cars looked like a Christmas turkey with too many drumsticks: not because it was packaged that way, but because the turkeys were genetically modified. The aero aids that were bolted on to every part of the car are gone because they disrupted the airflow behind them, making it difficult for drivers to overtake. A study by three of the major teams during the conceptual phase of these new regulations found that in order to stand a chance of passing another car, a driver had to be two seconds a lap quicker. The new regulations have been made to half that to one second per lap (the reason why they didn't go any further was because cars are naturally slower when fighting for position ... so if second and third are duking it out, first place can rocket away and not be seen again; this way, you can pass, and keep going to stand a better chance of moving up the field).
And again, why do you think Bernie is introducing this new medals scheme? It's to make drivers push for the championship, to have a go at gaps in the traffic that they wouldn't normally consider if they were getting five points for finishing in their current position and the guy in front gets six. It wouldn't have worked in the days of Schumacher's dominance, because he'd have won it by the seventh round. But now there are four drivers - Raikkonen, Massa, Alonso and Hamilton - who are all highly competitive, and another three or four - Vettel, Kubica, Kovalainen and possibly Heidfeld - who could also do it.
