2020: F1 Discussions

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I thought the whole issue with battery power was precisely how difficult it is to make batteries last longer? And surely, if they've only just managed 45mins at 140mph, how long would they last at F1 speeds? 25m?
 
imagwai
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Can't they have pitstops to change the battery pack? 😀
 
Aquagraph
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imagwai imagwai
Can't they have pitstops to change the battery pack? 😀

Presumably not since until this year they changed cars midway through the race... whereas in F1 you're not even allowed a spare car anymore!
 
Yago
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Pitstops yes but maybe mostly for tyres, if we're still driving that is. Improved battery technology is vital to move the world away from fossil fuels. It's the main issue of our time. Upcoming battery tech is truly staggering. I'm sure we'll manage a 2 hour race if new battery tech will allow for electric airplanes.
 
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Current electric cars seem very cagey about their performance / range ratio. I see there's a Tesla that has a 600m range, but at what speed?

Do electric cars provide a constant stream of electric or do they turn on and off, wouldn't it save battery if they 'pulsed' and let momentum keep the car going? I mean for short periods on and off, like quarter of a second or something?
 
kappa_md
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Will the race on purely-electric powered race cars be as thrilling and exciting? 🍿

The popularity of F1 wanes precisely because people don’t want to watch boring race again and again. It’s a motor sport but it is also entertainment, dubbed the “modern day global circus” And fans/sponsors drive the big bucks when it comes to F1 in order to survive 😉
 
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I think I am perhaps a 'typical' F1 fan, I've watched it for 40 years, but I don't really watch any other motorsport. I've tried watching Fe and just couldn't be arsed with it. I imagine this is most F1 fans feelings about it, that is the long term problem Fe has - indifference. I don't think manufacturers have the pull they think they do, at the end of the day (ironically) F1 is a 'drivers' championship and people tune in to watch the drivers they 'know', which is probably why the only Fe drivers I could name are ex -F1 drivers.

Would 'Ferrari' in Fe change that? I don't think so, because I don't think most people who like Ferrari probably like the idea of electric cars full stop.

Fe is relatively cheap, that's why the manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon, but if it doesn't get a bigger audience then where does it go?

I honestly think F1 with 'independent' race teams running V8s or V10s and drivers people know (Hamilton, Max, etc) would crush Fe with Mercedes and Ferrari and all the other manufacturers in the viewing figures.
 
imagwai
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
I think I am perhaps a 'typical' F1 fan, I've watched it for 40 years, but I don't really watch any other motorsport. I've tried watching Fe and just couldn't be arsed with it.
I too have watched Fe, and the circuits are rubbish. Maybe it's changed now, but when I watched it a couple of years ago, they made their own circuits out of barriers and it was bumpy, too narrow and difficult to pass. The sound hardly gives the impression of speed either.
 
Aquagraph
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Since F1 is looking at new ideas, and since the season is all but predetermined... why not give one point for every time a car laps another car. This would let us see the TRUE power of the Merc, perhaps the best place for this would be the short lap at Bahrain (or the 'oval' as some morons are calling it).
 
El Matarife
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Yago Yago
Electric cars accelerate a lot faster and can achieve higher top speeds than gas powered cars. In fact performance will need to be capped if we want to keep racing with human drivers. Gamification of racing is coming and Formula E is paving the way. Maintaining performance throughout a longer race is a matter of further battery development. This won't take long. Tron anyone?
Formula E is a novelty, but electric cars are soulless. If anything hydrogen fuel cells are the future source of automotive electric power, not charging from a plug and carrying a heavy-as-hell fully charged race distance battery. Or Formula One could run on synthetic methanol/ethanol. As for "gamification" I don't have a single word to say about that that isn't a swear word!
 
imagwai
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These clips are unbelievable. Maybe F1 needs more drivers like this to keep it interesting? 😀

Edited:
 
Aquagraph
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Yeah bring back Jos Verstappen! He was pretty feisty...
 
kappa_md
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imagwai imagwai
These clips are unbelievable. Maybe F1 needs more drivers like this to keep it interesting? 😀


Son of the owner of the track. Flagrant unsportmanlike behaviour. 🤬 He was also beating a kid half his size 🫨 Then the parents showed up 🤦
 
imagwai
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kappa_md kappa_md
Son of the owner of the track. Flagrant unsportmanlike behaviour. 🤬 He was also beating a kid half his size 🫨 Then the parents showed up 🤦
I'd like to see a clip of how he went out of the race. Haven't managed to find that anywhere.
 
Yago
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It's not a question of if but when. Combustion engines are going away, probably a lot sooner than most people realize. F1 in its current format will disappear at some point in the near future. All kids hear in school these days is how the planet is toast if we don't radically reduce our carbon footprint. These kids won't care for petrol guzzling race cars and in fact condemn this circus. Fe is not a gimmick but the origin of a new species.
I agree the current format is a bit sterile and reminds me of playground electric car tracks, but I do get excited when I see the new Taycan lift off a at a red light. It's a process and I'm sure FIA will come up with an exciting alternative format.
Sentiment is changing. The Taycan already outsells the 911 in the US and Europe. Panamera sales have plummeted, despite this model having a plug-in hybrid.
 
Aquagraph
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On the face of it I agree, but it always strikes me that people who say this probably have a nice house with a drive to park their EVs on. A lot of people live in flats or on crowded streets where you might have to park your car three streets away... I'm not saying it's impossible, but there needs to be a lot of work done to address this if you want 'everybody' to have an electric vehicle.

Maybe we should cherish the ability to watch motorsport in general while it still exists, though it's funny that I don't hear anyone prophecising the doom of drag racing anytime soon, and you can't get much more gas guzzling than that!
 
Yago
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I'm not saying it's impossible, but there needs to be a lot of work done to address this if you want 'everybody' to have an electric vehicle.
Such issues will need be addressed. Electrifying cars also means electrifying the grid on which they operate.
At some point most cars will not be owned by just one person or family. They will be part of a timeshare or fleet. Self driving cars are on the more distant horizon so for most people it won't make sense to own a car, costing money just standing on the driveway or at an expensive car park in the city. When you need a car it will show up and take you where you want to go and then drive off to the next ride. No fixed costs, no parking costs or inconvenient walking distances.
 
Aquagraph
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Haven't we been through this before? This is all part of the I can go the pub and my car will drive me home fantasy. Everyone will want a car at the same time... plus, this is more of the 'sharing' economy that was so popular 'before' the Covid19 crisis, when 'Hotdesking' seemed like a really great idea. If this system was in place right now what the hell would we do? The scientists have already said that we should expect more virus outbreaks over the coming century, so maybe we shouldn't be thinking about 'sharing' desks and cars and the like in future?
 
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