Sidepodcast // All for F1 and F1 for all

Filed under Rules and regulations

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Know your limits

F1's backwards approach to track boundaries needs a rethink

Sidepodcast: Know your limits

by Steven Roy

It has been in the rules of all motor racing for decades that the white line defines the edge of track. I can see no reason for it to change. This rule was always applied except for some reason at the exit to the Ascari chicane at Monza. Every year it annoyed me that the track limits were ignored. Now the rule is applied there but not in many other places.

Standards practice

Is F1 suffering from the number of inexperienced drivers?

Sidepodcast: Standards practice

by Rob Palmer

Ask anyone what Formula One is and they will no doubt reply with the almost clichéd response; “Formula One is the only racing series in which the best drivers in the world, with the best cars go head to head on the best tracks.” However, the simple fact is that it is no longer the case. The cars are certainly the finest examples of automotive engineering to date, there is no disputing that. The tracks are also some of the most testing environments for both man and machine. People will argue that they are a bit boring, but I have an irrational soft spot for them

Stand and deliver

A closer look at the 2015 safety car restart rule change

Sidepodcast: Stand and deliver

by Christine

The World Motor Sport Council’s recent updates to the future F1 regulations have, as always, raised eyebrows. I’ve been quite unmoved by a lot of the changes that Formula One has undergone over the past few years, but even I can see that deliberately messing with the undertray material to try and force the return of sparks is unnecessary and about as gimmicky as it gets. The recent rule addition that is getting most of the attention, however, is the introduction of standing starts after a safety car period.

At the forefront of technology and innovation

A read through the 2014 Formula One regulations

Sidepodcast: At the forefront of technology and innovation

by Mark Chapman

With the 2014 season only 18 months away (probably), I decided it was in my best interests to understand what the technical changes were going to be, since it is likely that the teams themselves are already deep in designing and testing. However, it soon transpired that I knew next to nothing about the technical side of F1, which is shocking considering I’ve followed this sport for the best part of eight years. To this end, I decided to take the steepest learning curve possible: reading through the regulations and, from an almost novice’s perspective, make a post of what I made of them.

The 2014 engine regulations - do we have anything to fear?

There are big changes to the Formula One rules coming

Sidepodcast: The 2014 engine regulations - do we have anything to fear?

by James Boyle

My first experience of Formula One was at the 1986 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, and what an amazing introduction to Formula One it would prove to be, for many reasons. This of course was in the era many Formula One fans always refer to as the “romantic period”, and as a youngster watching the cars fly through Paddock Hill Bend and soaking up the intoxicating atmosphere that only this form of motorsport can provide, it certainly got me hooked.

The end of qualifying?

The unintended consequences of tyre tactics on Saturday

Sidepodcast: The end of qualifying?

by Steven Roy

We all saw the advantage Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton gained from saving more sets of new soft tyres than their rivals for the race. Webber as a result of failing to get out of Q1 where he used hard tyres had the penalty of starting near the back of the grid. After starting on hard tyres which caused him initially to go backwards he was able to switch to softs and using DRS pass most of the cars in front. As other drivers ran out of new tyres he gained pace relative to them and was able to pass cars to the point where he finished on the podium.

Can you confirm you understand that decision?

Have your say on the Ferrari team orders result

Sidepodcast: Can you confirm you understand that decision?

by Christine

The World Motorsport Council tried very hard to distract us with talk of the twenty-race calendar for next season, but in the end, we all wanted to know what was going to come out of their discussions regarding the Ferrari team orders debacle. They waited until the prime moment - ie. when everybody was about to go home - to announce their findings - a $100,000 fine for the team, plus paying the legal costs involved.

How do you give a small penalty?

The stewards need more choice of sanctions in their arsenal

Sidepodcast: How do you give a small penalty?

by Stuart Taylor

One of the major problems in F1 that never really seems to get addressed is the fact that, in the middle of the race, the smallest punishment a driver can get is the race-ruining drive-through penalty. Some drivers, like Webber in Germany last year, can overcome a drive-through if they have enough of a car advantage, but often you'll see drivers plummeting down the field only to mope around the press-pen after the race, muttering about what could have been.

The sky is falling

Formula One's ongoing efforts to be a greener sport

Sidepodcast: The sky is falling

by Bridget Schuil

The sky is falling. Well, not technically, but still, the earth is dying. It’s unavoidable now – people make movies like An Inconvenient Truth and Age of Stupid, TV channels screen adverts about greener products that seep into our consciousness while we take our mid-program bathroom break. The hippies (yes, I’m a hippie, but we can be party poopers) are trying to introduce carbon tax the world over.

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