Standing restarts confirmed for 2015

[vcs316]

From the 2015 season, Safety Car periods will be followed by standing restarts. The new rule is one of a number of changes outlined by the FIA after a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Thursday.

The idea of standing restarts, which will not be carried out if the Safety Car is used within two laps of the start – or restart – or if there are less than five laps to run, was first mooted ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix as teams looked at ways of improving the show, and it has now been rubber-stamped at the latest conference in Munich.

Also confirmed is the expected change to pre-season testing, with a trio of four-day tests, all on European soil, taking place in 2015. For 2016, the amount of tests permitted will be reduced to two, four-day gatherings.

In-season testing will remain in place next season, but it will be cut in half to a pair of two-day tests, again in Europe. Teams must give 'young drivers' a full day at the wheel on at least two of the four allocated days.

There are also cuts to wind tunnel testing, with runs reducing from 80 to 65 hours per week. This will be backed up by restrictions to wind-on hours and CFD usage, while teams can only nominate one wind tunnel per year.

In another anticipated alteration, the ban on tyre blankets has been rescinded. The FIA has confirmed, however, that the matter will be re-evaluated "if and when the wheel and tyre diameter increases in the future".

On the engine front, the number of power units permitted per driver, per season has been cut to four, but it has been clarified that this allocation will be increased to five if there are more than 20 races in any given season.

Meanwhile, the penalty for a total power unit change will be starting from the back of the grid, not the pit lane.

A number of technical changes have also been ratified; the current controversial nose designs will be pushed aside to improve safety and aesthetics, while sparking titanium skidblocks – trialled by Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen during practice at the Red Bull Ring – are now due to be introduced.

It has also been stated that the last date at which modifications to the sporting and technical regulations can be made without unanimous agreement will now be March 1, as opposed to June 30, starting from 2015.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/3...rmed-for-2015/

[vcs316]

Drivers have spoken out against the new rule to re-start races from the grid

The idea, which comes from F1’s Strategy Group with the reasoning that standing starts offer more excitement for fans than the current rolling starts, was ratified by the FIA on Thursday prior to its addition to the 2015 Sporting Regulations.

Questions have been raised, however, about how the re-starts might be implemented, with drivers at the Austrian GP also pondering both the fairness of such a move and how it might affect the quality of the racing.

“I understand that the start is one of the most exciting times for the fans, but it sounds very extreme and I hope that it’s not going to be done. It’s going too far with things,” Austrian GP race winner and current championship leader Nico Rosberg said.

“I like pure racing the way it’s been for the last 50 years. I don’t really want to see such a huge change to do another start. It’s a bit strange. My natural opinion at the moment is that it should stay the way it is now.”

Daniel Ricciardo agreed. “I guess it’s maybe a bit more exciting because there’s a bit more variability with the standing start,” the Red Bull driver said. “But for me that’s a bit too artificial because if you’re leading the race by ten seconds and the Safety Car comes out then you lose your advantage that you’ve built up. You keep your position but you still lose something.

“If it goes to a standing start, the chance of not having a great start is pretty high, so you could go from first to fourth. It’s just a bit too much of a disadvantage for someone who earned the lead in the first place.

“I think they could find something better. Now, rolling starts are not too bad; at least it bunches everyone up. I don’t think it’s that bad how it is. For spectators, it would be better for a standing start but it’s probably not the most fair idea.”

Like Rosberg and Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton said he hadn’t even been aware of the proposal and suggested that drivers should have a greater say in shaping rules that directly affect them.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it, so I guess I really need some time to reflect on how it would work,” he said. “But ultimately, it can’t hurt anyone to have the drivers’ opinions on certain things and obviously involve us because we’re in the car.

“It’s impossible for us to say how it is for the stewards in their office. We’re not stewards and we’ve not been sitting there during the race. And it’s impossible for them in the office to see how it is for us in the car. We should definitely try and work together.

“They’re always coming up with cool ideas,” Hamilton added. “Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.”

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso said he didn’t “have any strong preference” about whether F1 should adopt a system he and his counterparts would have last experienced in their karting days.

“When I arrived in single seaters the restarts were like [they are currently] and I have no idea how they can be on the other side,” the Ferrari driver said. “In go-karts, when there was a red flag or something, we’d have a normal start again with the lights.

“I did both and it makes no difference, I think, to me. I don’t have any preference.”

There would be no change to the current procedure after the Safety Car's introduction - with cars being allowed to pit, form a queue behind the Safety Car and unlap themselves if necessary.

Thereafter they would form on the grid in race order and wait for the lights - although a rolling start will still take place if the Safety Car is used within two laps of the start (or restart) or if there are less than five laps remaining.

As well as out on track, safety in the pit lane would be an issue with team personnel located on the pitwall having to stand in the garage at the start of the race.

Presumably they would have to move back there during subsequent starts, with McLaren team boss Eric Boullier calling on the FIA to think the idea through properly.

“I think there is a need for Charlie Whiting to look at it carefully because obviously there’s a lot of issues that could be wrong or make the show wrong,” he said.

“Still there are a lot of changes to be given out to do it practically on the track. Especially, we have only a couple of laps or sometimes only one lap to make sure your drivers know where to stop – on which side of the grid, which may be a challenge.”

[ferrari4life]

GREAT SHOW!!

[tifosi1993]

1. Standing start
2. Less wind tunnel hours

3. Parc fermé after FP3

4. Each driver may use no more than 4 power units

5. Fake sparks

[Rob]

Think less wind tunnel work, and bring back more in season track testing. Money they spend running/updating all the systems those things could go towards track testing.

[Rob]

welcome to Formula Show.

[SilverSpeed]

R.I.P. F1

Time to find a new hobby...

[The Architect]

With all this nonsense, it's only a matter of time until Bernie achieves his wish of being able to turn on the sprinklers whenever he feels the action isn't exciting enough.

[Hornet]

Sounds to me like a bunch of poorly thought out ideas, rushed to make the dateline. How can the standing start idea which was proposed last weekend, got approved so quickly?

[ferrari4life]

how about drivers stop for a lap and roll dice to determine if they can pass another car or not.

[stefa]

how about drivers stop for a lap and roll dice to determine if they can pass another car or not.

I like it!

[Kyss4k]

Who is coming up with those? What happened to my beloved sport...

[Sab_g]

What an absolute joke!! All this does is guarantee first corner crashes & more strain on clutch/gearbox. Who are they doing this for? Definitely not the fans because im pretty sure no real fan thinks this is a good idea

[SS454]

Why is F1 too stuck up to admit that Nascar has done it right for years when it comes to pitstops and restarts?

[Kiwi Nick]

I'm not clear on how the standing start is to work. I assume that they group the cars according to running order, but will they start nose-to-tail or in grid formation?

[NickEice]

More strain on gearboxes as they try to "cut costs" more by even further limiting changing components next year...

[killer]

I'm not clear on how the standing start is to work. I assume that they group the cars according to running order, but will they start nose-to-tail or in grid formation?

I would think grid. A single file start may be deemed unsafe.

Fake sparks. Just wow.

You know how things get to their worst just before they get better? I hope this is what's happening.

[Nova]

The lunys r running the asylym....


Funny, the more the people want regular F1, the more they ditch it.

[20000rpm]

I seriously wonder who are the people in the think tank advising such changes?? They definitely seem to be a bunch of hypocrites who intend to bring more viewership and also introduce measures which are anti-viewers. And then whine about low audience and such other crap.

[20000rpm]

With all this nonsense, it's only a matter of time until Bernie achieves his wish of being able to turn on the sprinklers whenever he feels the action isn't exciting enough.

Why go that far when we can have this...
Death-Race-1-death-race-9279596-1500-1000.jpg

[Kingdom Hearts]

The F1 circus run by clowns.

[XXX132]

I would think grid. .

Imagine starting on the side with the marbles near the end of the race ...

[killer]

Imagine starting on the side with the marbles near the end of the race ...

...imagine a 10-car pile up. Both scenarios prove the idea is not worth trying.

[Senna4Ever]

R.I.P. F1

Time to find a new hobby...

and it wouldn't matter if Ferrari still with F1 or not ...
this just a big joke

each single point

[Rishu]

On hindsight, it will give more opportunity to change the existing order of cars during a race

[hogo]

Sadly there are people in other forums that cheer for this idea. I think it's new audience that started watching F1 when all those radical changes started rolling in (rear wing, DRS, KERS etc).

[Alonsomaniac]

What's the next step? Loopings?

[Ed Harley]

Perhaps they should take competition yellow from Nascar.

[fratelliferrari]

What's the next step? Loopings?

Speed bumps I guess

[Ferrari Man]

Speed bumps I guess

Indicating while overtaking too... Be handy for Perez..