And set it up with a sprinkler system so that they can wet the area before the start of the race... LOL.
[AMuS] MERCEDES: GPS comparison shows that Mercedes lost time against Red Bull in Turn 2, 5, 6 and 10. So mainly in fast corners. And at the end of the straights. The Mercedes engine goes into "charging mode" earlier than the Honda engine. Last year it was the other way round. How long will it take Mercedes to catch up with Red Bull in terms of speed? It will take at least a month, according to Mercedes engineers. Then the first upgrade will arrive. A direct comparison with Red Bull will show whether it will be the only upgrade for 2021.
With GPS all over these cars, a very simple approach could be had: If a driver leaves the track and gains time, immediately a message will show up on it's steering wheel, our TV's AND a specific sequence of lights (perhaps blue light flashing or whatever from the rain light and those rear wing lights) to warn the driver behind: The driver then must lift of the throttle for 5 seconds. This is used in some sim racing. If you time the penalty correctly and lift off early before a very slow corner, you lose maybe half a second (as you can get on the brakes so much later). It could be implemented incredibly easily. Much prefer a proper bit of gravel or whatever of course.
Unpopular opinion: redraw the track for F1 races. Apparently, the lay-out allows F1 cars to go faster using slightly different lines. If you can't beat them, join them. Let them race (and overtake!) there as well, instead of giving time penalties. Alternatively, a banana peel could spawn in front of them
Or, you know, stick between the lines. Just about anything faster than a golf cart is faster around the track if the T4 cut is suddenl allowed: Less steering input + higher apex speed negates the extra meters driven resulting in faster laptimes. So the argument of ''redrawing the layout'' for F1 is not on at all. We'll end up with something as farcical as this Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sort of:: You could do it with driver lift--or with the ECU not bothering to look at the throttle for 5 seconds, OR The telemetry could calculate any advantage and bleed that advantage away over the next 1/2 lap. This way, you don't and can't gain an advantage because the car takes it back from you.
I didn't think of the 2nd part. It would also work I think. I would say, if the advantage gained was 3 tenths, it would have to bleed away .5 so that some punishment is made anyways (and account for any extended tyre life).
I don't mind the screaming, it's the non-sensical statistics that do my head in. "Did you know that this is the first time a Renault took P5 whilst a Ferrari-driver gave a post-qualifying interview with a non-red cap on since 1987? Wowzers!!!"
Helmut Marko revealed in an interview with "Formel1de" that Red Bull had to reduce power [during the race] because of temperature problems. Despite that, Max was still able to catch up. When asked about the issues with Honda engines, Helmut Marko said: "The problems we had were primarily software related. Nothing in the hardware, so things that you can fix with adjustments." Full interview in German (no translation) Helmut Marko exklusiv: So sehr leidet er mit Vettel, so toll läuft's bei Red Bull! | Interview F1
Differential issue cost Verstappen 0.3s per lap in Bahrain F1 GP By: Luke Smith Co-author: Christian Nimmervoll Apr 5, 2021, 5:09 AM Max Verstappen was "clearly handicapped" by a differential issue that cost him 0.3 seconds per lap early on in the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, according to Helmut Marko. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/differential-issue-cost-verstappen-03s-per-lap-in-bahrain-f1-gp/6094913/ Image Unavailable, Please Login Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull for the F1 season-opener and led the opening stages of the race, but frequently reported problems and was unable to pull more than two seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton. This allowed Hamilton to pit early and get the undercut on Verstappen, laying the foundations for the Mercedes driver to win the race by 0.7 seconds following a late battle. Red Bull F1 advisor Marko said the differential issue in the opening stages was costing Verstappen around three-tenths of a second per lap, with teammate Sergio Perez managing a similar issue on his car. "What was most serious at the beginning of the race was that there were problems in the differential area," Marko said in an exclusive interview with Autosport's German language sister site Formel1.de. "In Sector 1, we lost drastically, up to three tenths per lap. The same was the case with Perez, by the way. Not only was there less grip, but the rear wheels were spinning and the tyres were getting hot. "During this phase, we didn't manage to gain the advantage we would have needed to avoid an undercut. We fell back from 2.5 to 1.7 seconds. That was the decisive phase of the first stint, where we were clearly handicapped.