If there were no rules, the first thing I'd bin is the driver.

 

The problem is that you would introduce an arms race, and the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" would expand still further. The FIA, for all of their (many) failings, have tried to maintain a formula in which their ideal was as level a playing field as possible. The failure to achieve this can be attributed to the "grandee" teams being understandably unwilling to give up their competitive advantage - and why should they? Decades of throwing money at development, by employing some of the finest brains on the planet and trying every conceivable option to win sometimes tiny advantages won't be surrendered without a fight.

The much-discussed "cost cap" would never work, because it ignores several large elephants occupying the room, in the form of the infrastructures already in place - Ferrari's new wind tunnel, Williams' twin wind tunnels, eye-watering investment in CFD, simulators and other R&D tools.

Formula 1 is all about spending money to eke out tiny advantages which all add up. An open Formula would provide the dullest possible "racing" at the front, with a very large gap to the rest of the field which will comprise a couple of teams teetering on the brink of financial collapse.

 

Sadly, you're not wrong. I think a limited money formula with very few rules would be great, but you're right about existing infrastructure. Unless perhaps the teams without such infrastructure could be given a chance to spend on specifically the things that they don't have, but they'll be the ones with less money to start with. So, maybe a rule that forces the big teams to rent out their infrastructure for 50 percent of the time, reducing their costs and making it available to lower teams? Might work...?

 

To go back to the going to the race vs watching on tv I like to do a bit of both where possible.
For a few years I'd watch at silverstone one year and at home the next.
On tv you see much more of an overview, they'll cut to the action and you'll pick up commentary and analysis on every little detail.
You'll lose some of this seeing it at the track but not too much actually big screens are normally visible from most places and you can pick up commentary on personal radio using the silverstone radio.
What I picked up from being there in person was much more detail.
You could see how much more cars were moving and sliding, for example I was there in Buttons championship year but at silver stone you could see they were struggling compared to red bull. The red bulls were so much more planted and were whipping through corners much more convincingly.
You also picked up little details from support races. I Know the track rubbers in over the weekend but the biggest emphasis I've ever come across was the Porsche super up qualifying immediately after f1 practice. The cars had the first lap out to set there fastest lap because they made use of the f1 rubber. After the first lap you were wasting your time because that much grip had gone out of the track.

I would say it is worth going to a race occasionally but just not every year

 

Accurately portrayed and exactly my thoughts on attending. Not worse, not better (well, it is for atmosphere), just different. I thoroughly enjoy being there though. But even I'm no longer prepared to pay a full Sky Sports subscription for the F1 channel. Will be interesting to see how Ch4 pans out...

 

I always used to go to Silverstone on Fridays, to get "up close" to the cars, or at least as "up close" as it's possible to get at Silverstone. My favourite viewing spots were just before Stowe corner at the end of the Hangar Straight, and towards the exit of the Maggots/Becketts complex. The former, because the speed that an F1 car achieves at the end of a long straight is astonishing, the latter because you can really tell by the end of the complex which cars are "working" and which ones aren't.

Then watch Qualifying and the race at home.

 

I've been to the Silverstone tests several times. Seeing an F1 car for real is something else; you just don't get the same impression of speed and noise on the TV. The one time I went to the race I stood on a crowded bank and could only see what was going on by watching the TV screen. I did see Mansell retire his Ferrari (which will give you an idea of how long ago it was).

Unfortunately the last one was 2014 (which I couldn't go to), and I don't think they're doing it this year either. It used to be free, and then they made it £10 or £15 for 3 days, but that's still a lot cheaper than even the Friday practice.

 

Sniff petrol reveals how the F1 drivers spent Christmas:

http://sniffpetrol.com/2016/01/08/f1.../#.VpIS0zbPzVo

 

Coulthard confirms, albeit it indirectly, that he'll be commentating on C4 F1.

https://twitter.com/MBrundleF1/statu...837684736?s=09

 

C4 confirmed it yesterday, and also that Whisper Films will be producing it. Hopefully that doesn't mean Jake coming back.

http://www.channel4.com/info/press/n...0bba5051ab2312