Make F1 Relevant and at the Cutting Edge - ie Electric!

leonardjos

I just read the about Toyota pulling out of F1, another blow to the sport. I guess I can see why they would opt out. These are other possible reasons apart from the obvious ones of cost and lack of race wins:

• Limited Scope for Inovation in the current F1 highly regulated envoironment. In fact restrictions have been put in place on performance and innovations. The possibility of F1 derived technology being used in their core business is severly limited.
• The marketing power of running an F1 car was mostly beneficial for the higher end of the car market - sportcars and luxury cars. In light of the severe economic corrections taking place, the value of this market is likely to be shrinking.
• The petrol/diesel engine has a limited lifespan left. Its not going to be profitable to continue to invest heavily in soon to be obselete technology.

Its clear that a shift to sustainable motoring in starting to take place. All the investment these days is in hybrid engines, electric cars and even biofuel technology. People dont discuss 0 to 60 times that much anymore or break horsepower. Nowadays people are talking about miles per gallon and Co2 emissions.

I think F1 can turn the tide by shifting with the current trends, and making the series centered on electric cars.

Before you think it would be lame, take a look at this Telsa Roadster . It does 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds with a topspeed of 201 kph. When Jeremy Clarkson drove it on Top Gear his qoutes were "God almighty!" "This car is Biblically quick!". It can do 244 miles on one charge.

I could easily envision big car manufacturers scrambling to take the title of fastest sustainable green car! I say have no performance or design limitations or specifications. Just an innovation free-for-all, first electric car past the chequered flag wins!

It will probably happen eventually - lets just get on with it already!

Grim.

the loss of the sound of a v8 revving to 19k rpm is the main reason this wont work

leonardjos

Grim. wrote: »

the loss of the sound of a v8 revving to 19k rpm is the main reason this wont work

Good point of course. But more and more people are starting to associate that sound with co2 emissions, global warming and unsustainability. All the v8's revving aren't preventing the public from changing the channel.

EvilMonkey

leonardjos wrote: »

The marketing power of running an F1 car was mostly beneficial for the higher end of the car market - sportcars and luxury cars. In light of the severe economic corrections taking place, the value of this market is likely to be shrinking.

This is the first market to recover after a downturn and shrinks the slowest, rich people still buy cars.

leonardjos wrote: »

Good point of course. But more and more people are starting to associate that sound with co2 emissions, global warming and unsustainability. All the v8's revving aren't preventing the public from changing the channel.

Not to motorsport fans.

Loosing the engine sound would be a major loss. In my opinion one of the most exciting things in sport is the start of a GP, with the cars lining up on the grid, reeving their engines waiting for the lights, then accelerating to over 100 mph and breaking late for the first corner. A major part of it is the noise i cant see it being as exciting without it.

smooch71

OP, have you ever heard a Formula 1 car?

I don't mean on the telly, I mean for real.

The sound the engines make at full song down a straight is one of the most amazing sounds you can hear and never fails to send a shiver up my spine.

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to attend a tyre testing day in Silverstone as a guest of Renault.

I was standing beside Kovalainen's car when they fired it up and the whole garage shook when he drove out.

I can't imagine it having the same appeal if they just flicked the "on switch" and the car hummed it's merry way onto the track.

Make them electric and nobody will watch it because it will be even more irrelevant

leonardjos

smooch71 wrote: »

OP, have you ever heard a Formula 1 car?

I don't mean on the telly, I mean for real.

The sound the engines make at full song down a straight is one of the most amazing sounds you can hear and never fails to send a shiver up my spine.

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to attend a tyre testing day in Silverstone as a guest of Renault.

I was standing beside Kovalainen's car when they fired it up and the whole garage shook when he drove out.

I can't imagine it having the same appeal if they just flicked the "on switch" and the car hummed it's merry way onto the track.

Make them electric and nobody will watch it because it will be even more irrelevant

No, I always intended to go to a live Formula 1 race as I used to be a big fan when Eddie Irvine and Eddie Jordan were involved. But I lost real interest in F1 years ago and subsequently never went to a live race. I take your point, but I dont believe it will be enough over the medium term to improve the fortunes of Formula One.

Besides a serious high performance racing electric car would also generate some noise, though granted not in the same league. Besides from a commercial point of view the TV audiences are just as important if not more so than the number of specators at the track. People watching on TV would not be affected by the aesthetics of the engine noise as much.

Its still a car and its still racing, at the end of the day

Iron Hide

leonardjos wrote: »

No, I always intended to go to a live Formula 1 race as I used to be a big fan when Eddie Irvine and Eddie Jordan were involved. But I lost real interest in F1 years ago and subsequently never went to a live race. I take your point, but I dont believe it will be enough over the medium term to improve the fortunes of Formula One.

Besides a serious high performance racing electric car would also generate some noise, though granted not in the same league. Besides from a commercial point of view the TV audiences are just as important if not more so than the number of specators at the track. People watching on TV would not be affected by the aesthetics of the engine noise as much.

Its still a car and its still racing, at the end of the day

Noise akin to a hairdryer or battery razor maybe...

Edit: Bill Oddie would love you.....

Grim.

Red Storm wrote: »

Noise akin to a hairdryer or battery razor maybe...

Edit: Bill Oddie would love you.....

was thinking all you would hear is tyre noise or maybe the driver could supply the sound effects brr brr brrr nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

SouperComputer

Putting my gutteral reaction as a racer aside for a moment.........

When the vast majority of electricity doesnt come from a pathetically lossy process involving hydrocarbon fuels as a source, then maybe it would be worthwhile. Until then its a waste of time. Besides, the vast majority of any racing series' carbon footprint is not from the racecar, its from running of the team, fab, workshop transport etc etc.

Now, hydrogen powered engines would be interesting, if we could find an energy-efficient way to harvest it.

leonardjos wrote:

Its still a car and its still racing, at the end of the day

As are lots of series, people dont tune into F1 just because "its a car racing".
Your head is in the clouds if think people would not be turned off watching F1 if it was all electric. Its just plain wrong, and thats how most people will see it.

Firewalkwithme

F1 designer unveils electric car:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8344532.stm

Seriously, WTF is that thing like?

EvilMonkey

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

F1 designer unveils electric car:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8344532.stm

Seriously, WTF is that thing like?

Golf cart!

Firewalkwithme

EvilMonkey wrote: »

Golf cart!

I expected better from Gordon Murray. A big fan on the back at the very least would have been nice.