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Briatore says "Formula 1 Is Boring"; and suggests improvements
Topic Started: Mar 1 2007, 10:42 PM (479 Views)
Mrs Shrek
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Link here

Some of the changes suggested have been heard before, but I doubt if many of them will be very popular with the fans - shortening the races, alternating the French and British GP, using a power boost for over taking and having two 45 min races instead of one long race (sound like A1 at all?)
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flood1
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Is that why the bored thread is so popular? I don't think so.
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TheCompleteGuitarist
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Maybe Flavio is just referring to the current batch of new pit babes?
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u4coffee
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I find Briatore boring
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TheCompleteGuitarist
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I think it's time for him to hangup his cocktail glass and put on some slippers.
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GordonB
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From the article:

Quote:
 
The sport also plans to introduce a driver aid in 2009 that boosts car speed momentarily, making passing easier. More than nine in 10 fans want more overtaking, according to a 2005 survey commissioned by Paris-based ruling body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the FIA.


Is it just me ... or do they not think these things through properly?

This "aid" would actually reduce overtaking. Here's why:

Scene 1:
Lead driver: "Oooh - someone's overtaking me by pressing their boost button ... right ... BOOOST!"
2nd driver: "Bah - he boosted too."

Scene 2:
Spyker/Aguri driver: "Oooh I seem to have qualified further up the grid due to some rain or other shenanigans. Someone's tring to overtake me - BOOOST! ha!!"


You could limit the number of boosts allowed per lap but that doesn't fix scene 1.
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safc_fan89
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None of his suggestions would improve the show. If you made one race into 2, it would just be a souped-up GP2 race. F1 should stay as it has for many years. It would be more interesting if the cars could overtake.
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theghostofnuvolari
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i thought they already had a temporary booster, we just know it as a rev limit...

they're always saying "turn the engine down" or "use the engine to get past" on the radio, no ?
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mindcutie
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Well... it is boring
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The Saint
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Mrs Shrek,Mar 1 2007
10:42 PM
Link here

Some of the changes suggested have been heard before, but I doubt if many of them will be very popular with the fans - shortening the races, alternating the French and British GP, using a power boost for over taking and having two 45 min races instead of one long race (sound like A1 at all?)

I cant read the story but I do wonder what how it would be less boring by making two of the most influential countries in F1 share a GP? How About Italy sharing one with Spain then you fker! <shutup> <grrr>
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John
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here you go Saint...

'By Alex Duff and Marco Langmann'
 
Briatore, After Title Wins, Says Formula 1 Is Boring (Update1)



March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Flavio Briatore, who led Renault SA to the past two Formula One titles, said races should be shortened from their current 1 1/2 hours because his French team and Ferrari dominate the motor sport.

``The last 30 minutes are very boring,'' Briatore said in an interview in London. Formula One has to ``improve our performance for TV because the income comes from TV.''

The 56-year-old Italian also said there's ``no need'' for the French Grand Prix, which is the nearest race to Renault's corporate headquarters, because the Monaco Grand Prix should probably cover France.

Formula One, led by 76-year-old Bernie Ecclestone, has altered the race qualifying format and replaced some European events with races in Asia in a bid to increase an average TV audience of 152 million and sales of about $1 billion. Last year, he agreed to share more revenue with teams including Renault.

The sport also plans to introduce a driver aid in 2009 that boosts car speed momentarily, making passing easier. More than nine in 10 fans want more overtaking, according to a 2005 survey commissioned by Paris-based ruling body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the FIA.

The measures don't go far enough, Briatore said. He suggested holding two 45-minute contests, with the second on a street circuit.

``If the race is normal the way we operate, the two quick cars are in front and it's not so exciting,'' he said. ``It is good only if something unexpected happens, or if it's raining.''

Hard to Change

Renault's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won 14 of 18 Grands Prix last year. Half their wins came after they began in pole position.

``There is a lot to improve in the race but you need a strong majority'' of the 11 teams to approve rule changes, Briatore said. Bigger teams sometimes resist changes, citing the cost of overhauling existing design plans.

Formula One is seeking to ``open up the sport to the world,'' although there is no concern it is boring, said Richard Woods, a spokesman for the FIA, in an interview. ``We are anticipating a vintage 2007 season.''

The forthcoming driver aid, called a `push-to-pass' button, will make races more exciting and help develop environmentally friendly road cars because it will use energy gathered from braking, Woods said.

More Viewers

Formula One's popularity is increasing, according to Nigel Geach, a director of Wisley, England-based Sports Marketing Surveys. A knockout system introduced last year boosted TV audiences for qualifying by 12 percent, while race ratings rose 5 percent on the tussle between Alonso and Schumacher, Geach said.

All 22 cars join the track for the first 15 minutes of qualifying, with the slowest gradually being eliminated and the fastest then vying for the top 10 places. In 2005, the cars did a single lap on an otherwise empty track.

``Formula One is doing extremely well in the world of sport,'' Geach said. ``Other sports are leveling out because there's so much choice.''

Ecclestone added races in China and Bahrain in 2004, scheduled one for Abu Dhabi from 2009 and is in talks to hold one in India from 2010. He dropped one each of the two events in Germany and Italy this year.

Silverstone Option

The French event, on the calendar since 1950 and at Magny- Cours since 1991, is 160 miles (257 kilometers) from Renault's Boulogne-Billancourt headquarters and the company's so-called home race. The circuit has struggled to raise money for refurbishments required by Ecclestone. In a Nov. 8 interview, Ecclestone said he proposed alternating the race with one at Silverstone, England. Silverstone officials rejected the plan.

``There is no need to have two races in Italy or in Germany or in France, if we consider Monte Carlo,'' Briatore said. ``The countries in which we have to be present at the moment are the emerging ones.''

Ecclestone is also considering holding street races in Valencia, Spain, and Singapore. The Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, the glitziest race of the year, is the only one currently on an urban circuit. Part of the Abu Dhabi race will be on a street circuit.

Benetton Titles

A former Benetton Group SpA executive who confesses to knowing little about cars, Briatore entered Formula One as commercial director of the apparel company's team in 1989. He became team manager in 1991.

He hired Schumacher, who won the 1994 and 1995 driving championships for Benetton -- the first of his record seven titles. The others were with Ferrari. Briatore joined Renault after it bought Benetton's team for $120 million in 2000. Two years later, Alonso joined Renault and went on to win the last two driving titles. Renault also won the past two constructors' championships.

Briatore says he has no immediate plans to quit.

``For the moment I am motivated, during the winter you miss the action, the noise, maybe traveling,'' he said. How long ``before I retire? One year, two years, I don't know.''

Renault, which spends about $300 million a year on Formula One, last May committed to the sport through 2012. The team's budget will be ``the same or a little bit less'' this season, Briatore said.

Alonso has switched to McLaren-Mercedes for this season, which begins March 18 in Melbourne. Briatore is seeking a new champion in Heikki Kovalainen, who has taken Alonso's Renault drive, or new test driver Nelson Piquet Jr., son of Brazil's former three-time champion.

``You are always looking for new talent,'' Briatore said. ``Kovalainen is very good and Nelson Piquet Jr. looks fantastic.''

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Rob
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mindcutie,Mar 2 2007
10:01 AM
Well... it is boring

Says you.

I find golf extremely dull, but there are many who would disagree with me.
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John
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Rob,Mar 2 2007
05:04 PM
I find golf extremely dull, but there are many who would disagree with me.

Some Rob.... but not Many.... <thumbs>


did you get any sleep..... <yikes>
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The Saint
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Yeah Rob, I hope you didnt get hit by the storms!
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Rob
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Few hours. I'm good. Will sleep much this weekend. Plus it gives me good training for when the little one gets here.
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