Fortunately, it’s over. A feeling shared by everyone involved in making Formula 1 a reality.
This is an inevitable consequence of a season that includes more than twenty races. Unfortunately, the fatigue was as emotional as it was physical, spreading not just to Lewis Hamilton and his beleaguered Mercedes team, but to an audience equally affected by the crushing predictability of it all.
“Max wins the race” is the epitaph for the second season in a row. A third year of undisputed Grand Prix victories for the mighty Dutchman and his indomitable Red Bull in 2024 is unthinkable.
Here’s what needs to happen for F1 to take Netflix gold again, starting with rivals Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Back to basics in Brackley
“There’s something wrong with this car, man” is the title of the song Hamilton sings from the first round of winter testing to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Mercedes has been significantly redesigned after deviating from the zero sidetray theory at the start of the season, but enough of the old concept remains in the car’s basic design to widen the gap to Red Bull this season.
Mercedes won at least one race in 2022. They got no closer to 2023 and it ended in despair. Competing with Ferrari for second place in the Constructors’ Championship is not what either team wants.
However, there is hope. The return of James Ellison to the position of technical director, coupled with the recognition of the defeat of the conceptual framework of the vehicle, which has completely lost the aerodynamics of the ground forces after 2021, was the first step towards recovery.
The ground-side containers were eliminated and a new floor design was introduced. While this improved the car’s handling and improved rear stability, the changes never addressed the underlying structural problems associated with the old design. Mercedes stuck with the same chassis and suspension architecture and made improvements that were essentially cosmetic.
Winter offers the design team the opportunity to integrate this season’s learnings into the building blocks of next year’s car, allowing the new chassis and suspension to interact better with its environment and giving Hamilton and George Russell a car they can take turns handling. confidence for the first time since 2021.
The magic of one lap lies in setting the race pace
Ferrari was the only team other than Red Bull to win a race this season. Carlos Sainz took Singapore by storm and if Las Vegas had not had the safety car, Charles Leclerc might have followed suit. In one lap, Ferrari finished the season on par with Red Bull, if not faster, having taken pole position six times in the last ten races.
The problem was rear end instability that damaged the tires and the sweet spot for power distribution being too narrow. The preference for higher top speed over aerodynamic efficiency in the 2023 design decisions resulted in reduced traction, which ultimately affected the car’s balance and handling characteristics. In Spain the grip was very bad. Sainz initially believed his car had a mechanical problem.
A radical overhaul similar to the Mercedes is planned for next winter, with major changes to the chassis and rear architecture. Negotiations to extend the contracts of Leclerc and Sainz, which are for just one year, are also high on the agenda.
Make sprints more exciting
Sprint weekends were introduced to better utilize the three-day racing format. Cars that perform at their best in practice add an extra spice to the spectacle that is just as necessary as in Grand Prix racing.
The problem with shorter racing series is the lack of participation from Grand Prix-oriented drivers. They consider it superficial and unimportant. There is talk of changing the format of the weekend, moving race qualifying to Saturday and sprint qualifying to Friday afternoon, but this does not solve the fundamental problem of commitment.
It would be much better to completely separate the sprints from the Grand Prix, make it an independent unit with its own points and use the team’s reserve and development drivers. In the future, it could also provide an opportunity for drivers from the Formula 1 Academy, a series for female drivers that will stage seven Grands Prix in 2024. Imagine male and female drivers competing against each other on a Formula One track.
Drivers are now huddled in the ranks, unwilling to risk car damage that could jeopardize their chances at a real Grand Prix. It’s actually a less rewarding experience than watching workouts. If it were a separate organization it would become more important and could be represented on more race weekends.
Bring the net, girls.
Karen Webb Moss, director of British Swimming, is also chair of More Than Equal, an organization dedicated to promoting the talent of female racing. Walking through the Silverstone paddock in July, she shook her head at the lack of visibility and noise surrounding the Formula One women’s academy, which opened a year ago after the W Series folded and the season began this year. for the first time this year.
There was an overwhelming fear among her and her team in the paddock of empty words, of ticking boxes instead of serious change and the integration of women into the fabric of Grand Prix racing.
The W series consisted of older racing cars and was discontinued due to lack of funding. The Formula 1 Academy is team supported and youth oriented. We just need to see and hear more about it.
Only two women have ever started a Grand Prix, and none since 1976. Inviting a woman to the start of Formula 1 is the holy grail of the sport. And if “improving entertainment” is the sport’s new mantra, then putting women behind the wheel seems more important than a light show in Las Vegas.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.