Jon wrote:All proposals have some merit.
However, before going radical, let's change the ONE thing that would be felt the most: BRAKES.
Yes, modern carbon brakes are so darn effective that braking distances are ridiculously small. The result is there's almost no time to outbreak anyone, even if you are glued to its diffuser for the whole lap.
Bring back steel brakes, and within a few laps you'll have cars with totally different stopping characteristics and distances. THEN, you will see cars behave differently in a more dramatic way and stopping distances increase/decrease according to how the drivers manage the brakes.
It also brings back the need for the drivers to manage something else with their driving.
You can go a step further and make them spec brakes...
I said this a couple of years ago, which is why you got the +1 from me. The cars need something that can be stressed to give extra performance, but then need a recovery period (a mechanical boost button of sorts). This gives the drivers the chance to go past 100% without having to return to the pits and have something replaced (tires, like it is now). At the same time, the mechanical grip needs to be more relevant again, to make this change more relevant: bigger, stickier but long - holding tires, less aero and no diffusor.
And, to solve the engine / cost issue: create a third championship for the engine manufacturer (similar to the Indy Car Series), and limit the costs to the teams to €15mil per season. That way, there would be no limit on engines or parts, and the manufacturers would have to suck up the extra costs (might not be perfect, but the teams will be protected from excessive costs), while opening up the formula to all solutions, making the only limit a specific amount of fuel for the race (goes hand-in-hand with a few of the other proposals for refueling under atmospheric pressure, allowing but not forcing refueling, etc.). I would also go so far and include the complete drivetrain in the engine, insuring that the complete PU and storage is covered by the cost cap.
“Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!” Monty Python and the Holy Grail
