Has Motorsport Become Underpowered?

[GmFan4Life]

I feel you can only push a car so far. You have to give up something in the way of either grip or aero. Great topic though and love the replies here.

[Don Capps]

Would it be because the US had an emphasis on speed trials whereas Europeans moved into time trials post war?

Yes, maybe, not really on the American end. Prior to the advent of first road racing and then the planked board speedways, when most US racing was conducted on mile and half mile tracks, the time for the distance was almost always reported rather the speed; or as became common the time and then the speed. Once the board speedways, there was a subtle transition beginning from about 1915 onwards when it came to track racing that the emphasis shifted to speed rather than time as the criteria. An oversimplification, of course, but one can certainly note this change over the years in US racing.

As for Europe, one could suggest -- not necessarily with a straight face in this instance -- that it was as much being contrarian to how the Americans did things as to any emphasis on times set or as the result of time trials in some shape or form being the primary form of motoring competition in post-war world.

That technology -- in its various forms and components -- tends to be the bane of automobile racing is simply one of the ironies related to the sport. That said, there are, however, those problems that Formula Luddite would incur that in certain aspects of the sport that would certainly be unacceptable. As interesting and fascinating as a Formula Luddite based upon machinery akin to rollcage-less Sprint Cars replacing Formula 1 would certainly be, the sterility of the current tracks would spoil the effect.

Then again, the parade has passed by and that is that.