Jean Todt the hippie

[jonny hurlock]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8432698.stm

thats like mcdonalds having food, no chance

[CNR]

http://www.motorsm.com/motorsport/auto/AUS/Oz_F1.asp

CSR Ethanol is delighted to be part of V8 Supercars to improve the environmental footprint of the sport and also to establish ethanol as a very credible fuel,
bathurst Shootout time
2008 Shootout time: 2:07.2963
2009 shootout time: 2:07.9463, (ethanol e85)

[gloomyDAY]

Don't freak out people. Other series' are ahead of the curve and F1 needs to catch up in order to stay relevant.

I thought KERS was an awesome idea up until it the FIA decided to cap it, therefore, stalling innovation and making the damn thing obsolete. Maybe this will lead F1 into a new direction, a better direction, and will create more fun for the fans.

[tinchote]

This is stupid :mad:

We have a quasi-spec series, with rev limiter, and they want development? :crazy:

[Langdale Forest]

What is the point?


The only way to make F1 green is to ban it compleatley.

[nigelred5]

Well, you have to encourage some sort of development in an emerging technology to bring the $$. Of course when we had fuel development in the past, that got totally out of control and was reigned in. They all but lost the major fuel/ oil companies $$ when control fuels were introduced. Indycar can barely get an oil company to sponsor anything because they don't use their fuels.
Control tires were introduced to F1 and they lost the tire companies $$ (Who will be replacing Bridgestone BTW?). They have stifled engine/powertrain development and chased most of the Auto manufacturers out of the sport. Even traditional oil/fuel companies are developing alternatives to oil. Maybe opening up the fuels will entice players in the alternative fuel market to bring their money and development to F1.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

The best way to make F1 green is to give the teams a limited amount of fuel per race. This way they will be forced to produce more efficient engines and develop green technology that is relevant to road cars.

[Bagwan]

Jean , you've got the right idea .
F1 has got to be more relevent in a world going down the tubes .
And , you've got to do it without castrating the spectacle .

What if there was a way to create cars that were zero carbon footprint , that would biodegrade , and would spawn all manner of new development in other areas , such as feeding the world's hungry , and curing the world's sick population ?
What if motor racing could save the world ?

That would be pretty cool , eh ?

Motor racing in all forms could be far more respected , and watched , as the speed would then be something that really helps people have better lives .



It is possible , but we may never see it begin again . It would be crushed as before .
I say "before" , because Henry Ford , way back , had the idea .
He built a car with no steel , and lubricated with no fossil oil , and burned no fossil fuel .


Some here will recall previous rants from the bagwan about this topic and roll thier eyes , but it remains as a solution , regardless of how crazy it seems , or I seem .

Hemp is the longest natural vegetetive fibre we have and is very strong .
The oils from the seed make excellent lubricants , excellent fuels , and are easily made into plastic .
That car that Henry built was made entirely of hemp .


There's your idea , Jean .
Change the world .

[Nikki Katz]

I don't see what's wrong with promoting green technology really, so long as it doesn't hamper the sport too much. I'm sure that F1's effect on the environment in the scheme of things isn't too large, and most of that will be from transportation rather than the cars themselves, but surely making the cars pollute less would be a good thing?

So long as it's not just a meaningless gesture like painting the globe on the cars to show that they "care".

[ioan]

What if there was a way to create cars that were zero carbon footprint ...

Impossible the designers, mechanics and drivers need to breath. ;)

Seriously I agree that there is a lot to do to improve F1's credentials as high tech sport while making it environment friendly and relevant for the humanity.

[UltimateDanGTR]

honda make a car powered by hydrogen. why can't F1?

this is a step in the right direction for F1 I feel, Jean Todt is right in his thinking-F1 needs to be greener. no matter how wierd that seems.

[tinchote]

The problem with very radical ideas is that F1 is a huge business. And business people are not very keen on losing money. So for them to be willing to bet on F1, a certain level of success needs to be guaranteed. If we were to give a basic rule (like "use this amount of fuel" or "use hemp") and nothing else, chances are that some team could be very dominant, as we have often seen after new rules start being applied. Increasing the risk in the business model is not the way to stability.

On the other hand, rules need to be changed because after a few years the development will plateau (although the engine war in the early 2000s was amazing).

If I could choose, my "car rules" would be just 4 numbers, the maximum g force the car can achieve (while running) in the 4 directions; plus the safety requirements, of course (crash tests, etc, included). You exceed the force while on the track, you are out, or penalized, or something. There could be a few other parameters (minimum weight, dimensions, that could be changed from time to time to avoid the plateau).

[CNR]

A Race-Car Designer's Shift to Greener Rides
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1950235,00.html?xid=rss-topstories


Gordon Murray is a legend. He's designed championship-winning Formula One cars, as well as two iconic, drop-dead-beautiful sports cars: the McLaren F1, one of the fastest road cars ever made, and the Mercedes SLR McLaren.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1950235,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0b7MeHgQK (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1950235,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0b7MeHgQK)

[SGWilko]

honda make a car powered by hydrogen. why can't F1?

this is a step in the right direction for F1 I feel, Jean Todt is right in his thinking-F1 needs to be greener. no matter how wierd that seems.

The issue here is the overhead in extracting the required hydrogen from the atmosphere - it uses lots of energy. Energy which is produced with a nasty bi-product..... CO2 emissions.

[SGWilko]

honda make a car powered by hydrogen. why can't F1?

this is a step in the right direction for F1 I feel, Jean Todt is right in his thinking-F1 needs to be greener. no matter how wierd that seems.

The issue here is the overhead in extracting the required hydrogen from the atmosphere - it uses lots of energy. Energy which is produced with a nasty bi-product..... CO2 emissions.

[ioan]

The issue here is the overhead in extracting the required hydrogen from the atmosphere - it uses lots of energy.

I'd rather extract it from water or hydrocarbons, IMO it would be more efficient.

I do agree however that hydrogen isn't the way to go, at least not with the actual technologies.