Should f1 run coupes?

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Originally Posted by schmenke

Why is that Miguel?
I too have been watching F1 for 20+ years ( :erm: ) and over the last couple of years the sport(?) has taken a direction that has increasingly depreciated by interest.
Closed cockpits and fendered wheels would simply mean that I would likely switch to different series :mark: .

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To my mind it's the speed and the racing that's important, what the cars look like is an irrelevance to me. Enclosing the car like the Caparo or that Red Bull thing from GT5 doesn't ultimately change the racing, at least not to my mind. And in the end I'm a motorsport fan, if there's motorsport being shown on telly and it's interesting to watch then why would I want to turn off? Especially for something as trivial as a roof.

As far as I'm concerned switching off from an entertaining series because of such a rule change would be petty in the extreme.

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Barry , there are always two ends to the spectrum , and we always need to find the safest place in between .

A friend of mine who works at the nuke plant nearby mentioned the other day that he had the change a light bulb .
It would have been three steps up the ladder to do it , but it was one too many .
He was required to acquire a zoom boom to do it , which took about half of his day , as it had to be brought from another end of the plant .
He was also required to tie off , and because of this , was put in some danger as a result , by having to lean down to the bulb from the boom very awkwardly .
It took three guys .
One drove the machine .
One lead him through the plant .
And one , to change the bulb .


All the while , without a functioning bulb in place , it was dark for half the day .

The other end of that spectrum isn't your roofer friends , but those cats in Asia who use bamboo for scaffolding .


In F1 we have willing participants .
They are willing to go all the way up the ladder , not just the third step .

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So putting a fighter jet style cockpit on an F1 to reduce the possibility of a driver dying from debris ingress, is your idea of an equivilent to spending 18 man hours to change a lightbulb to prevent someone dying from falling from a step ladder (which apparently happens surprisingly often)?

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Originally Posted by barryfullalove

So putting a fighter jet style cockpit on an F1 to reduce the possibility of a driver dying from debris ingress, is your idea of an equivilent to spending 18 man hours to change a lightbulb to prevent someone dying from falling from a step ladder (which apparently happens surprisingly often)?

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Not exactly .
But , there are issues , like falling off that ladder , that have been anticipated , and dealt with , that have spawned more dangerous situations .
This was a six step ladder . The fact that he was required to go to a different part of the plant to get an alternate tool for the job meant that this specific part of the plant wasn't lit properly , making for a more dangerous situation for half of a day for all those working in the area .

Take more of the F1 driver's vision away and it really doesn't help , does it ?
They lack sufficient view as it is , and complain often that they can't see the front wings .
And front wings have littered every track this year .

I would lobby for a higher driver position , and mandate a bar for protection , but a closed cockpit won't work , in my eyes , as they must race too close to further limit vision .

I believe that adding a cockpit cover would limit vision .
I believe adding one would find more cars upside down or at least crashing heavily as a result .
The best reason I can think of for having one is because you'd need one if you had one .

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Although I'm sure you're serious, I doubt you would switch off. F1 would still be more or less the same, it would just be slightly different.

OK let me put it this way. Next race if a wheel comes off and kills a driver as Surtees died and then the race after that someone gets hit in the head in a similar manner to the way Massa did and turns into a vegetable for the rest of their lives then what could F1 do in your opinion to try and lessen this risk? Serious question there.

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Serious answer...I would say that would be a tradegy as every serious accident is. But there is a limit to what we can prevent happening. I'm not against improving safety, but there will always be an eliment of danger and the drivers know this. They compete for the thrill of it, danger included. Covering the cockpit for example reduces some safety issues, but could create othr issues such as fire hazards or restricting access to a seriously injured driver in an overturned car. I think F1 is about as safe as you can get it to be when cars are travelling at over 300 km/h.

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Originally Posted by DexDexter

Ok, using your logic, football is the first to go, there have been some serious injuries so let's ban contact altogether and don't let them run since somebody might have a heart attack. Rugby is too dangerous as well, some serious injuries have occurred so let's end the whole sport. Golf too, a golf ball is very dangerous if it hits somebody in the head. Why do people want to keep golf dangerous, shouldn't they use a soft ball? In football the players should not kick the ball at full force since it might hit someone's head. Why do the spectators want to keep it dangerous and don't demand the players play safe? :rolleyes:

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I'm impress with how much rubbish you can come up to try to defend the un-defendable.
Who asked for stopping sports? Did I say they should stop racing?!

Tell me do they ware tibia protection in Football? Yes they do. By your account they must be stupid to try to protect them from the possible accidents.
Also do they use all kind of head protection in Rugby? Yes they do, so they must be idiots cause they try to protect themselves as much as possible without impairing their performance.
BTW do they use lots of protection in Hockey? Hell sure they do, I wonder why?! Maybe so that someone can come up with some utterly ridiculous post like yours and question an athletes need for protecting his own body and health.

[quote="barryfullalove"] Oh FFS, it's like smashing myself in the face with a brick. Did you not actually read what I wrote, or are you being intentionally ignorant?
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Thank you for the kind words...

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Originally Posted by 555-04Q2

I watch F1 for what it is, not what it could be. If they covered the cockpit and arched the wheels, I promise you that I will be the first to switch off the telly after over 20 years of F1 loyalty and only 4 live races missed in that time.

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One should always thrive to improve safety if possible. The show should be 2nd to the drivers, team members, marshals and spectators safety, always.

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Originally Posted by ioan

One should always thrive to improve safety if possible. The show should be 2nd to the drivers, team members, marshals and spectators safety, always.

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I'm all for safety mate. Just not rediculous/unnecessary safety measures at the expense of the "show" :)

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Originally Posted by 555-04Q2

I'm all for safety mate. Just not rediculous/unnecessary safety measures at the expense of the "show" :)

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F the show, fair play and safety are first in line, followed by technical genius, driving skills, ice cream, pit babes...list of other hundreds of good stuff.... show. ;)

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Originally Posted by ioan

F the show, fair play and safety are first in line, followed by technical genius, driving skills, ice cream, pit babes...list of other hundreds of good stuff.... show. ;)

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The pit babes should he higher up you list ;) :D