Friday Race for Third/Test Drivers

[longisland]

I'm skipping the Friday testing session this year. The 3 day pass costs more and the Friday session is no where near exciting other than watching cars circling around the track. Would it be better for the fans & the sport as a whole to have a Friday race for third drivers? I suggest the format to be identical to the qualifying on Saturday to reduce the possibility of race collision.The main difference will be the car can be set up in full qualifying trim & light fuel to get the maximum 1 lap performance. Since it's a 'race', the whole event can be televised. There will be more exposure for the team, sponsors & third driver, not to mention TV revenue.

[Hawkmoon]

I've been wanting to see this for a number of years now.

I would open Friday to three drivers and cars per team making Friday a real test session that is done in front of the fans rather than hidden away in Spain somewhere.

On Saturday I would have a 1 lap qualifying shootout for the third drivers as a curtain-raiser to the main race qualifying.

On Sunday the third drivers would compete in a half distance race in the morining as a precursor to the main event.

I would also alow the third car to be run in a different livery to the race cars to not only add a bit of variety to the look of the weekend but to also give the teams another potential revenue source.

The great thing about this is that we would get to see the likes of Piquet Jnr and Vettel actually race. I'm sure a lot of people would have loved to see Anthony Davidson actually race a car over the last few years. This idea would have given him the oportunity.

I honestly don't see a downside. The fans get to see more action, sponsors get more exposure and the teams get to test their cars and young drivers in the best possible environment - a race.

[ioan]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

[Ranger]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

I agree 100%. Maybe they should put all the 3rd drivers for the weekend in a GP2 race together or something if they want to highlight their talent.

Other than that, other support events would or should do the trick for bored spectators, which is up to the organisers.

[ArrowsFA1]

I would open Friday to three drivers and cars per team making Friday a real test session that is done in front of the fans rather than hidden away in Spain somewhere.

I agree with that I wish I could find the quote by Elio de Angelis about the absurd amount of testing done by F1 teams, and that was back in the mid-80's

[Ian McC]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

For once I agree with you!

[Hawkmoon]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

I disagree. If you coupled this idea with an in-season testing ban then I think you would actually cut cost for the teams. They won't have the expense of test teams and travel to test sessions. They bring eveything they need with them to the races as it is now so why not let them use it and entertain the fans as well?

[longisland]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

As I have mentioned, the race format is identical to the Saturday Qualifying format. Since some of us have the perception that test drivers can't really race, at least this provides the opportunity that they can perform as a test or Friday driver. How many years it took Anthony Davidson to have a race seat despite being "Man Friday" for few seasons? The third drivers don't race each other; it's not a GP2. The teams are going to test the cars on Friday anyway; so the cost will be the plane ticket & hotel bill for the friday driver.
Consider the potential tv revenue & I'd say it's worth a thought.
Maybe I'm from Mars & you folks here really enjoy the friday testing.

[Garry Walker]

And the money this would cost will contribute to the cost cutting we are all expecting.
Not to mention that Spyker and SuperAguri will go bankrupt if they have to do all this.

F1 is about one race per event and it should stay like that, 3rd drivers often run in other series where they can race.

Also quite often there are plenty of support race during the week end exactly for not letting people at the track get bored.

Exactly. The idea this thread gave is, sorry to say, immensly dumb

[Valve Bounce]

Of course, the organisers could make friday a free day for spectators. The dyed in the wool fans would have already paid for tickets for the grandstands, so in erality the only people who would take advantage of hte free day would be the fringe spectators who would turn up to see what F1 is all about. This would gain F1 a helluva lot of new fans, because the newbies would then buy tickets to get to see quals and the race.

It's all about customer satisfaction.