Quote Originally Posted by Dave B
Quote Originally Posted by schmenke

I have always maintained that F1 should seriously consider an unrestricted format – engine, chassis, tires, aero… whatever – but mandate a serious maximum limit of available fuel per team per race weekend; perhaps half of what is consumed today.
I've said the same thing many times: present the teams with a box into which their car must fit, and a set of rigorous crash tests and safety measures which they must pass. Give them a fixed amount of fuel (which would reduce by a few % each season), and which they can supplement with any means they see fit such as energy recovery, solar cells, turbochargers - hell, even mount a fan the size of a dustbin lid on the back of the car, or fit six wheels, you never know, it might catch on!
The problem is that the virtually unrestricted designs you describe would be literally beyond what drivers could physically endure over a grand prix distance. With fans, ground effect, sliding skirts, big tyres etc, modern cars would be pulling 7-8 g's in cornering and 8-9 g's under braking.