zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Formula One's Absurd Penalty 'Fix' Doesn't Actually Fix Anything
Formula One's Absurd Penalty 'Fix' Doesn't Actually Fix Anything-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:17

Formula One’s excessive grid penalties are widely loathed by fans, as they’re confusing to follow. The FIA World Motor Sport Council simplified those penalty rules today, reports . Problem is, this fix doesn’t address why penalties get so out of control, and even more teams will likely face grid penalties in 2018 thanks to a F1 just won’t give up.

Even F1 Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn admitted that grid penalties made F1 a “farce” in recent years, and he’s not wrong. Teams were only allowed four sets of each engine component to use for the season, and had to drop a certain number of places down the grid for each additional component used.

So many teams took penalties towards the end of the season that the back of the grid was by the qualifying session you watched on track. To call it “confusing” is one of the great understatements of our time.

The fix ratified today by the World Motor Sport Council caps the number of grid penalties one driver can get for a weekend at 15, or the equivalent of using two new engine elements for the first time during a race weekend. Anyone incurring more than a 15-place grid penalty will simply be sent to the back of the grid.

While this gets rid of the need to count out individual grid drops one by one, we’re still going to be stuck listening to long explanations as to why one car starts ahead of another car when both were sent to the back of the grid on the same weekend. Cars will be sent back to the grid in the order of who takes on too many extra engine components first—which, like this year, will happen in the garage, away from the fans.

The root of this confusing problem—not allowing teams to use more engine components per season—isn’t just still there under this so-called “fix,” but is set to become much worse in 2018.

Next year, F1 wants to drop the number of allowed engine components for the year to only three for the season. FIA president Jean Todt even reiterated to today that this three-engine plan remains unchanged.

Even front-running teams like got hit by grid penalties for using extra engine components this year. Teams running less reliable Honda and Renault power were frequently playing musical chairs at the back of the grid in the latter half of the season. Their qualifying performance hardly even mattered at that point because they already knew that they would start from somewhere at the back.

Perhaps the three-engine rule could work when F1 moves to simpler—and hopefully more reliable—engines in 2021. To enact that change before the engine formula is reworked, however, is the opposite of what they should be doing to make F1's grid penalties less absurd. I hate to sound like Chicken Little, but this is going to be worse next year even if we don’t get to laugh about numbers of grid penalties anymore.

If there’s one constant in racing, it’s that fans hate to see things decided off-track by a rulebook. By that measure, this so-called penalty fix is a complete joke.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Oct 30, 2024
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Oct 30, 2024
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Oct 30, 2024
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Oct 30, 2024
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Oct 30, 2024
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Oct 30, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved