[sridhu]

It is surprising how much the sport has changed. Have look at a this video comparing the two eras .

I, personally, feel that more races are nowadays won in the pits than the track. I feel there is a serious case for limiting the # of people in the pit to 4 or something to bring the racing back into F1. Now it is all strategy stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRy_73ivcms

[Cyborg]

Wow, that's really something Sridhu. Thanks for sharing.

I would really like the fuel limitations removed and the sound changed. God, please bring the sound back.
Among other things, when I went for the race to Abu Dhabi, the sound was one of the highlights for me and no ear plugs either
This fuel saving and cost cutting is undermining F1 as the pinnacle of motor sport IMO.

Cheers.

[mp417]

Originally Posted by sridhu

It is surprising how much the sport has changed. Have look at a this video comparing the two eras .

I, personally, feel that more races are nowadays won in the pits than the track. I feel there is a serious case for limiting the # of people in the pit to 4 or something to bring the racing back into F1. Now it is all strategy stuff!

Thanks sridhu for sharing. Excellent video. This shows how the sport has evolved over last 50+ years.

Redbull owns the fastest pit stop record of 1.923 seconds at 2013 US GP.

With the new Pirelli tyres we have seen that drivers doing pit stops early has benefited the most. And off course we have seen races won on pit stops strategy alone.

In 2014 this may not be the case as Mercedes has so much advantage over others. Even if other teams use any pit stop strategy they just can’t seem to catch Mercedes

[GTO]

Sweet video, thanks for sharing! Look at that guy with the hammer

I think the 50's pitstops were too slow (driver actually had time to take a leak) and the current breed are too fast (blink and you miss it).

The best were the tyre & fuel pitstops of the 90s. Cars with different race pace & strategy due to varying fuel loads just added to the excitement.

[srishiva]

Very interesting to see the older pit stops.
But since its the same for everyone, it should not matter for the race itself. More employment is always good

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by GTO

Look at that guy with the hammer

The guy was hammering the daylights of the wheel nuts. Just wondering how he used the hammer to turn the screws am I missing something here.

[fusionbang]

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[vivekz]

Originally Posted by GTO

The best were the tyre & fuel pitstops of the 90s. Cars with different race pace & strategy due to varying fuel loads just added to the excitement.

Agree there. 90s also had the best qualifying format IMHO. With 12 laps allowed to each driver, they usually made four runs of three laps each. The excitement came from the fact of managing traffic and tyre temperature, while everyone from the fastest to the slowest ran at the same time.

Same goes for the fuel and pit strategy in the race.

[carpacman]

Nice Video showing two eras of F1. From the comparisons, I think the biggest change between the eras is the tire change exercise :-); Astonishing to see how the mechanics had to hammer the tires out

[Scorpioman]

Superb video Sridhu, thanks for sharing. " Holland moves away JUST 67 seconds after he stopped ". Today's cars would have almost done a whole lap in that time. The guy hammering the wheels was iconic and at 35 seconds see the guy fuelling the car, he takes out the nozzle and looks like he is looking in to check how much fuel there was

[motionfreak]

Was the guy hammering these??

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by sridhu

I, personally, feel that more races are nowadays won in the pits than the track.

Looks like you didn't catch the Bahrain GP.

But honestly, I don't think strategy can be taken out of F1. There are far too many variables in play for which the drivers needs support from the pit wall. It has always been the case. Just that the variables change according to the rules for a season.

Also, limiting the number of the crew is only going to increase the importance of pit stops. Nowadays, there is hardly any difference between the stops for each team.

Check out the top 10 from last race.

1) Nico Hulkenberg - 24.440
2) Kimi Raikkonen - 24.453
3) Jenson Button - 24.476
4) Fernando Alonso - 24.493
5) Felipe Massa - 24.528
6) Kevin Magnussen - 24.559
7) Felipe Massa - 24.575
8) Fernando Alonso - 24.576
9) Kevin Magnussen - 24.611
10) Lewis Hamilton - 24.687

They all are more or less within a few milliseconds of each other. What matters is the time when you box for fresher tyres.

And even if you make a set of tyres last the whole race, engineers will find those gains from other parameters like fuel usage, engine map etc. So, for good or bad strategies are here to stay.

[sridhu]

I am not against strategy but a race, imo, had to be decided in a large part by who is fastest not the smartest

[Octane_Power]

67 seconds then vs 2.5 seconds now !!
GTO, you're right the driver can actually relieve himself and even take 2-3 bites from a burger (ONLY IF in those days they wouldn't consider the added weight of the burger a hindrance to the car's performance )

@motionfreak - I reckon yes. The guy was hammering these..

P.S.: It was good to hear the sound of the V8's screaming down the straight..

-Bhargav

[zenren]

Originally Posted by GTO

The best were the tyre & fuel pitstops of the 90s. Cars with different race pace & strategy due to varying fuel loads just added to the excitement.

True. Bringing back refuelling during the race and taking away fuel flow limit is all it takes to make F1 more interesting. They can still retain the limit on the total fuel used during the race to promote efficiency.

Thanks to Massa at 2008 Singapore GP, no one in F1 would think that it is a risk worth taking, especially in this age of missing wheel nuts and Maldonado.