We know that Formula 1 hates to take suggestions from other series, even when those series are out-performing F1 in terms of fan engagement. After a string of races decided by qualifying, with very little actual car-to-car racing, let alone passing, perhaps F1 should look to series with a lot of real on-track action – the WEC and IMSA sports car races.
F1’s current car design was supposed to allow F1 cars to follow each other closely and even challenge for the lead, based on the implementation of ground effect aerodynamics. Unfortunately the rules retained huge front and rear wings, which meant that following closely still resulted in the loss of front downforce, understeer, and loss of front braking.
The Hypercars and LMDh sportscars use ground effects, with large but limited rear wings, but the front aerodynamics are based on nose and body shape, with less sensitivity to the “dirty air” that bedevils F1 cars. This allows the close and fierce racing we have seen this year in IMSA and in the WEC, notably at Spa, a race for the ages.
These same series offer another way to spice up the competition, without resulting to gimmicks like reverse grids. The Hypercars and LMDh cars share the track with GT3 cars, and sometimes with LMP2 cars, which are both slower over a lap than the Hypercars, but are directly competitive with the Hypercars in some areas, notably slower corners, braking (the GT3s have antilock brakes), and sometimes initial acceleration. These “other cars” create challenges for the fastest cars, as the track essentially changes each lap as slower cars are encountered in different areas. The Hypercar/LMDh drivers are separated by who can navigate the continuous traffic in the best way.
So a quick solution to the boring, passless racing in F1 is to combine the F1 main race with the F2 feature race. F2 is slower than F1, it has more variety in driver skill than in F1, but the cars are still fast, they require skill, and F2 speeds are close enough to provide a passing challenge to the F1 drivers. The organizers could even give the F2 cars a one-half-lap head start, to promote challenging passing.
Of course this sort of approach will never be implemented. Instead, we get the 2027 rules with “active aerodynamics” and extreme hybrids. In a typical example of Central Planning, we will get no solution to the problem of “dirty air” making actual racing impossible, but also additional problems of power deployment, unpredictable handling, and reduced driver input.
Big Sur Views 