To get rid of the blue flags or not?

[buh_buh]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87186

Fernandes and Branson want to get rid of them, and I think its an interesting idea, but not sure how it would work out. If there's 2 guys fighting for a position and approach a backmarker, it heavily favors the car in front, so I think it would dilute a bit of the frontrunner racing. Thoughts?

[AaronK]

I say get rid of them, they are ridiculous. I agree that if the winning driver cant pass the guy in dead last, there is something wrong.

[beyond_ban]

What if the guy in dead last purposely blocks one driver but intentionally lets another through? Could he not then potentially give one racer a few seconds on another?

[Team_Mclaren]

the backmarkers has nothing to do with the race. A pass is always dangerous, especially on noobs that gets lapped. No need to risk winning on passing lapped cars. Keep the blue flags

[rage2]

The blue flag system doesn't work too well IMO. It ruins the races in the back.

I'd say get rid of the blue flags.

[cloud7]

Only in F1 (and some european racing series) where the blue flags are used to get backmarkers out of the way, or else they will be penalized. In other forms of racing, they are only there to warn slower vehicles that faster ones are approaching. They are not mandated to jump out of the way, as in F1. IMO, Blue flag should still be used but the penalizing aspect of it should be discontinued in F1. The art of racing includes passing backmarkers as well.

[rob the knob]

apologies - i improperly understood the rule surrounding the blue flag situation

[Chris Elyea]

I say make it like pursuit cycling - you get lapped, you park it

[cloud7]

Originally posted by Chris Elyea
I say make it like pursuit cycling - you get lapped, you park it

So at the end of the race that we just had in Brazil, if we use your 'pursuit cycling' rule, there would only be 7 cars on track. I don' think the fans would like that much. Remember a few years ago when there were only 6 cars on track?

[Chris Elyea]

Originally posted by cloud7


So at the end of the race that we just had in Brazil, if we use your 'pursuit cycling' rule, there would only be 7 cars on track. I don' think the fans would like that much. Remember a few years ago when there were only 6 cars on track?

You're going to use the 2005 US GP to make your case? Seriously? Do you remember that only 6 cars started that race, and only two of those were competitive, and since they were Ferraris, they wouldn't really race against each other anyway? By the way, the Jordans and Minardis got lapped, so only 2 cars would have finished under my rules. But one-time, spectacular incompetence by a tire manufacturer does little to support your opinion.

In the race we just watched, Brazil, we didn't get to see the drivers in championship contention really fight it out at the end because they were too busy passing backmarkers. So yeah, I think the fans would like to watch that a lot more than watching HRT's and Saubers pull over, or fail to do so. It's supposed to be a race, not a frackin' parade!

[cloud7]

I remember the race at Indy very well, that's why I used it as an example. No need to get defensive there Chris. Let's have an intelligent discussion here. My point is watching less than 10 cars go around the track is very very boring for the fans at the track. This year so far, we had 5 races that ended with less than 10 cars on the lead lap. Two of those had only 6 cars on the lead lap, and two had only 7.

In Brazil, Webber and Alonso had to pass a few cars to get clear of the lapped cars. The McLarens knew what they were getting themselves into by pitting, so that doesn't count. Actually I quite enjoyed seeing them passing the backmarkers. It is part of the show. It is part of the art of racing... well everywhere but F1 I guess, where backmarkers are expected to literally jump out of the way.

In some racing series, lapped cars are moved to the back of queue (actually they are waved by the unlap themselves and catch up to the back) to allow the frontrunners a straight fight. That may be the answer in F1 during extended safety car periods and where lapped cars are in play.

[Chris Elyea]

The 107% rule for qualifying is already pretty close to my proposal. If F1 can't make back markers more competitive, they're prepared to keep them off the track.

[zxt]

Originally posted by cloud7
Only in F1 (and some european racing series) where the blue flags are used to get backmarkers out of the way, or else they will be penalized. In other forms of racing, they are only there to warn slower vehicles that faster ones are approaching. They are not mandated to jump out of the way, as in F1. IMO, Blue flag should still be used but the penalizing aspect of it should be discontinued in F1. The art of racing includes passing backmarkers as well.

I think this is the best solution. Keep the blue flags but let the leaders work for it. You can only swerve once and thats it. Sooner or later the faster car should be able to pass the backmarkers.

[iceburns288]

This wouldn't be a bad idea if F1 wasn't so political, which is much worse now with engine suppliers.

The lapped->garage idea is actually pretty good, come to think of it. It would help even the budgets out, as the teams who get passed more often would have lower running costs. You'd have to change the testing rules, though, or else the bigger teams would be getting significantly more data than the rest.