Problem F1: lack of unpredictability, only the rain breaks the boredom

Ideas for a new F1

In recent years, several ideas or solutions have been proposed to make Formula 1 more interesting for spectators. Opinions that generally came from former pilots, but also from another figure like that of Nick Fry, former CEO of Mercedes before the arrival of Toto Wolff. According to the British, in an interview given to OLBGthe homogeneity of F1 is “unhealthy”and there might be some ways to fix this problem.

The return to supply

Among those indicated, a modification has been proposed for pit stops, in particular with the reintroduction of refueling, canceled in 2010 for safety reasons. A ban which, however, has canceled an element such as that ofunpredictability: “Teams are almost too good at what they do – has explained – when I started, you could almost count on 20% of them dropping out due to an accident or failure. Today it no longer happens, and it is very unusual to see cars stopped on the track. Refueling is dangerous for those involved, but it was an additional element of unpredictability. F1 has had great success in recent years and Netflix has contributed massively to this achievement. However, I believe that the sport must propose other variations in addition to the locations. Audience figures are undoubtedly going down, especially in the US, and they need to find a way to restore them. People hope that someone can challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen. It would be great for the sport if someone could do it, but if it doesn't succeed they will have to find other ways to make it interesting“.

Check the sporting regulations

A solution, again according to Fry, could be a further change to the regulations to increase the level of competitiveness: “There are two routes F1 could take to make the sport more unpredictable – he added – one would be to review the technical regulations, but history shows that these strategies rarely work. It has been proven numerous times that teams with more resources find the optimal solutions first. My point of view is that F1 must do so through sporting regulations. This means the race format and number of pit stops, how the tires are used and so on. I don't know what the answer is, but I think it's in that area“.

The problem of''unpredictability

In any case, for Fry the underlying problem always remains one: “I unfortunately have to admit that the homogeneity of F1 races is unhealthy for sport as a whole. I think it's an important issue – he concluded – football is the most successful sport because matches can change in seconds. It doesn't matter if your team is trailing 2-1 in overtime, you still have a chance to win. This is what keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The teams, from top to bottom, are so good at what they do that it is difficult for unexpected situations to occur, except when it rains, because in that case an unexpected event occurs. Formula 1 has always struggled with this problem. I can't count the number of meetings I've attended where we've been asked how to introduce the kind of randomness you get with wet conditions.”