Bob Barnard Track Engineering

So France cannot have an F1 GP again until F1 reduces its carbon footprint. What hypocrisy? Lets look at the Tour de France, 21 days around France with each team having numerous cars, buses, service trucks, media motorcycles and helicopters, not to mention the set up crews. OK, it is a bicycle race, but my bet is it uses more gasoline than F1 does all season, and all in France. Let's not even talk about how much gas is used for spectators to get to soccer matches, or the energy used for night matches. The most telling line came from France’s new sports minister Chantal Jouanno who, when asked what can be done to revive the country’s F1 race,  told the L’Equipe sports daily: "We need to know if the French motor sport federation (FFSA) is able to bear the cost of a grand prix." There lies the real problem, no government money for Bernie. Maybe Alain is right, they are "auto-phobic."

Sad to hear of the death of Tom Walkinshaw, let us remember his achievements and not the end with Arrows.

So VW is considering an F1 engine now the rules have changed, maybe I am wrong about the new engine, nah. I was thinking about how it will sound, very important for most of us fans. They were loud back in the eighties, but a turbo usually quietens engines, one of the complaints about the old CART cars, and if the new F1 engines are limited to 12,000 rpm and a turbo then this could be quite a different animal than we are used to.

It seems I am not alone in questioning the Korean GP's award of the Promoter's Trophy, several journalists who attended have very different views.

Speaking of views, Jacques Villeneuve likes most of the new rules in F1, thinks they have got most right, but is concerned that the movable rear wing is "too artificial." This raises a question, what do we think F1 is or should be? Is it sport, business or entertainment? It is all three of course, but where is the balance? Do we introduce artificial things to make it more entertaining? Tires that do not last and mix up the results have been mooted, we have KERS, but is that really any different than "push to pass" that fair ground addition to IRL because no one can pass? Now we have drivers at 200 mph trying to manipulate a KERS button and/or the movable rear wing, and how are we the poor spectator supposed to keep up with who is doing what to whom, and does it matter if it is not his driving skill doing it? It has all the makings of becoming a video game with the ability to manipulate buttons faster than the other guy being the measure of performance.

So the World Council approved the new engine and a raft of other changes which sound less cutting edge and more like historic racing. No team orders, so back to pre 2002, and presumably teams can do almost anything except go back to changing drivers during the race as long as no one notices. 1.6 liter turbo engines with revs limited to 12,000 rpm, they could almost go back to using valve springs. Movable rear wings as we had in the sixties, except they can only be used when the car behind is within one second, is that on both cars? An odd rule change is the reintroduction of intermediate tires for 2011. I thought we had intermediate tires this year? A clean up of the under body rules to outlaw the double diffuser, but as we know you cannot "unlearn" something, so I am sure the boys are already working on that one. Oh yes, and the gearboxes have to last longer and the number of engines per year are reduced, so we are on an endurance/fuel conservation schedule, with biomass additives for 2012. Why not make one set of tires last a race weekend while you are at it, or are they still nervous there will be no overtaking and have to have pit stops? Why not just leave it to the teams to choose whether to start on a hard compound and not pit, or a soft one and gamble on making the time up? That is how all this started anyway when Gordon Murray I think it was worked out he could build a smaller, lighter, car and refuel and still make up the time.

At the awards ceremony the Korean GP received the Promoters Award! What for, giving away more tickets than anyone else has achieved, just finishing the track before the Friday of the race? That now devalues anyone else who has won it.

On a brighter note the new Audi R18 looks stunning, like the Peugeot but more menacing. Not sure how the driver sees over those front wheel arches though. I like the way they have incorporated the mandated rear fin, does not look like an add-on like some I've seen. So do we think that is the color it will race in?

Interesting that the FIA approved the F3 International Trophy at a time when the regular series are struggling to gain enough entries to keep going. The Trophy includes Macau and Pau, two great street races, but not ones that all the competitors choose to do, one estimate is that will cost an extra $100,000, or was that Pounds. It includes the Masters at Zandvoort, and the Korean F3 race which was cancelled this year. Why not just run one F3 series so we have enough cars on the grid. They all go to each others countries after all. F3 is a great series and needs to survive, but not sure this is the way to do it. Barry Bland, the promoter of Macau, is the new FIA single seat chief, so no surprise this got approved.