With the F1 2010 curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir having been widely criticised as 'boring', one suggestion to spice up the show is to make it compulsory for drivers to stop twice for new tyres each race rather than just once
Martin Whitmarsh has proposed the idea of having two mandatory pit-stops in F1 2010 in an effort to spice up the spectacle and encourage more overtaking after a processional, anti-climactic curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir at the weekend was widely panned as 'boring' rather than the thrill-fest it had promised to be, with drivers bemoaning that 'after the first lap the positions will be set'.
Criticisms of the action under the baking sun in the desert kingdom have been wide-ranging, with the general complaint being that with just one pit-stop being on paper the fastest way to go under the new refuelling ban, the onus has shifted from hard-charging aggression with a view to fighting through the order on-track, to tyre preservation in the knowledge that pushing too hard could cause costly damage and necessitate a second pit visit later in the race – likely resulting in a lower finishing position as vital seconds are lost. The new rule stipulating that the top ten qualifiers must now also begin the grand prix on the same rubber that they used in Q3 only serves to accentuate the need for strong tyre-management come race day.
Fuel conservation now also plays a far greater part, with no opportunity to pit for a quick late splash n' dash should a driver run low. Caution, it seems has taken the place of brio and verve, and the overwhelming consensus both within the paddock and amongst fans is that the rule changes have done F1 no favours in terms of improving the spectacle.
“Obviously qualifying and the starts are maybe the two key points this year,” Bahrain runner-up
Felipe Massa is quoted as having said by
The Associated Press. “After the first corner more-or-less, the positions will be settled.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Massa's
Ferrari team-mate and race-winner Fernando Alonso, who opined that 'with no refuelling, it will be difficult to see any overtaking', whilst defending F1 World Champion
Jenson Button agreed that barring a miracle solution, the entertainment factor in the top flight could be in short supply this year.
“The first lap is definitely your best chance of overtaking,” the McLaren-Mercedes star told the
BBC. “[The refuelling ban] might throw up a few more strategies in the race – I hope it does, because [to] run like that every race, it's not the most exciting.”
Others, however, like F1 comeback king Michael Schumacher and four-time world champion turned race steward Alain Prost are confident that the situation
will improve as drivers and teams adapt and get more accustomed to the ban – and some, commercial rights-holder
Bernie Ecclestone included [see separate story –
click here], have urged strongly against making a knee-jerk reaction.
“The rules are fine,” stressed 1997 title-winner Jacques Villeneuve, who was close to returning to the grand prix grid himself this season until Serbian hopeful Stefan GP's dream was dashed at the eleventh hour by the FIA. “One race doesn't mean anything. The worst thing would be for sudden changes before everybody is sure what they want.”
“[Bahrain] was boring, but it was the first race and it's too early to make a verdict – I think it will work out,” concurred ten-time grand prix-winner Gerhard Berger, whilst Lotus Racing chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne urged that 'any changes improve the show'. Veteran team owner Sir Frank Williams, speaking to
The Guardian, described the lack of on-track action as 'very worrying' and stated the case for 'a different style of circuits with longer straights and wide run-off areas'.
