For a sports consultant Red Bulla Helmut Mark there are a whole series of things that he would change himself. Less telemetry, simpler rules, more sandy excursion zones.
If Helmut Marko looks at things he doesn’t like in the current F1, then the list is quite long. From too much data and excessive safety perceptions, to too easily manageable race cars that do not require much effort from racers. The Austrian sees a lot of problematic things, which he explained in the last show on Servus TV.
He first mentioned too complicated technology. Marko knows very well that the term MGU-K does not mean much to the average fan. "Engineers and most journalists don't understand much about that either." The technique itself is fascinating, but it is not for everyday use. “The fact that we have two hybrid systems cannot be used in practice because it is too extensive. We need about ten people to start the car at all and to keep it running. If we turned off the telemetry completely, then no car would drive at all. ”
In addition, the team has a huge amount of data, so F1 today literally makes a living from recalculations. Competitors' circles can be analyzed in a matter of minutes, and within teams, engineers know this in seconds. This means that the racer can be immediately told how someone is making a turn, when he is braking and when he is accelerating.
“So the whole field is almost like a kind of driving school. If you’ve gained an advantage in the past through a certain turn, you’ve held it for at least one race until others find your line is faster. Today we can forget this advantage, ”Marko is angry.
And because race cars of the current era aren't as physically tiring as they used to be - at least according to Lewis Hamilton - it's much easier for newcomers to drive an F1. The best example for Mark is Nikita Masepin, the son of a Russian mogul whose father paid him to test a Mercedes car. "The unsuccessful F2 racer tested a Mercedes car in Barcelona and was only two tenths of a second slower than Valtteri Bottas," explains Marko.
The Austrian would like racing cars to be more difficult to control, he would limit telemetry and ban radio communications. “Then we would have significantly more resignations and consequently more tense races that would be unpredictable. Nor would we achieve racing leveling so quickly. ”
By the way, resign: This topic is also on Mark’s schedule. Asphalt excursion zones are, in his opinion, red carpets, because racers in these excursion zones are no longer penalized. “In the past, you drove into the sand, got stuck there and the race was over for you. The difference between a very good, good and medium good racer is watered down today. And it shouldn't be, ”adds Marko.
For Mark, racers need to become heroes again and show that someone can do something that others can’t. Viewers need to be put back in fascination and enthusiasm. "We don't need white lines where there's been debate for hours about whether someone drove it or not." The Austrian, however, does not understand at all the meaning of these ever-increasing excursion zones, which provide another disadvantage, and that is that spectators are increasingly being pushed off the track. “For me, these are very exaggerated notions of security. We race in Monaco, in Singapore, where there is no playing surface. Just a track and a fence. ”
The show also featured F1 first man Chase Carey, who was able to listen directly to Mark’s opinion. The American, however, did not want to make any promises regarding the future and the new rules from the 2021 season. “We have a list of recommendations. Here we are talking about several pages, where it is covered from A to Z. Of course, not everything can be introduced, ”said Carey. The American appreciates such efforts, but what will be introduced in the end will have to wait. “We need to get even more opinions and suggestions. It doesn't matter if it's the tracks, the rules, the radio or whatever is in the rules. " In the end, it will be necessary to decide on the right path, adds Carey.
