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Comment by k-mcgrady | Hacker News Reader

"In addition, spectators will be able to interact with the cars using social media. The talk is of allowing them to award drivers extra goes on their “push-to-pass” boost buttons"

That's the most stupid thing I've heard all week. No matter how it's implemented it's silly. Fans shouldn't be able to influence the result of a race.

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Oh God .. what a dumb idea. Until I got to that bit it sounded great. Whether it's FIA or someone else, if it can get a following then the innovation the teams will develop will be massive for electric cars. And that it IS FIA that's organising it, it's got a good chance of being at least very interesting.

But if you're going to let the audience VOTE on the outcome I might as well go watching survivor. Maybe they'll let us vote asshole drivers off the island?

Ideas this mindbogglingly stupid are a good reminder that the FIA, like many other wealthy pursuits, would appear to be mainly fuelled by a high octane mixture of alcohol and cocaine. I cannot see otherwise how something so dumb would have made it past a single meeting.

It is a stupid idea from a gamesmanship point of view.

But it is a brilliantly viral idea from the marketing point of view. Think of that Saturday afternoon when you have a few posts popping up on facebook and twitter "Your friend is supporting ____...", it is sure to get a bump in non-hard-core fans watching the race.

Racing is one of the few places they can do this.

Yeh can you imagine Monza run under this harebrained idea remember the Martin Brundel quote " its monza if your not Italian or driving for Ferrari they tend to throw things

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