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Comment by rwmj | Hacker News Reader

I think they should just let the teams use whatever technology they can invent, as long as it doesn't make it unsafe. Who cares how good the drivers are? The technology is far more interesting.

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That wouldn't work. Firstly the smaller teams would be gone as they couldn't afford to compete. It's also likely a lot of the mid-field teams would struggle to afford to compete (Lotus, one of the top 5 teams can't even pay it's top driver). Secondly your qualification 'as long as it doesn't make it unsafe' is one of the reasons there are so many rules in F1. It's an incredibly dangerous sport. The engineers could easily make the cars go much quicker - but it would be too dangerous and costly.

> It's an incredibly dangerous sport.

Maybe it is time to make a clone of the race, but without the pilots.

I would love to see that elusive budget cap implemented but if that were to happen, I would want to ease the technological limitations.

Imagine the kind of innovation if you were free to do what you want up to a max of X million/year.

I agree, but I don't think a budget cap would be easily enforceable which is why - after years of talking about it - it has never been implemented.

Making the cars go fast has never been the issue. Making them slow down however is quite a different thing. :)

Technology can make the racing uninterested. ABS and TCS removes all the risk from cornering and braking, so you don't get spectacular overtakes on hard braking, which is a big part of racing. So, some technological advances actually reduce the entertainment factor.

Thankfully, my favorite form of racing, motogp, has benefited greatly from recent technological advances. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YAiXqOwkmE

There are no driver aids in F1. No ABS, no (legal) traction control.

I realize this. I was addressing the OP's comment:

I think they should just let the teams use whatever technology they can invent...

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I believe that the market (spectators) does not agree with you and that is the reason why F1 has had more and more regulations added to it.

Technological innovation appeared to be leading to a sport that was losing its spectacle more and more. And that's what the vast majority of people who watch(ed) F1 wanted.

I love technological advantages as much as anyone, but people relate to people, not machines.

That implies to make cars that are too dependent of aerodynamic performance, which makes them incapable of overtaking.

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