Have your say: how would you make Formula 1 more exciting?

A few days ago we compared 2015’s F1 cars to those from ten and twenty years ago, using fastest laps from three classic tracks to determine how the different eras stacked up.

The results were quite intriguing, if we do say so ourselves. Although today’s racers are certainly slower than during the sport’s peak in the mid part of the last decade, they remain hugely quicker than the beasts that Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna competed with in seasons gone by.

It implies that the FIA’s pledge to make cars 5-6 seconds per lap by 2017 might not, alone, fix F1’s fundamental issues. And even if the sport’s organisers do find the right path, there’s no guarantee that the necessary changes will be made: teams, suppliers, promoters and sponsors all sit on the F1 Commission, meaning politics tends to take precedent over what’s best for the fans.

But help for F1 is at hand in the shape of, um, you lot. Our speed-comparo story generated a host of excellent suggestions to enliven the sport. Here are just a few of them:

ThEEV on the sport in general:

“F1 is like trying to fall in love with an android. They look right, but they don't sound right. They don't feel right.

“F1's problem is the whole package: No romance. No danger. No noise. There's nothing animal about it anymore. It's average.”

Smokeduv defending hybrid engines:

“Aside from the aerodynamics rules, I think that we're not taking something into account, which is the potential of the new PU. Yes it is slow, unreliable, complicated and expensive for now, just as it was when Renault started developing F1 turbo engines in the 80s ('79 to be precise), but they saw the potential and ended being one of the best engines in the grid, until almost everyone were running a turbo engine. This might be the same...”

LankyRunner on the appeal of Formula E:

“Has anyone here watched Formula E? They're much slower, but so much more exciting to watch. The drivers are all side by side through tight city streets, with walled sides, minimal run-offs, tiny margin for error, and the action is completely intense. It makes Formula 1 look stale and clinical. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't already caught the E buzz.”

ThEEV again, on the turn-offs of Formula E:

“I've watched it and I still feel unsatisfied. I think it was the perfect opportunity to make a box and say, ok, show us what you can do with this electric battery, open wheels, and an open cockpit. Instead, they did the opposite: they remained convinced that the driver is the only thing that matters to the fans and the cars are just things to make them all equal. Borrrrrrring.”

Lime on free-to-view motorsport:

“F1 needs to take a good long look at DTM, how it's organised and how they stream every race for free on YouTube.”

Remy on other racing series:

“I watched a Formula 3 Grand Prix of Macau replay on YouTube recently. The cars weren't going past 140 MPH, but every single driver on that grid was driver like their career depended on it, because it did. The sheer amount of overtakes, positioning skill, drafting, weaving and so forth made the race more exciting than any F1 race in recent memory.

“Watch Formula 3, Rallycross and WTCC. Those series are looking to serve the fans, not the other way around.”

Puma on innovation in F1:

“As everyone in the comments apparently, I also spent a good deal of my time trying to save F1 in my head, but I failed. As Remy points out, the engineering part of the package is extremely important for many of us.

“I want to see the push of boundaries, and it's always been a challenge to balance that with show. I want to see the 80's McLarens and the V12 Ferraris. But I'm almost certain it's not the way to go. F1 must be totally new, all the time.

“I don't have a solution, but I'd agree to stop this. Try something again. I'm not waking up early for this thing anymore.”

Gazzed on modern circuits:

“I honestly don't like a whole lot of these new/newly designed circuits (except for Circuit of the Americas). They don't have character, nearly none challenging passes, boring flat curves etc.”

Interesting stuff. So interesting in fact, it got us thinking: what would F1 look like if TG readers were in charge? Stick with hybrids or return to V8s? DRS or no DRS? Short-life tyres, or endurance rubber?

Do us the honour of clicking through the poll below, and we’ll use the results to have a deeper look at what’s wrong with the sport after the season has concluded at Abu Dhabi this weekend.

And of course add your suggestions in the comments section below. We’ll collate the best and present them to Bernie, just as soon as we can work out how to broach the electric fence around his high-security fortress…

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