Ecclestone's brilliant new idea: rain 'on command'

Have you ever driven your car near a well-kept roundabout and realized that it is automatically irrigated to keep it thriving? And that the sprinklers then wet the asphalt?

Every man for himself
Here, let's get ready. The Formula 1 of the future could include showers of rain controlled from above, understood as Race Direction.

It's not a joke, Unfortunately. The gimmick of the day comes straight from the mind of Bernie Ecclestone himself, who spoke for formula1.com explaining that “Overtaking is currently impossible in the dry because there is only one good line and the margins for attempting to pass those in front are limited. Which doesn't happen in the wet, where the races are much more exciting. So, why not think about making it 'artificially rain' during the race?”

“There are tracks where the asphalt can be artificially wetted, and this system can also be applied to tracks that don't currently have it. Why not make it 'rain' in the middle of a race? Maybe for twenty minutes, or in the last 10 laps, after warning two minutes before wetting the asphalt? The suspense would be guaranteed and the conditions would be identical for everyone."

We had already explained our doubts regarding the introduction of the rear movable wing, a console device rather than a Formula 1 device.
The FIA's request to Pirelli to develop 'performance' tires has turned into the design of chewing gum which completely falls apart after a few laps, putting the safety of the drivers at risk who will presumably be forced to stop all together, at most in blocks based on the compound chosen. If before the stop was necessary due to supplies, now it will be due to the tyres, which in terms of softness seem to resemble intermediate wet ones used in the dry.

An exhausting list of uselessness
Now comes another idea worthy of the trend of the last 10 years. Ecclestone's words speak for themselves. We try in every way to find the show again. All except the right one though. He skirts around the problem without seriously addressing it. Scores and qualifications have been changed. He goes racing in the desert, on tracks with two kilometre-long straights and as many hairpin bends. The refuelings were removed, the tires went from lasting the whole race (2005) to just a few laps (2011). The same ones went from grooved to slick again. The aesthetics of the cars have been distorted making them unwatchable since 2009, thinking that widening/tightening the spoilers was enough to facilitate overtaking. Kers was introduced in 2009, not used in 2010 and returned this season. Finally the rear mobile wing, after the front one which has now been abolished. We still don't understand that the real problem is the aerodynamics of the cars and the trail they leave behind for those following, which doesn't allow you to get close or stay close on bends. Abu Dhabi teaches. 10 years ago, 15, 20, the Alonso in question would have taken very little to pass Petrov. This is where the FIA's study must be concentrated, it must be ensured that the cars can remain in the slipstream without aerodynamic imbalances and without disturbances. And then it will be possible to eliminate mobile wings, Kers and all the useless things thrown into the cauldron in an attempt to restore credibility to this sport.

Concluding
In this sense, rain 'on command' could represent the straw that would truly break the camel's back. After the mobile rear wing we didn't think that Ecclestone would launch further hypotheses of 'dangers' for his little game in 2011. Evidently, it is a bottomless pit. Be careful about digging too deep though...

Alessandro Secchi
F1Grandprix.it