Between the engine change and double points introduced this season and the standing restarts to be introduced next season, the sport of Formula One has saw a fair share of changes to the rules and regulations in the past few seasons. With some new radio communication rules coming into effect at the next race in Singapore, the FIA has added to the rapidly growing list of changes and is showing no sign of stopping. With a potential ownership change predicted to be completed before the start of the 2015 season, it is possible that even more changes are on the way.
These changes are going to take a toll on the sport. The FIA are making too many changes in such a short period of time. In addition, these are not small changes, but instead changes that will really affect the sport. I think that the title of the popular hard rock song “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast” by Airbourne, best describes the current situation in Formula One.
The rules are definitely changing too much. For example, the change to the V6 Turbocharged engine this season has really affected the teams and we are now seeing teams struggling to develop the engines. Teams like Mercedes have excelled, however, teams like the defending Constructors’ Champion, Red Bull-Renault have declined. If the rules continue to change too drastically in the seasons to come, I think that the sport could definitely get into some trouble.
Of course, not only are the rules changing too much, but the rules that we saw introduced earlier in the season or even before the start of the season, are far too young. As I stated above, teams have had some difficulty adapting to new rules, like the engine change, and haven’t really had enough time to adjust. Despite this fact, the FIA continues to release new rules. However, the difficulty with evaluating what rules need to be changed at this point in time is that the teams are not running at their maximum yet. Therefore, we really haven’t got a completely accurate sneak peek of how the racing has changed. If the FIA continues to release rules, they are going to overwhelm, not only the teams, but also the fans.
And of course, the rules are being changed far too fast. This season has seen so many rule changes in the preseason, but now it is also getting some midseason changes. Fans hate midseason changed and they can be quite controversial at times. If you introduce a midseason rule change, but then a driver who has been good is failing, then the fans are going to blame the rule change. During the season, there needs to be some consistency.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love Formula One and will always watch it, but I think at the current time, it is in poor health. It is more important now, more than ever, to keep the sport exciting and something that the fans want to watch, especially that they are now competing against Formula E which is drawing in even more fans after the last lap accident in the inaugural race. I have confidence in the governing bodies to save the sport, but right now, it isn’t looking good.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
