In the sequence of the 'tech thread' here it is...

"Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are worried they'll have too many buttons to press on their steering wheels following the latest Formula One rule changes."

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/artic...o-complicated/

 

Boo Hoo, get paid millions of dollars to drive, and you can't figure out which buttons do what. Sounds like they are setting themselves up for a great excuse when they finish poorly.

 

Nonsense! F1 cars are becoming a caricature of a driver's car.

 

I think he was trying to say "whats the point". The cars are hard enough to drive, and very few can do it well. Who needs a stupid adjustable wing...

 

I understand that, but he is also saying it will be a challenging year with all the other changes. To me it is an attempt to throw some excuses out early that cover the a$$es if they have a bad year.

 

I agree with North Van . These are not the guys who ought tio be complaining . They can always choose another occupation .

It's one thing when a paying customer buys a car for personal use to want improvements and quite another when a pro driver whines about his job.

 

+1. F1 is becoming a farce. The powers that be keep moving F1 to an overly complicated spec series. It is becoming unwatchable.

 

maybe new drivers will solve the issue

 

Although I do see your point NorthVan I think it comes down to more than that. As a F1 driver you want to prove that you are better at it than the competition in one form...your skill as a driver. When they start to add the stupid over boost and and adjustable wing it turns into who can make the choice to use "X" option at the right time. Let alone pit strategy, tire choice, and everything else than can already be done to an F1 car. In the end I think he is trying to say "What is the point, just let us race".

 

I am not convinced these guys are complaining more than simply discussing upcoming changes and potential impact. The author of the article may frame the out of context quotes to make it seem complaining, but who can really tell.

I just don't trust any magazine or media these days to present anything as it is - there always seems to be an agenda - if nothing else, one of making drama out of a grain of salt.

What are they supposed to say? "Yes, buttons, tires, wings, cars - whatever - just cars we drive around in circles - someone will be first, hope it's me. Yawn.....". That'll attract readers...sure.

 

Exactly, let them race. If they have to use technology and learn how and when to use it, then so be it. In theory they all have the same cars, and are all very skilled drivers, so everyone has a chance. Maybe they should start putting a cap on the amount a team can spend, then some of the smaller teams stand a chance.

 

The point is misapplied technology. Too many rules behind added technology. Indeed, castrated technology, as it should be automated. The FIA has too many cooks with a PC agenda in the mix. It makes no sense to involve the driver pushing buttons when the function should simply be automated. The job of the driver is to drive, meaning steering, accelerating, braking, not being a mechanic setting up the car before/after every turn. The objective of F1 was to be a cradle of innovation which would eventually show up on the street car - no one should expect a street car driver to be setting up a aspects of performance before/after each turn. That is the job of a computer following a prescribed performance envelope.

 

i just wonder what fingers do they use if they need to keep 4 buttons pressed on a steering wheel while steering through a corner?

it asks for a jet fighter like helmet tracking system IMHO.

 

Now if we can just get them the Russian Technology used in the MiG 31 (Firefox) that allows these things to be controlled by thought. All the drivers would have to learn Russian, but that might be easier then figuring out an XBox controller.

 

There are too many buttons on my new digital camera. Good thing it has a button called "auto", so I can skip reading the manual and can take pictures as good as the pro.