Abu Dhabi has confirmed to be first day-night grand prix.

[flynfrog]

My point is that it is unnecessary and contrived.

If they were driving an endurance race, they would expect the changing light conditions, and they would be well prepared and experienced doing so.

If F1 cars were meant to race in the dark, they would be designed with headlights.

Yes because Head lights are needed on a fully lighted track.

Just think of the road relevancy being able to drive and night and in the day

[modbaraban]

McLaren did seem to test some lights at Valencia.

[Conceptual]

My point is that it is unnecessary and contrived.

If they were driving an endurance race, they would expect the changing light conditions, and they would be well prepared and experienced doing so.

If F1 cars were meant to race in the dark, they would be designed with headlights.

Yes because Head lights are needed on a fully lighted track.

Just think of the road relevancy being able to drive and night and in the day

Yes, and since last year held the first night race in the history of Formula 1, I can see how it is such a large part of the "DNA" of the sport.

I guess that I am just a "showdown at 1pm local time" kind of guy. The change for the sake of the spectacle does nothing but make things more difficult for the people that actually do the work. It does ZERO to increase the quality of the racing. Absolutely ZERO.

[ISLAMATRON]

McLaren did seem to test some lights at Valencia.

That is just Lewis' halo shining for all to see

[DaveKillens]

x

[Ray]

I've watched oval night races (such as NASCAR's Daytona) and wow, do the cars look absolutely beautiful. The cars in the Singapore race did not appear to be as attrative as what is being shown in NASCAR or IRL night races. If Formula One could tune the night lighting system to give the kind of pop and sparkle that presently exists in US oval tracks with night lighting, I'm sure more Formula One fans would change their opinions on the worthiness of night racing.

I think alot of that has to do with the size difference of the cars. With F1 cars all you really have is the rear wing and the engine cover to bounce the light off of, whereas a Nascar car you have a huge slab sided car to reflect all that light.

[Ray]

I guess that I am just a "showdown at 1pm local time" kind of guy. The change for the sake of the spectacle does nothing but make things more difficult for the people that actually do the work. It does ZERO to increase the quality of the racing. Absolutely ZERO.

Well at most tracks it's a boring follow the leader kind of racing. First lap first turn, and that pretty much the end of the actual racing for the duration. With changing lighting and temperatures things could dice up the racing and strategy. I think that Monaco is a boring race for the most part, only rain really throws a kink in what usually happens. From what was said from fans, and the media there weren't really any disappointed people at the night race in Singapore last year. The lighting there was barely adequate in alot of spots around the track and hopefully the'll improve it and the Abu Dhabi race directors will do a bit better on their first try.

[DaveKillens]

x

[Ray]

I think alot of that has to do with the size difference of the cars. With F1 cars all you really have is the rear wing and the engine cover to bounce the light off of, whereas a Nascar car you have a huge slab sided car to reflect all that light.

With a lot of respect, I was watching the Indy Racing League night race at Chicagoland as I composed my post, and the cars had that "pop and sparkle" just like in NASCAR.

I was watching it as well and I agree. I was wrong and I guess it really has to do with the setup of how the lights are I guess? They have a mirror system if I'm correct, whereas in Singapore they had lights hung on poles and fixtures. Would that be what makes the difference.

[bhallg2k]

No matter what is done with track lighting, F1 footage on television will lack that "pop and sparkle" until FOM decides to join the 21st century and provide a high definition video feed. It blows my mind that the second most popular sport in the world still relies upon SD video.

[bjpower]

heres a bloody idea instead of shipping the cars off to the east at night so us Europeans can watch it - drop the price of a decent F1 ticket in Europe to something sub €500.

Iv gone to 1 race monza a few years back, loved it. everyone should go to at least 1 race even if you dont like cars.
but asking me to spend 1000 just to get me and the girl in the door? +flights +camping etc etc.

if people can go to it, guess what more people will watch it!!!

ye should have split when you had the chance fota

[King Six]

No matter what is done with track lighting, F1 footage on television will lack that "pop and sparkle" until FOM decides to join the 21st century and provide a high definition video feed. It blows my mind that the second most popular sport in the world still relies upon SD video.

Especially considering the money involved in F1. They can afford all the shitty parties for the elite and the models, and all the stupid motorhomes but somehow they can't get HD

[TheMinister]

Yes, and since last year held the first night race in the history of Formula 1, I can see how it is such a large part of the "DNA" of the sport.

I guess that I am just a "showdown at 1pm local time" kind of guy. The change for the sake of the spectacle does nothing but make things more difficult for the people that actually do the work. It does ZERO to increase the quality of the racing. Absolutely ZERO.

It might not make the racing any better, but it certainly gets a bigger TV audience- which can only be a good thing. The more people that watch F1, the more sponsors money, the better they can afford to make the spectacle. It might be a bit of a pain for the teams, but in the long run everybody wins.

In having night races, F1 is only following football, which has shown all sports the way to do it. From just a few semi-pro leagues, it now has tens of thousands of professionals and a brand appeal all over the world, all thanks to making the game as TV friendly as possible.

I guess that just increases the need for F1 to be in HD as well; watching football in HD is truely a thing of beauty (anybody see Euro 08 in it?). Just seeing the crowd and stadiums in HD was impressive, I can only imagine how much better F1 would look if Bernie got his act together.

[richard_leeds]

In my mind, the more variability, the better. Cars have become so reliable and hard to overtake that variance in technical performance seems to solely derive from differing climates, topography and style of circuit.

Day/night is an additional variability, an extra challenge for the teams - bring it on!