Should grids be staggered ?

[lebesset]

we still talk about being on the front row , but ,of course , it no longer exists

the pole sitter has the advantage of being on the best side , and for me that is advantage enough ....yet again we see the 2nd place man overtaken by the third place man who has the advantage of starting on the clean side of the grid ..how can that be right ?

don't we want to see the 2nd place man having a go at getting past the pole sitter ?...you see what happened when kubica tried , wheelspin and gets overtaken

side by side for me , the faster qualifier gets an advantage , but not too much !

[mbvinnie]

Hi Lebesset,

This is exactly what I was thinking during this start (and previously). I believe the even placed qualifiers are penalized unduly.

I was thinking a staggered start such that the gap between 1st to 2nd (say 5m) is less than between 2nd and 3rd (say 10m). Obviously tests could be run to optimize this, but surely they would be able to come up with a solution such that there is not an advantage/disadvantage from the grid other than that earned through qualifying faster than the car behind...

I wonder if anyone has investigated "average gain/loss in positions on first lap" vs whether they started on the odd or even side of grid...would show very quickly and easily if there is a unfair disadvantage due to starting on dirty side.

[raymondu999]

I wasn't thinking as far as not staggering each row as that would provide the wrong advantage on some tracks. But maybe like 4meters from 1-2, 3-4? Then 8 meters from 2-3, 4-5?

[autogyro]

I still believe a reversed grid is the way to do it.
Look at the drive from the pit road from Alesi, at least that was not boring.

[djones]

Is it just me that read girls in the title

[lebesset]

reversed grid ?
bet I could get on pole with that

[autogyro]

reversed grid ?
bet I could get on pole with that

Points would be awarded for qualifying as well as the race in such a way as to encourage best efforts in both.
It has worked for decades on the short ovals.

[mep]

Is it just me that read girls in the title

Me too.

[raymondu999]

But then again, what's stopping a driver from sandbagging to actually get last qualifying, but effective pole

[Shrek]

But then again, what's stopping a driver from sandbagging to actually get last qualifying, but effective pole

i was thinking that getting 1-10 in qualifying would be the same amount of points as those same positions.

[raymondu999]

ok, then what if Chandhok/Senna are extreme defenders and nobody can get past a HRT 1-2?

[autogyro]

ok, then what if Chandhok/Senna are extreme defenders and nobody can get past a HRT 1-2?

Yep but then if the top drivers cannot pass them in 72 laps they should not be in F1.

[axle]

I think the rows should be as far apart as they are currently but the stagger reduced...probably cut in half.

[Pandamasque]

I think they should remain the same, except the uneven numbers should be on the dirty side, so the #1 would still have the distance advantage, but #2 would have better traction on certain tracks.

[ISLAMATRON]

ok, then what if Chandhok/Senna are extreme defenders and nobody can get past a HRT 1-2?

Better yet they drive side by side at SC speed for the whole race, they'd be 1-2 at Monaco every year

The pole winning driver should have whatever side he wants, he earned it... and that would usually be the clean side... P2 earned the right to be next to him... but not penalised by the dirty line

decrease the stagger, increase the space between rows.