has bernie lost the plot with rain idea

[redred]

Webber dismisses 'fake rain' idea
Mark Webber has dismissed Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's idea to liven up grands prix with sprinklers to make tracks artificially wet.

"No and no," Red Bull driver Webber told the BBC when asked whether the sport needed such measures and whether he was in favour of them.

"It wouldn't be the most sophisticated way to make the show more entertaining," added the Australian.

Mercedes GP boss Nick Fry was also unconvinced with the idea.

"I think Bernie's putting forward some entertaining ideas but Formula 1 is about contending with the conditions that prevail at the time," said Fry.

"I think that fiddling with those conditions artificially is not the nature of Formula 1.

"The beauty of Formula 1 is that there is now huge variety. We have races in the evening and during the day and halfway between the two and I don't think anyone could say that last year was boring.

"It was tremendous and I'm sure that this year will be better still."

Webber added: "It can be more exciting when we have some different weather conditions, that does happen. But you just try and think of Jimmy Clark, and Jackie Stewart and (Ayrton) Senna and those guys, masters in the wet.

"Jackie's still here but the other two would be turning in their graves if they thought we'd have sprinklers and hoses lined up around the track."

Ecclestone suggested the

with no more than a two-minute warning to ensure suspense.
"I'm happy to make it happen," the 80-year-old told the BBC on Thursday.

"My idea is that we should make a programme that nobody knows exactly which programme is going to be used and it would start at some time during the race. It would be raining effectively.

"It would maybe stop and maybe rain again later. Or maybe not. So nobody would know."

Ecclestone did find some support from Paul Hembery, motorsport director of Formula 1's new tyre supplier Pirelli.

"I thought Bernie Ecclestone's comments were quite interesting," he told autosport.com.

"Straight after our recent successful (wet-weather) Abu Dhabi test I saw him and said, 'Why don't we do an artificial wet race?' The technology is such that you can wet a circuit with a sprinkler system, so the idea is not as daft as it sounds."

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/spo...ne/9413796.stm

[Arkady Renko]

Well, Ecclestone is more like a circus impresario than a serious manager, it's exactly the kind of thing he comes up with all the time. He would have been a perfect fit at the helm of Circus Maximus in ancient Rome.

[redred]

he could just hold all the races in the uk he'll get his rain then

[Arkady Renko]

truth be told I would really like to see some more of the classic tracks back in the calendar. Most of the new tracks in Arabia and Asia are pretty much identical and have no flair. Places like the Nürburgring, Zeltweg, Estoril, Donnington, Zandvoort etc. would be muchmore exciting in my opinion, as well as some of the traditional US tracks. But no, the circus will follow the money.

[redred]

. But no, the circus will follow the money.

thats all it is now if you don't wave the right amount he looks the other way , would love to see a full race at the 'ring

[Hugh_Janus]

Sprinklers, awesome in theory, but in reality totally ghey. What they should have done was say to pirelli "look.... make some tyres that degrade like fuck, so A) there's more than 1 pitstop and 2 the drivers will struggle for grip. kthxbai"

truth be told I would really like to see some more of the classic tracks back in the calendar. Most of the new tracks in Arabia and Asia are pretty much identical and have no flair. Places like the Nürburgring, Zeltweg, Estoril, Donnington, Zandvoort etc. would be muchmore exciting in my opinion, as well as some of the traditional US tracks. But no, the circus will follow the money.

it will never happen due to track safety (or lack of). The trouble is that all the new traxks are designed by the same person, so they are all much of a muchness and he has no idea IMO of how to design a "racing" circuit. He's pretty damn good with the safety side of things, but when it comes to overtaking.... not so much.

The cars ar emostly to blame for the boring races, but that should change in 2013 with the return of ground effects and itty bitty wings