Ferrari unveiled it’s F60 car this week and I have say… I don’t like it by looks alone.  Previous versions of the car were more aggressive looking with the little winglets that flitted here and there.  Now with all that gone, the car looks so … … basic.  It doesn’t look like the most advanced machine in the world but instead it looks like we’ve traveled back in time to older times.  Some may argue that those were better times but look at lap times and advancements in aerodynamics; now it’s just all gone!  How can that be better?  At this point, you might as well take the helmet away (I’m being sarcastic… motorsports is a dangerous sport and even when wearing the right protection you can still be injured or killed).  I understand that they want to make the sport more interesting by promoting rule changes that will encourage passing that would be otherwise more difficult to do under the current conditions.  Instead of taking things away though they should have just added onto what they had.  Leave the cars aerodynamics alone but instead allow for interactive aerodynamics.  Allow the driver to change the settings throughout the scenarios that present themselves.  Keep the rear wing taller but allow it to be wider as well or as wide as the manufacturer wants it to be.  In face let them chose between the different wings per the FIA homologation agreements.  Bringing back the racing slick tires and incorporating the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) are definitely steps in the right direction. 

2009 Ferrari F60

2008 Ferrari F2008

You may have notice by now that I’m not a Ron Dennis fan but according to Speed TV he was quoted as saying that with every rule change that it ends up costing the manufactures/teams money.  So when they have a crew that’s in charge of engine advancement they have to let them go to be replaced by engine developers that specialize in reliability.  Now that KERS is here, there has to be a team for that and the list goes on and on.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the sport becoming more “green” but becoming more “green” also involves money management and becoming more economical.  F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport but it looks like they’ve become dumbed down and they look like cars from the American Series or even A1 (not saying that those are not good motorsports just saying that they look too much alike) that new comers to the sport will have a hard time differenciating the differences between them.

On that note:  Go Kimi Go!