[NeilP]

Toto Wolff recently suggested that teams should be allowed to enter three cars in a race I am wondering what you guys think of that.  To me I like the idea because it will put more cars on the grid, gets more drivers involved in F1, and that to me at least will make it more interesting and accessible.

I do see a potential downside that the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes and quite possibly Red Bull could afford it much more than the other teams in racing so it could lead to a more dominating effect. Plus a team running three cars naturally from a  tactical point of view will have more potential to control a race more than a team that can only afford to run two cars.

I do like the suggestion that the third car should be driven by a young driver in one of the teams driver programs. In fact why stop at one driver maybe various drivers could share the seat during the year to gain experience.

I am certain the Esteban Ocon situation has brought this idea to the fore, the idea a driver of that talent could be out of F1 next season is both a joke and in my eyes unacceptable and bad for the sport. Many people say because he is  Mercedes driver he is not welcome in other teams and I do understand that. That said why should a team sponsor and support a driver through his early career and then just have to let him go?  To me I would have targeted Daniel Ricciardo for the second seat and if that failed (as it did, if indeed they tried) I would have put Ocon in the seat ahead of Bottas as unfair as that may seem to some

Your thoughts gentlemen...

[LotusLover]

One thing straight away Pit stops??

[Gojira]

My first thought: can most circuits cope with 30 cars on the grid, assuming we don't lose any teams?

30 cars aiming for the same bit of La Source on lap one - what could possibly go wrong...

I know we have had 26-car grids before, but 30 just seems too crowded to me.

And then of course there will be all the bun-fights over team orders - oh wait, we get those now

[Monster Hesh]

Firstly welcome to the forums Gojira!

Secondly, while 3 cars would be good for the top teams, more drivers in competitive cars would add to unpredictability. I see more negatives than positives, mainly 70% of the paddock just wont be able to afford it. It would then mean only the top team could run them, and that would just eclipse all the lower teams, there would be no point in even turning up. Nobody would sponsor them because they know they wouldn't get screen time, there wouldn't be a possibility of surprise results.

In MotoGP Repsol Honda ran three bikes in 2011 I think it was. They looked phenomenal when in formation on track, but it just didn't work. it was too much for the sport and the team. I'd say the F1 paddock can get more "shirty" than MotoGP, so it could lead to a massive fallout between teams, as dirty strategies start to appear.

[LotusLover]

Welcome Gojira

[morini]

Good to see you on here Gojira. I hope a few more from the Jag forum are tempted to join us.

Regarding the three car teams, I think the factory teams may be able to do it (and I'd like to see it), but the customer teams would definately struggle.

[PapaofGags]

Welcome to the madhouse Gojira.  


I would like to see three car teams, more cars more drivers what's not to like, like others have said maybe some of the smaller teams might struggle & wouldn't want the bigger teams taking points off them, so I'm not holding my  breath lol.

[Gojira]

Thanks for the welcome, guys

Thinking about it, how much would it cost for a pay driver to compete for a skint team for a season?

It does worry me a bit that there'd be an incentive for even more pay drivers than we currently have, and I don't really think that is in the best interests of the sport, especially if F1 is to be taken seriously as the pinnacle of motorsport.

(goes away and finds tin opener for can of worms)

I was going to ask how seriously people would take professional tennis, if money could move you up the rankings, but then I thought three  words:

Premier League Football

[Jody Barton]

The three car team idea become logistically difficult, running two cars is expensive enough, so some teams would only run two, does that mean teams that run three cars get a WCC advantage with three cars scoring points, or do their top two cars only score points? It's an unworkable idea. If Toto and Mercedes want to give their youngsters drives, they need to either buy or make a second team, or open seats up quicker in their cars.

Also welcome to the forum Gojira.

[Barry Malawi]

Three cars sounds like a great idea but I don't think its a practical one unfortunately, unless other changes are made. 

1. Imagine all those cars on track for qualifying!  Imagine all the complaints there would be about being held up on a flying lap by a car that was on an out lap or coming into the pits.  So qualifying would have to change somehow.

2. There would be an increased chance of teams playing dirty by using the third car as a mobile road block to hold back the opposition.  Not saying they WOULD, but later in the season when points are vital... who knows what might happen?  Even innocent accidental holding up of another car would bring accusations of cheating.

3. More racing accidents would be inevitable in my opinion.  Congested tracks and almost impossible overtaking would mean more drivers chancing their luck.

4. Number 3 above would mean more costs for the teams in repairs etc., which might impact on their development budget. Some teams are probably already struggling with the cost of keeping two cars running, so that would have to be looked at.

5. As has been mentioned already, it would be chaos in the pits - especially in 'safety car' situations, where they might ALL want to come in for tyres.