Rain, Rain, Go Away

The wizards of Formula 1 often look down - always look down - on other forms of open-wheel racing around the world, particularly in the United States. Even in the hey day of CART in the late-80's and early 90's, F1 claimed superiority despite a seemingly endless, snooze-inducing run of McLaren Honda romps.

One thing I always agreed with though was the use of local cautions during an accident. In F1, the clean-up of a shunt is unbelievably quick. It's rare to see the appearance of a safety car (pace car, in the states). The highest of high-tech lifts and cranes are utlized liberally, and a wrecked or stalled car is removed to safety in no time at all. Racing resumes - it usually is only slowed down for a corner or two.

Totally different scenario in the States. Whether CART, IRL, or whatever, the pace car pays a routine visit almost every race weekend. On road circuits, full-course cautions are de riguer, bunching the field. For many, it works - most Americans want wheel-to-wheel racing action, with lots of passes. In the culture of F1, the race on the track on Sunday is just one part of the total race - design engineering, mechanical engineering, qualifying, and racing.

What Americans have figured out though, is how to manage a wet track - we've seen futile F1 attempts several times this season, highlighted (or low-lighted, as may be the case) by this afternoons 90-minute delay in qualifying at Interlagos in Brazil.

Granted, today's storm was, in the parlance of my mother, a "frog strangler." But, F1 race stewards could learn a thing or two of managing a wet track to avoid it "getting away from you." For, once the track is "away," it's lost to the whims of mother nature.

Today saw the folly of the medical car - a bad-ass AMG Mercedes station wagon - taking "inspection laps" to determine if it was safe to resume qualifying. One car on a three-mile track is going to do nothing to disipate water. In the sponsorship crazy state of American road racing, the track would have been littered with "Pace Trucks" flushing the water as much as possible. Ever sat through a ran delay at Indy? Ribbons of trucks circle the track - at times it seems there's more traffic than on Georgetown Road gettng to the track in the first place. Depending on the venue, you'll see a jet-dryer or two.

NASCAR, the epitomy of racing low-tech, even has a great solution. As the track nears drying, they'll line up the cars and run them around at reduced speeds. Not only will the tires help dry by spraying water in the air, but the oven hot exhausts and engine bays do their part to.

A couple of solutions for F1 to ensure their shows go on:

1. Put the Saftey and Medical Car out together, along with every other saftey and track maintenance vehicle on site - the more ties spray, the more water is removed. Try to keep the track from receiving standing water in the first place - it requires almost constant use (and if anyone remembers the CART Portland race circa '95 or so can attest it works)


2. Consider running the field under controlled circumstances, under a full-course caution. An F1 tire can pump out (and up) almost 16 gallons/second at full speed. Even at reduced speeds, it's double-digits of gallons per second, per wheel. 20 cars, 4 wheels apiece - well, they can do the math. Sure, you'll get bitching from the team - it will ruin our fuel loads - but it will be the same for everyone.
   

The show goes on. But for F1 to maintain its collective superiority complex, its got to be the forerunner and leader all the way around. Fellas, do some to better drain your facilities.

As for the race on Sunday, will the dry set-up of Vettel and the McLarens make a difference? A little, but not enough to compensate for their starting positions. If Reubinho can bring it for the home crowd, we'll see the championship go down to Abu Dhabi.