Ideas and Proposals
In recent seasons, various proposals have been made to modify certain parts of the regulations to make Formula 1 more thrilling and unpredictable. The latest, expressed as a personal opinion, comes from Martin Brundle, now a television commentator in the UK for Sky Sports.
No More Blue Flags
In a discussion on Reddit, the former Williams, Benetton, and McLaren driver (to name a few teams he raced for in F1 during the ’80s and ’90s) suggested removing blue flags—the flags waved to lapped drivers instructing them to make way for cars behind that aren’t competing with them directly: “I think drivers have lost the skill of working through traffic, of managing traffic as they used to, and I really liked that.”
Lost Skills
The blue flags were permanently introduced into the regulations in 1995, which was Martin Brundle’s penultimate season in Formula 1 (when he achieved his ninth and final podium). He continued: “Now everyone has to jump out of the way like school kids when the fast cars come through. The issue is that, with today’s aerodynamics, you risk never being able to pass lapped cars. So things have changed a bit, but I believe it’s a skill that has been lost.”
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