F1 champion proposes INSANE driver change at Dutch GP

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has proposed a change to the sport which, on the face of it, sounds absolutely ridiculous.

The 1997 champ was on Sky Sports' broadcast for Dutch Grand Prix practice on Friday, and suggested that the sport remove wing mirrors from the cars.

Villeneuve complained that drivers now only use their mirrors to block off drivers behind them as opposed to using them to stay out the way of drivers coming to lap them, or faster drivers in practice or qualifying sessions.

With drivers now almost exclusively relying on team radio to tell them when a driver on a hot lap is approaching them, the Canadian has suggested that the quality of on-track racing would be improved without mirrors without as much downside from drivers suffering complete blindness to anything behind them.

Villeneuve's novel F1 suggestion

Villeneuve explained to his Sky F1 co-commentators: "Mirrors weren’t used to block other drivers, they were just used to avoid traffic.

"Now, the drivers use them only to block, so we should remove mirrors, we’d have better racing."

"If you overtake someone and you know he has not seen you, you won’t put yourself in a situation where you will be run off the track and the driver in front won’t run you off the track on purpose either or block you, it would end up being safer. It would be worse when you came out of the pits."

Villeneuve's comments are a fascinating prompt to reconsider which long-standing parts of F1 cars may actually be holding the sport back from realising its full potential as an on-track product.

Steering wheels, for example, play a major role in those blocking manoeuvres which so hinder overtaking. In the next set of major regulation changes, say in 2035, could it be worth exploring a system where cars are given their individual lines around the track, unable to get in each others' way except for at very specific crossover points?

Not only would blocking become a thing of the past, but this system would likely improve safety somewhat too, with drivers much less likely to collide with each other at high speed – things like Zhou Guanyu's terrifying crash at Silverstone in 2022 would be completely avoided.

Of course, some track owners may complain, with very few of them (preliminary research actually suggests the number is as low as zero) having room for 20 cars to race side by side – but as the FIA and Liberty Media are so keen to tell us, the sport must continue to evolve to stay relevant. Teething problems like that would have solutions if enough people were willing to work on them.

What about it, F1 fans? Giant Scalextric by 2035. Install Chris Deeley as FIA president to see it suggested. Vote early, vote often. Do whatever it takes. And start by subscribing to the GPFans newsletter below.

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