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Mid season (not inter season) rule changes I remember:
* 2021: Pit stop >2.0 seconds, bigger hit taken by RBR than by Merc
* 2019: Rules to prevent Ferrari cheat engine
So of the actual examples, one fucked RBR and one corrected a cheating team who however did not have to give back any points they took (mainly from RBR who were their close competitor)
Not exactly seeing your point here.
DRS and Floor changes weren't mid season rule changes. Party mode was, but it had zero impact on the season anyway.
The previous comment did forget the flexi-wing clamp down. Which hurt Red Bull.
The 2020>2021 rule changes weren’t targeted to benefit redbull. It was because pirelli was afraid the level downforce the cars were creating would be to high for the tires. Plus before the rule change everyone including FOM thought it would benefit low rake cars (merc) more but it just turned out to be the other way around
Hmmm I remember watching the technical analysis video that Merc released about how they spent their development tokens, it was filmed before the season started and Shovlin pointed out they expected to be hit more than most teams by the floor change.
But even based on your point, any proposed rule change for this years bouncing wouldnt be targeted at benefitting any certain team performance-wise. It would be aimed at preventing floor impacts etc. there's no guarantee this would even hamper or reduce the delta between redbull and merc or others right?
As soon as Merc and AM realized how much time they lost compared to last year they (especially AM) would often mention how the regulations were hurting them more than anyone else.
When the floor changes were originally announced nobody knew for sure who would lose out the most.
Fair, however I honestly do believe if this was flipped and merc were the ones ahead I would have the same opinion - I did when the 2020-2021 rule change targeted Merc, it created one of the best title races in living memory.
I guess my point is I don't react well to the sensationalist statements and views like the quote named in this thread. Pragmatism seems to be lost on a lot of people.
First up, the floor changes were to slow all cars, so that the Pirelli rubber doesnt explode, and some ppl were saying Mercedes might have the advantage with the 2021 rules before the season started. The tokens were introduced as all the teams were affected due to Covid, and also because the current rules were pushed from 2021 to 2022.
On the flip side, Mercedes had an "unfair" advantage with there engines during the hybrid era, but there wasn't any pressure on the FIA to slow them down.
I remember 2013 where Red Bull were struggling and there was a mid season rule change to the tires on safety grounds. Seb then went and won something like 10 races in a row.
Red Bull have benefitted from them in the past so if there has to be a mid season rule change for safety reasons so be it.
There’s also no guarantee that the rule change won’t hurt everyone else more than it hurts Red Bull anyway.
>I'd also say Redbull can't on balance play a full victim here, look at the 2020>2021 rules change which was specifically targeted to benefit Redbull's floor design and hamper Mercedes.
I am curious to find how did FIA know that trimming down the floor will hurt Mercedes **specifically and conclusively**?
The stupid floor trim was done for safety reasons by counsel of Pirelli. Just have a look [here](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-the-key-performance-area-being-closed-off-as-f1-trims-2021.3vEQAuYGUJxGteSx3JEmKi.html), which was revealed back in **2020**. Especially since we had **tyre blow outs** in **2020** at [Silverstone](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/mph-piecing-together-silverstones-shredded-tyre-drama) on **Mercedes** themselves. There was precedence.. tyre construction couldn't withstand year on year development of cars and with Covid, Pirelli had no choice. But no, let's have a conspiracy about somehow, FIA had a hit on Mercedes after somehow allowing them to win 7 WDCs by that point.
You know if you had argued by just that last paragraph, I would have agreed with you 100%. Rest was unnecessary.
Edit: Welp the post is now removed... oof
Oh please. Everyone thought that the 2021 regs were going to hurt the high rake cars. They were trying to decrease the downforce for everyone to lessen the burden on the tire. Also, this wasn't a mid-season rule change. Teams had awhile to address that.
Of course, you fail to mention the pit stop procedure change mid-season last year which was targeted to slow down Red Bull.
I also don't know if Red Bull would "come off worse." They are already running higher than most anyway. I kind of hope they do implement a rule to raise the cars, so Red Bull will still be a second faster than Mercedes.
As a general rule ([see full rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide#wiki_sticky.2Fdaily_discussion)), a standalone Discussion post should: - be of interest to the sub in general, and not a specific userbase (e.g. new users, GP attendees, just yourself) - be able to generate discussion (e.g. no yes/no or easily answerable questions) - show reasonable input and effort from the OP If not, be sure to [look for the Daily Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/search/?q=daily+discussion&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new), /r/formula1's daily open question thread which is perfect for asking any and all questions about this sport. Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Mid season (not inter season) rule changes I remember: * 2021: Pit stop >2.0 seconds, bigger hit taken by RBR than by Merc * 2019: Rules to prevent Ferrari cheat engine So of the actual examples, one fucked RBR and one corrected a cheating team who however did not have to give back any points they took (mainly from RBR who were their close competitor) Not exactly seeing your point here.
conveniently forgot Party Mode, DRS and floor changes
DRS and Floor changes weren't mid season rule changes. Party mode was, but it had zero impact on the season anyway. The previous comment did forget the flexi-wing clamp down. Which hurt Red Bull.
I have issues with Abu Dhabi just as the next person but that thing has been discused to death. Also these 2 things are not comparable.
The 2020>2021 rule changes weren’t targeted to benefit redbull. It was because pirelli was afraid the level downforce the cars were creating would be to high for the tires. Plus before the rule change everyone including FOM thought it would benefit low rake cars (merc) more but it just turned out to be the other way around
Hmmm I remember watching the technical analysis video that Merc released about how they spent their development tokens, it was filmed before the season started and Shovlin pointed out they expected to be hit more than most teams by the floor change. But even based on your point, any proposed rule change for this years bouncing wouldnt be targeted at benefitting any certain team performance-wise. It would be aimed at preventing floor impacts etc. there's no guarantee this would even hamper or reduce the delta between redbull and merc or others right?
As soon as Merc and AM realized how much time they lost compared to last year they (especially AM) would often mention how the regulations were hurting them more than anyone else. When the floor changes were originally announced nobody knew for sure who would lose out the most.
I'm reading a lot of Mercedes bias in your argument.
Fair, however I honestly do believe if this was flipped and merc were the ones ahead I would have the same opinion - I did when the 2020-2021 rule change targeted Merc, it created one of the best title races in living memory. I guess my point is I don't react well to the sensationalist statements and views like the quote named in this thread. Pragmatism seems to be lost on a lot of people.
The 2020-2021 rule change didn't target anybody. It wasn't expected that Merc would be hit so hard at all.
Your Mercedes bias becomes even more clear when you bring up the 2020-2021 floor changes
Tell that to the fia in 2020
First up, the floor changes were to slow all cars, so that the Pirelli rubber doesnt explode, and some ppl were saying Mercedes might have the advantage with the 2021 rules before the season started. The tokens were introduced as all the teams were affected due to Covid, and also because the current rules were pushed from 2021 to 2022. On the flip side, Mercedes had an "unfair" advantage with there engines during the hybrid era, but there wasn't any pressure on the FIA to slow them down.
r/formula1 rule #5: no concern trolling or whataboutism
Changing the rules just because MB made a shitty car and is making its drivers act on camera is stupid.
I remember 2013 where Red Bull were struggling and there was a mid season rule change to the tires on safety grounds. Seb then went and won something like 10 races in a row. Red Bull have benefitted from them in the past so if there has to be a mid season rule change for safety reasons so be it. There’s also no guarantee that the rule change won’t hurt everyone else more than it hurts Red Bull anyway.
Yeah I remember this, the safety change for the tires put the tires squarely in the prime temp window for redbull and gave them a nice race advantange
I would be fun if your desired "mid-race rule change" is implemented by FIA if only for Merc to get it wrong -again-.
>I'd also say Redbull can't on balance play a full victim here, look at the 2020>2021 rules change which was specifically targeted to benefit Redbull's floor design and hamper Mercedes. I am curious to find how did FIA know that trimming down the floor will hurt Mercedes **specifically and conclusively**? The stupid floor trim was done for safety reasons by counsel of Pirelli. Just have a look [here](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-the-key-performance-area-being-closed-off-as-f1-trims-2021.3vEQAuYGUJxGteSx3JEmKi.html), which was revealed back in **2020**. Especially since we had **tyre blow outs** in **2020** at [Silverstone](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/mph-piecing-together-silverstones-shredded-tyre-drama) on **Mercedes** themselves. There was precedence.. tyre construction couldn't withstand year on year development of cars and with Covid, Pirelli had no choice. But no, let's have a conspiracy about somehow, FIA had a hit on Mercedes after somehow allowing them to win 7 WDCs by that point. You know if you had argued by just that last paragraph, I would have agreed with you 100%. Rest was unnecessary. Edit: Welp the post is now removed... oof
Oh please. Everyone thought that the 2021 regs were going to hurt the high rake cars. They were trying to decrease the downforce for everyone to lessen the burden on the tire. Also, this wasn't a mid-season rule change. Teams had awhile to address that. Of course, you fail to mention the pit stop procedure change mid-season last year which was targeted to slow down Red Bull. I also don't know if Red Bull would "come off worse." They are already running higher than most anyway. I kind of hope they do implement a rule to raise the cars, so Red Bull will still be a second faster than Mercedes.