The hot topic in F1 at present is understandably the issue of competition (or pegging back Ferrari). Various suggestions have been made ranging from the probable (success ballast) to the downright stupid (driver swaps) but in the panic Ferrari's dominance has created, F1 has lost sight of the real issues that still remain.
Even during the Hakinnen/Schumacher battles of the late nineties, F1 races were criticised for being processional and determined by pit strategy. Passing on track was a rarity and the show was criticised accordingly. Now, in 2002 the situation has changed little; F1 races are still processional but the dominance of Ferrari has diverted attention towards reducing the likelihood of one team running away with the championship.
The radical overhaul that was required towards the end of the nineties (and is still needed now) to stop races being processional has been cast aside for the moment. We now find ourselves clamouring for ways to stop one team running away with the championship, an issue that has glossed over the real need to fundamentally alter the sport at a basic level; more overtaking.
Success ballast will not necessarily make overtaking any more likely. It will simply mean that the best organised and best funded team will not win the title with half the season still to go. Assuming success ballast is implemented in 2003 (and as the least silly proposal it will), when Schu wins the first three races we can expect his car to be heavy with ballast by race four. That will perhaps then allow Rubens or Montoya to run away with the next three races until Schu loses his ballast and then the process begins again.
F1 has lost sight of the real issues. Even with ballast, races will still be boring because drivers will find it hard to pass unless the car in front is laden with fuel or success ballast. Either way, a particular car or driver will have the upper hand in each race and this is not what we want. We want races where Schumacher, Montoya and the rest are all capable of winning and to do that we need to balance out the differences between the teams. So unsurprisingly we come back to the same issues many have been banging on about for years.
We need to have one make tyres that are fat slicks; slash the aerodynamic element of grip; standardise fuel tanks; and generally make the amount of money and resources each team has a less important factor in the equation.
The dominance of Ferrari this season is symptomatic of the inherent flaws in the current F1 regulations. All that the FIA's proposals for 2003 will do is delay the inevitable. Once again it is the case that the hardest changes to make are the ones F1 needs, but ultimately the easiest to implement will win the day. Expect F1's hot topic of 2005 to be 'increasing competition'.
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