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http://plus.autosport.com/premium/feature/6556/gary-anderson-f1-masterplan

I can't read it but I hope he isn't stealing our brilliant ideas.

I've been reading through the comments from drivers and team principals/owners on the current state of Formula 1 and, I must admit, they confuse me.

I don't believe any one of them actually has any idea of what the viewing public and spectators want.

Remember, F1 is just another sporting event. It's just like horse racing, golf, tennis, cycling or synchronised swimming - no more, no less.

The audience might be different, but there are plenty of people out there who just enjoy sport, and F1 needs them as much as it needs the true petrolhead.

Mercedes is romping it and Lewis Hamilton is going to win the drivers' championship, so it's hard to see there being a last-race climax in the title battle this year.

As nobody seems to be doing anything except expressing opinions, I thought I would offer my overview of the changes I'd implement. These address both the technical and sporting regulations, with the changes going hand-in-hand.

"It's far too dramatic!" I hear you shouting. I don't think so.

These ideas would need discussion and the i's dotted and t's crossed, and intense research is required in some areas to ensure the objectives are achieved. But if F1 doesn't start taking action, nothing will ever change.

TECHNICAL

1 Overall reduction in downforce of around 40 per cent, with the emphasis on a much simpler front-wing assembly. Drag level to be maintained as now.

Objective: allow cars to race closely without losing so much downforce and therefore grip. Reduce the aerodynamic development potential of the teams with the mega-budgets.

Example: on many occasions, faster cars have followed slower cars and not been able to overtake them until the stupid DRS zone. Racing should be like it was, with the top drivers planning overtaking moves laps in advance.

2 Increase front and rear tyre size - by 10 per cent at the front and 25 per cent at the rear -to replace the lost aerodynamic grip. This should largely be done in width, but a small increase in diameter would be acceptable.

Objective: close up the performance level from the big to small teams by getting the main contributor of grip from the back of the tyre supplier's truck, and allow the cars to race closely without grip being compromised.

The wider tyres will also keep the aerodynamic drag level similar to what we currently have. Also, the cars will look more aggressive.

Example: I think everyone agrees we want the racing to be on the track and flat-out, with no more driving five seconds off the pace to make the tyres survive.

3 Remove the 100kg/h fuel-flow limit, but keep the 100kg-per-race fuel limit.

Objective: to allow higher engine revs and turbo boost during qualifying and in the race for short spurts to help with overtaking. Everyone talks about 1000bhp engines - this will allow that to happen for limited periods, for example in qualifying, so the laptimes will be a lot faster.

Example: we currently have GP2 not far off the pace of F1. When a GP2 team is spending around two per cent of an F1 budget, that's embarrassing for F1 as a whole.

4 Maximum engine rpm increased, with a limiter set at 16,000.

Objective: to control runaway costs of engine development due to the potential of the increase in bhp from the removal of the fuel-flow meter.

5 Minimum upchange rpm of 15,000 when in third through to eighth gear.

Objective: bring back some of the noise that an F1 car should be making. It will never bring it all back, as the turbo that's harvesting energy will always work like a bit of a silencer, but it will help.

6 Assuming a 20-race calendar, which is where I think we are heading, change the power unit regulations to:

6.1 A complete power unit must do a minimum of four consecutive events (defined as Saturday morning through to the end of Sunday).

Penalty for switching engines early:

6.1.1 Introduced one race early, a five-second time penalty in the race.
6.1.2 Introduced two races early, a 10-second time penalty in the race.
6.1.3 Introduced three races early, a 15-second time penalty in the race.
6.1.4 Introduced four races early, (during first race weekend) a 20-second time penalty in the race.

6.2 The power unit used for Friday practice session(s) is free but must come from the season's total allocation.

6.3 A maximum of eight engines per driver for the season.

Penalty:

6.3.1 If a ninth engine has to be introduced, the driver will have to start from the pitlane and have a 30-second time penalty in the race.

Objective: to allow power unit manufacturers to develop the engines within a fixed lifespan. So abandon the upgrade tokens.

It will also allow drivers to start in their allocated grid positions (see sporting regulations).

7 Aerodynamic development regulations, again assuming a 20-race calendar.

7.1 The Aerodynamic Body Kits used in races 1, 6, 11 and 16 must do a minimum of five consecutive events (Saturday morning until Sunday night). The Aerodynamic Body Kit used for the Friday practice sessions is free.

7.1.1 The Body Kit comprises:

7.1.2 The complete front-wing assembly from the nose to chassis intersection forward.

7.1.3 The complete rear-wing assembly, which comprises the rear crash structure to the transmission intersection at the differential centre line.

7.1.4 The complete underfloor assembly from the leading edge of the front tyre to the trailing edge of the rear tyre, 70cm from the car's centre line and 25cm from the car's reference plane.

7.1.5 The areas defined to allow for the front and rear brake duct assemblies.

Each driver will be allowed one early Aerodynamic Body Kit change without penalty (introduced within the five consecutive race window(s), but must complete the season with a total of four Aerodynamic Body Kit changes otherwise the penalties defined below will be allocated.

Penalty:

7.2.1 Introduced one race early, a five-second time penalty in the race.
7.2.2 Introduced two races early, a 10-second time penalty in the race.
7.2.3 Introduced three races early, a 15-second time penalty in the race.
7.2.4 Introduced four races early, a 20-second time penalty in the race.
7.2.5 Introduced five races early, a 25-second time penalty in the race.

Objective: to reduce the spiralling costs associated with aerodynamic development. To reduce the costs of components that are not achieving what they were designed to achieve. To leave Friday open for testing whatever teams want before committing to full production. It also allows other teams and fans to have a sneak preview of future developments.

SPORTING REGULATIONS

These suggestions are more dramatic than the technical changes.

1 Spare cars to be allowed.

Objective: allow the drivers to be on the track. That's what the viewers and spectators want, so why penalise the paying public?

Example: Jenson Button in Canada not able to compete and Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel both limping in qualifying. Every team has a spare car with them - the only problem is that it's all in pieces. Should it be required, it takes time to assemble.

2 Reduce pitstop personnel to 11; two per wheel, one rear jack, one front jack and a control person.

Objective: make pitstops that little bit longer to allow the viewer or spectator to see what is actually going on.

Example: a two-second pitstop is fantastic, but a three-second stop that could be observed would be too.

3 Practice one, two and three to stay as they are.

4 Saturday qualifying to be replaced with a Sprint Race of a minimum of 150 kilometres (93 miles).

4.1 Driver's grid position to be set from the fastest-lap order from the previous race weekend's Feature Race. For the first weekend of the season, and to get fan involvement, the grid for the Sprint Race would be set by a fan vote.

Simply text or email FOM your nominated driver and the driver with most votes starts on pole and so on down the grid – it works for Britain's Got Talent so it should work for F1.

4.2 Drivers would still have to use both tyre compounds so a pitstop would be necessary.

4.3 Points allocation to be 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1

5 Sunday's race to be the Feature Race of a minimum of 250 kilometres (155 miles).

5.1 The grid would be set in championship order reversed – in other words the driver with most points starts at the back.

5.2 Drivers would still have to use both types of tyres so a pitstop would be necessary.

5.3 Points allocation to remain as it currently is: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.

Now, everyone will say that's really stupid and ask why do that? Well, there are many reasons. Here are a few.

A) At the moment the fastest driver in the fastest car starts on pole position and normally goes on to win the race. Why should we expect anything exciting to happen when the cars start off arranged in pace order?

B) The races that I have seen where a quick driver has had to start from the rear and come through have always been exciting. The drivers involved have always enjoyed that extra challenge.

C) In the recent Canadian Grand Prix, it was around lap 34 when we first got a decent bit of TV coverage of the two Mercedes cars. Why? Because up front it was boring. The only thing that made the race interesting was Vettel, and to some extent Massa, who were both coming from the back.

D) For far too long we have had the really quick drivers in the quick cars winning the championships. These changes will add that extra dimension of how a driver can handle and overtake traffic.

E) Because the grid for the next race weekend's Sprint Race is set from the fastest lap order from the previous race weekend's Feature Race, it will mean that everyone will have to pull their fingers out – so no sandbagging saving tyres.

F) The shorter Feature Race takes out that 'nothing really happening' middle bit. We need to close it all up and keep it exciting.

These race-format changes seem radical, but they will force teams to produce cars that can run well in dirty air and allow the drivers to be attacking from lap one to the chequered flag.

Everyone keeps trying to create the F1 they want by changing every single technical rule, but if you create the conditions in which fast drivers must overtake a lot of cars to win every time, surprisingly enough the teams and their armies of engineers will work out how to do it.

By reversing the grid for the Feature Race, you will achieve that. And while it's radical to have a fan vote for the Sprint Race in the first weekend of the season, that will force the teams and drivers to work harder to engage with the millions of people who make F1 possible during the pre-season, when usually they are doing everything they can think of to hide the new cars and stop anyone getting near them.

If F1 can combine exciting races with exciting the fans, its future will be secure.

That's why these ideas aren't as mad as you might think.

They had to change it to suit the ADHD generation. Traditional quali made them switch off.

And it sucked because for 25 mins you didn't see a car except a Minardi.

german drivers and teams should be banned

And it sucked because for 25 mins you didn't see a car except a Minardi.