520racer's Alternate F1 Universe 1997 Season introduction - 520racer's Blog

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520racer's Alternate F1 Universe 1997 Season introduction

Posted on May 4, 2019 at 12:56 AM.

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520racer�s Alternate F1 Universe: 1997 season introduction

Introduction:

After a 1996 season when we saw the first ever F1 rookie to win the WDC title in the 46-year modern history of the sport. 1997 is shaping to be a revolution within the sport in an effort to stop the Ferrari domination which is running for three straight seasons. There are many brand-new dynamics that are introduced in an effort to shake up the field. Let�s go through these new features one by one.

Head Staff Members

There are four new head staff members, the PR Manager, Chief Designer, Chief Engineer and Chief Mechanic. Each of these will be explained as follows

The PR Manager

This person controls all of the Supplier and Sponsorship deals. The better the person the more of a chance the person will land a favorable deal.

Chief Designers

The Designer is responsible for improving the car�s overall handing around the race track. The better the designer, the less likely your drivers will make driver errors.

Chief Engineers

The Chief Engineers main job is to improve the car�s reliability stat during private and group tests during the course of the season. The better the Engineer the less likely the car will break down. It can also be influenced to a lesser extent by engine and fuel supplier choices made.

Chief Mechanics

The Chief Mechanics main job is to work with the drivers to set-up their cars for each race. The higher the mechanic rating, the easier it is to improve your driver�s stats during any private or group tests the teams opt to participate in. An important note to remember is that only the young drivers test at Silverstone is required for all teams to show up, any additional tests are required to be paid for by the teams themselves.

New Engine deal types

Obviously, it�s important to get it right here. There are three levels of engine deals, Works, Partner, and Customer. Works are completely free and receives first priority on all engine upgrades, Partner deals are discounted at 50% off and they receive slightly more upgrades than Customers who have to pay full list price and receive limited upgrades from the engine supplier. Note that not all upgrades proposed are going to be successfully implemented, so keep that in mind.

The introduction of a tire war

This is another important area of the car. The tire war is now resuming in F1 with Goodyear now facing a rival in Bridgestone. Obviously, the big difference is that Bridgestone is charging more money for a slightly better tire but will offer less upgrades throughout a season, while Goodyear is charging less money for a slightly worse tire but will offer more upgrades throughout the season. Upgrades installed will improve the car�s handling stat. Like the engines, there are three types of deals, Works, Partner, and Customer.

Addition of Fuel Suppliers

This is a small but important addition because they can impact the reliability and power stats even further.

Overhaul of the Sponsorship system

The sponsorship system is getting an overhaul. Now more than ever, getting good sponsors are vital to success. The sponsors themselves are divided into two categories, Cash and Title. A cash sponsor works like a standard sponsor but they will provide various amounts of money to the teams. Title sponsors however are unique in which the amounts are fixed, but they do pay much more than the standard cash sponsor. However, there�s a catch, there�s only a limited amount of them available. Each team now must have either one title sponsor and 3 cash sponsors or 4 cash sponsors with the fourth cash sponsor worth double the money than usual. This was done to prevent bankruptcy from happening often.

So, in the next post, I will unveil the entry list for the upcoming season complete with team by team previews.