My favorite scottishism is ‘getting your messages’, which has nothing to do with messages and everything to do with shopping.

I totally agree that the current tyre regulation are bonkers, both the start on quali rule (if you apply it, make it the same for the whole grid!) and the use 2 compounds rule. I would completely favour a return to complete freedom of choice for the drivers. After all, F1 should be about driver skill shouldn’t it?

The other think I’d like to change is to have control parts. We already have a standard ECU and for 15 years had a standard FIA refuelling rig. The parts in question could be hidden from casual view but make a big difference to the racing.

1) Rear wings. Anyone remember the Handford wing in Indycars? Basically a big angle bracket that cleaved a massive hole in the air giving major slipstreams on straights. A common complaint these days is that cars only pickup a slipstream when they’ve nearly hit the car in front. Mandate a standard big irregular object to be concealed in the rear wing and bingo.

2) Brake disks. Longer braking distances give much more chance for passing so how about providing the teams with a standard disk (or choice of disks). I can’t name who supplies brakes for the different teams so I doubt the general public bothers.

3) Engine covers. This year the cars are looking rather ugly again after the big cleanup of 2009. The shark fin is probably the worse in my mind so give them all a standard clear perspex engine cover. That was we get to see the engine in all it’s glory too!

The important thing though is to work at the things that are invisble to spectators and don’t diminish the engineering challenge of the pinnacle of F1.

Too bad I’m nearly two years late reading this article… oh well. I’ve recently developed an interest in politics and, as a student, this is of particular interest to me at the moment.

Binge drinking has been a problem for a long time and will probably, thanks to the generation of neds, continue to be so for the foreseeable future. I think a lot of the problem is that people simply do not care about the damage that alcohol can do to their bodies, and I think most probably don’t know much beyond “something to do with sugar and your liver or something” plus the typical hangover (if they suffer from them, which many of my friends don’t). Maybe government policy should be educating youngsters and encouraging responsibility, rather than demonising binge-drinking (which is probably always going to happen no matter what they do). Making something illegal doesn’t put people off doing it (drugs).

Personally, my parents introduced me to wine and beer when I was 14. I was able to experience what it felt like to be tipsy, drunk, and have a hangover, with the safety of being in my home and not in some park surrounded by peer pressure. As a result, I’m well aware of my personal alcohol limit and I’m rarely tempted to overindulge. To me, that’s responsible drinking. I know plenty of 18 year olds who, while legal, don’t drink responsibly — the amount one of my friend sinks in one night would probably be enough to kill me, and it astonishes me that it isn’t affecting her health more than it already is. So as you say, changing the age limit won’t make any difference, because age =/= maturity.

Hmm, this has turned into a bit of a ramble. Oh well, just some thoughts. Cheers!

PS – I’m also in Kirkcaldy, hiya!