Wouldn't it be even more of an engineering battle if the drivers were replaced with computers?

A lot of NASCAR fans argue that F1 is just that - driving skill has been replaced by technology. I think that's nonsense. Better cars are an advantage, but ultimately, it's the driver's nerve and imagination that wins. I'd choose a lesser car with a greater driver any day.

Completely agree. On Top Gear they have a segment where they have a celebrity drive a 'reasonably priced car'. They had to create a separate scoreboard for F1 drivers, because they are all so much faster than anybody else.

They also note that the F1 drivers take certain turns differently from every other driver.

I wouldn't. Not in F1, at least. Not if you wanted to regularly come in the points. You could stick Vettel in a Marussia, and he'd still finish near the back of the pack.

Vettel won his first race with Toro Rosso. While he may not be able to win in dry conditions in a Marussia he could certainly get the most out of the car, and help the team build it over time.

True, but then you have the teammates to compare. Vettel / Webber, Alonso / Massa, etc. Same cars, very different records.

There will certainly be a driverless racing circuit one day.

Soon, if Google's automatic cars ever become available.

It will probably start out as an underground thing.

Well the closest today is the DARPA Grand Challenge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Grand_Challenge.

That would be great. Though, it probably wouldn't be as popular. People like to see people compete. It would be fun to program one of those things.

Plus some serious computers crunching the numbers