More action, more suspense… hopefully
New season, new regulations. In the supreme motor sports series continuity is not a priority. But increasing the action and the suspense are always the goal which is why the governing body FIA and the boss of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, have agreed a range of new rules. The aim of the latest changes is to facilitate overtaking. And this applies, too, within the teams themselves now that ‘team orders’ are officially approved. Motorvision gives an overview of what is in store for racing in the coming season.
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- This year drivers will have the possibility of adjusting the upper edge of the rear wing using a knob on the steering wheel. This can give an extra 12 kilometres per hour on the straights and favour overtaking.
Adjustable rear wing
This year drivers will have the possibility of adjusting the upper edge of the rear wing using a knob on the steering wheel. This can give an extra 12 kilometres per hour on the straights and favour overtaking. However the use of the adjustable spoiler will be strictly limited. It can only be used when a driver is less than a second behind the man in front, and then only on designated sections of the course. To make this clear to drivers the race organizers have had to bury sensor loops in the asphalt which communicate with transponders in the race cars and make precise time keeping possible. In the first two laps, however, and in safety car periods wing adjustment is prohibited.
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- Both the adjustments to the rear wing and the activation of the KERS will be controlled by buttons on the steering wheel. Some drivers fear that the risk of accidents will be increased.
The come-back of KERS
So that the man in front is not easy prey the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is once again an option for the F1 teams. Only Team Lotus, Marussia-Virgin and HRT F1 are declining to avail themselves of this hybrid technology. The system consists of generator which feeds exactly 400 kilojoules of kinetic energy to the car’s battery, lap for lap. Thus about 60 kilowatts, about 82 horsepower, is available for release by the driver in a burst lasting just 6.67 seconds per lap. The advantage of KERS over the adjustable rear wing is that it can be used at any time when there is energy available from the battery, including at the start of racing and on sections of the circuit where wing adjustment is not allowed.
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- Red Bull driver Nick Heidfeld is no friend of the new rules which add to the number of the steering wheel controls. Others including Michael Schumacher and Adrian Sutil see no problem in this respect.
Differences of opinion
All of this means that in principle the driver in front can use KERS to shoot ahead and be more than a second ahead of his pursuer who is then unable to use wing adjustment to gain speed. This can foil an overtaking attempt and fans can look forward to some daring tactical battles as the drivers joust with each other at the very limit of their car’s performance, if not beyond those limits. However the rule changes are not without their critics. Red Bull bosses Christian Horner and Adrian Newy fear that this kind of intervention in such one-on-one duels can make overtaking too easy. Veteran drivers like Rubens Barrichello or Nick Heidfeld fear that the danger of accidents will be greater since both systems call for the use of buttons on the steering wheel and their use can distract drivers from their main concern. But the younger drivers and technology freaks like Michael Schumacher see no problem and look forward to exciting contests.
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- Hockenheim 2010: At this point Felipe Massa was ahead of his team colleague Fernando Alonso. But when it was Alonso who crossed the finish line first the discussion of the ‘team orders’ issue was intense. Now such instruction will be permitted.
‘Team orders’ now permitted
Schumi has always been a driver in favour of team orders from the pit and now these instructions are allowed. The impetus for the change in practice came after the meeting in Hockenheim when Felipe Massa had to give way to Fernando Alonso, better placed in the championship race. But now the controversial paragraph 39.1 is gone from the rule book, a paragraph introduced after the ‘team orders’ case of 2002, when Ferrari instructed Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher pass him just before the finish line at the Austrian Grand Prix. Now that such orders are no longer to be sanctioned there are sure to be more changes of position which are the result of orders from the pit, but at least transparency will be introduced. And it was always the case that paragraph 39.1 was interpreted with notable elasticity and trickery… as in the Ferrari incident in Hockenheim… was never really ruled out.
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- Hockenheim 2010: At this point Felipe Massa was ahead of his team colleague Fernando Alonso. But when it was Alonso who crossed the finish line first the discussion of the ‘team orders’ issue was intense. Now such instruction will be permitted.
No more double-diffusers or F-ducts
Notwithstanding the adjustable rear wing ruling, in general the aerodynamics measure have been in general simplified for the 2011 season. One innovation, the double-diffusers introduced by Williams and Brawn in 2009 and perfected by Red Bull last year, is now outlawed. This will mean about ten percent less downforce in the corners and therefore reduced speeds. And the F-duct introduced by McLaren in 2010 is also set to disappear after just one year. But the loss of top speed advantage that the F-duct gave is more than made up for by the adjustable wing and the return of KERS.
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- For 2011 Formula One introduces a curfew. Mechanics must in future have six hours of overnight rest, during which work on the cars will be forbidden.
Enforced idleness
Further changes of the technical rules had to do with the weight of the cars and its distribution. The minimum weight rises from 620 to 640 kilos, to compensate for the additional burden of the KERS equipment. And now a weight distribution between front and rear axle in mandatory at 46 to 54 percent, with half a percentage point of leeway permitted. A gear-box now has to survive not four but five races. If a transmission fails to go the distance the driver must start five places back in the next race. And, speaking of starts, the 107 percent rule is back on the statute books. This means that a driver whose lap time in qualifying is seven percent slower than the fastest will not be permitted to appear on the starting grid. Bad news for notorious laggards like Narain Karthikeyan who may find himself with more time on his hands than he wants on race weekends. Idleness is also proscribed for the Formula One mechanics. They must in future have six hours of overnight rest, during which work on the cars will be forbidden.
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- The new Pirelli tyres will be closely observed not only on account of their extreme characteristics but also because a riot of colour is promised.
Flashes of colour from Pirelli
It is not a change of the rules but an important change nevertheless. Bridgestone will in 2011 no longer be the supplier of the all-important rubber and will be replaced by Pirelli. The Italians conducted exhaustive testing in 2010 in preparation for their return to Formula One. The new tyres will be closely observed not only on account of their extreme characteristics but also because a riot of colour is promised. Depending on the construction and rubber mix the maker’s logo will appear in a variety of colours. Rain tyres will now be orange, intermediates light blue. Red stands for super-soft slicks and tyres for running on a dry track will be coded yellow. There will also be mediums with a white logo and a harder mixture in silver. But a complete colour chaos will not prevail. Per race only two different dry running mixtures may be used.
