Schumi4ever.net

Bringing back refuelling will not solve F1’s overtaking problem
15 March 2010 by Keith Collantine
The first race of 2010 was a processional affair

The first race of 2010 was a processional affair

After months of anticipation and despite a mouth-watering line-up of teams and drivers, not to mention the biggest grid in 15 years, the Bahrain Grand Prix was a damp squib. And that’s putting it politely.

But the F1 community – be it the fans, the teams or the rule makers – should not be too hasty to jump to conclusions after just one race.

And blaming the refuelling ban for yesterday’s uninspiring race would overlook more serious problems with competition in F1 that need to be fixed.

Long-time readers of this site will know I never had much time for F1’s refuelling era and was glad to see it dropped. Artificial jumbling of the running order holds no excitement for me.

I enjoy proper wheel-to-wheel racing. Genuine passes for position on the track and robust defensive driving. Neither of which we saw much of yesterday – or in quite a few races last year for that matter.

Blaming the refuelling ban for the lack of overtaking yesterday is a simplistic, knee-jerk reaction to a problem which has been around much longer and whose roots are more complicated.
Cars
Bahrain Grand Prix start

Bahrain Grand Prix pictures

Over the winter the designers were left free to push the development of their cars’ aerodynamics without new restrictions. And, as has always been the case when they’re allowed to do that, the cars now produce more downforce and so are more sensitive to running in the air of a leading car.

That much was clear in the opening stages of yesterday’s race when Lewis Hamilton was unable to get within half a second of Nico Rosberg despite having a car that was up to a second faster per lap in clean air and the fastest in a straight line.

The improved aerodynamic performance of this year’s cars has been accompanied by a reduction in mechanical grip due to the narrower front tyres. The balance of the cars’ performance has shifted away from mechanical grip – which is not impaired by running behind another car – to aerodynamic downforce – which is impaired by running behind another car.

But it’s not just aerodynamics which has made it harder for one F1 car to follow another closely.

Running in the hot air of another car causes cooling problems, as we saw when Fernando Alonso caught Sebastian Vettel in the later stages of yesterday’s race. Alonso had to pull out from behind Vettel on the straights in order to keep cooler air flowing into his radiators.

This brings us to a third problem – the need to conserve car and engine life. Felipe Massa was being urged not to run closely behind other cars to avoid overheating his engine, which will have to do at least one, possible two more Grand Prix distances after this one.

In short, since the last race of 2009 it’s become harder for F1 cars to follow each other. And with none of the cars able to use KERS for a handy power boost, hardly anyone was able to get in range to make a pass.
The circuit

From the moment we first laid eyes on the revised Bahrain circuit, used for the first time by F1 this year, people were saying it would be no good for overtaking.

From the satellite photo alone you could tell it was too tight, too slow and too narrow. The race proved the organisers’ promise the section would “provide new overtaking opportunities” was well wide of the mark.

It wasn’t just in the F1 race that cars found it hard to pass on the new section. The GP2 Asia drivers couldn’t do much with it either but could still pass on the rest of the circuit. Incidentally, these are cars with tightly restricted spec aero, spec tyres, and no refuelling, and have consistently produced the best single-seater racing I’ve seen over the past six years. Sadly last weekend was their last scheduled outing.

The sheer length of the track played a part as well. The longer the lap a car has to do the less likely it is to encounter other cars. At around two minutes per lap every car on the grid could circulate five seconds apart. It’s no coincidence that Interlagos, which consistently produces some of the best races we see, is also one of the shortest tracks.

At the very least the circuit organisers should switch back to the normal layout for next year’s race. It’s no classic, but it’s far better than the configuration they used this year. And if they really want to make things interesting and increase opportunities for overtaking, they want to use their shorter ‘outer’ track.
Expectations

The first race was always going to struggle to live up to the pre-season expectations. We all wanted to see Schumacher battling with Alonso and the fight for supremacy at McLaren. What little racing there was seemed to be between the Virgins and Lotuses at the back of the field.

And in one respect we were unlucky. The Vettel/Alonso/Massa battle for the lead was getting close when the Red Bull driver’s exhaust packed in, spoiling the fun.

But we shouldn’t judge the entire season based on one race. The first Grand Prix of 2002 was a thriller but the rest of the year was largely forgettable. Was yesterday’s race really any worse than Istanbul or Singapore were last year with refuelling? I don’t think so.
The real problem

The fundamental problem is still that cars can’t follow each other closely. This is what the FIA needs to fix. Bringing in more mandatory pit stops and reintroducing refuelling would be like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg.

Instead of over-reacting in a panicky fashion with ill thought-out changes the rule makers need to look at the big picture and understand how many of the technical changes in recent years have conspired to make it hard for cars to follow each other: engine use restrictions, rev limits, double diffusers and more.

Even after the Overtaking Working Group’s changes last year, F1 cars still can’t follow each other closely enough often enough. Encouragingly the FIA has already taken a step towards fixing it by banning double diffusers for 2011.

But they need to go further and consider not just cutting back downforce, but also looking at this problem of cars overheating when they run close behind a leading car.

That’s the real heart of F1’s overtaking problem. And solving it is much more challenging than just forcing more pit stops or bringing back refuelling.

Webber hoping some rain
Wednesday 17th March 2010
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Webber hoping some rain

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.1 of 1.....Mark Webber is hopeful that the unpredictable Melbourne weather will help provide some excitement at next week's Australian GP.

The Red Bull driver hasn't held back in his criticism of the season-opening grand prix, labeling the race 'boring'. With the new regulations the target of Webber's frustration, the Australian hopes that outside forces will come in to play to ensure his home race is an exciting one.

"Bahrain is normally a very good track for racing and didn't turn out as good as we would have liked, but hopefully there's a nice surprise in Melbourne," explained Webber.

"We know the weather here can be very changeable, so lots of things can change very quickly."

Webber endured a frustrating weekend in Bahrain, matched only by that of his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, with the drivers eventually finishing in eight and fourth respectively, with Ferrari claiming a one-two finish.

Despite the Italian team's dominance of the podium places, Webber believes that it's too early to suggest that Ferrari will secure the championship, with the 33-year-old of the opinion that Red Bull are not far behind.

"The bar was lifted very high last year and we know this year is another great opportunity for us. Ferrari just bashed out a one-two in Bahrain, which is very impressive from them, but no one is in a position to talk about championships, it's such early days. We'll find out in August who'll be doing what later in the championship," said the Australian.

Bernie: Rules are here to stay
Wednesday 17th March 2010
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Pitpass.com

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that the current rules - which have come under heavy criticism - will not be changed.

The season-opening Bahrain GP has come under heavy criticism for being too boring, with little overtaking and a lack of excitement in general.

The new ban on re-fuelling has been highlighted as one of the reasons for this, with many team bosses suggesting that the introduction of two mandatory pit stops would help ease the problem.

Ecclestone initially suggested that one should wait until after the Chinese GP before making changes, but the Briton has now revealed that changes - at any stage of the season - are unlikely.

"We cannot change the rules," Ecclestone told Bild.

"It would take far too long and it is too difficult. F1 is now a democracy and all the teams voted for these rules, so now they must also deal with them," he added.

Coulthard calls for mandatory pitstops

By Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, March 16th 2010, 10:45 GMT


David Coulthard believes changes to F1's tyres and mandatory pitstops are the way to go to improve racing, as the former grand prix winner joined the criticism of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Scot also hit out at former FIA president Max Mosley for the raft of changes he introduced during his tenure, and which Coulthard reckons have not worked to make racing better.

"I hope Max Mosley, watching from his ivory tower after relinquishing his post as president of Formula 1's governing body last autumn, enjoyed the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday," wrote Coulthard in his column for the Daily Telegraph.

"Revs limited to 18,000rpm, the ban on in-race refuelling, standardised gearboxes and engines, a single tyre supplier; all initiatives introduced during his tenure at the FIA, all of which appear to have done little for the show if Bahrain is anything to go on."

He added: "I don't want to sound too melodramatic as I'm sure that given different conditions - rain at Interlagos, say – the race might well have been the classic we all hoped for. But in truth it was processional; a test of reliability rather than racing."

Coulthard believes the teams have to take part of the blame for the lack of action too, as they had the chance to make a minimum of two pitstops mandatory, but they passed on the opportunity before the start of the season.

"The teams must take their share of the blame as well," he added. "A mandatory two-stop rule was discussed over the winter but some teams felt their machines would go easier on the tyres than others and would not sign up to it.

"It was a prime example of engineers being unable to put aside their competitive instincts for the greater good. Let's hope they start thinking clearly now."

The former F1 driver was also critical of the performance of the new teams, as he believes they should be aiming for more than just finishing races.

"A quick word on the newbies. The weekend, I felt, was a reality-check for Sir Richard Branson, who following the fanfare of his backing Brawn to championship success last year had to settle for a walk down to the back of the grid to see his two Virgin racers.

"And before people write in to say how great it was that both Lotus drivers finished the race; yes it was but should we not expect an F1 car to be able to complete a race? Surely that is a minimum expectation? That said I was impressed by the commitment of all three new teams.

"I wish them luck in their quest to become serious contenders. They are at the equivalent of Everest Base Camp. Now the real challenge begins."

autosport.com

FIA closes rear diffuser loophole

By Jonathan Noble Friday, March 19th 2010, 11:02 GMT


McLaren, Mercedes GP and at least two other teams will have to make modifications to their diffuser designs in time for the Australian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned, after the FIA told them that it is clamping down on a loophole being used by the outfits.

Discussions took place between the FIA and representatives from four teams over the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix weekend about the size of starter motor holes in their diffusers.

The size of their starter motor holes was believed to be excessively wide, which, although not in breach of the regulations, was reckoned to be going against the spirit of the rules.

F1's technical regulations state that a hole can exist in the diffuser to allow access for an engine starter motor - although there are no strict dimensions laid down.

Article 3.12.7 states: "A single break in the surface is permitted solely to allow the minimum required access for the device referred to in Article 5.15. [supposed to refer to starter motor, although this is Article 5.16]."

There is no specific definition of what the 'minimum' size is though - so some teams have been using exotically shaped starter motors to allow themselves to feature wide-shaped holes in the diffusers. This concept was pioneered by Brawn GP in 2009.

Such a hole in the diffuser helps create another tunnel for air to flow through - which as well as helping to produce more downforce, also ensures such downforce is more consistent throughout a lap - especially under braking, when the rear of the car rises up and the airflow can stall.

The FIA inspected the diffuser designs in Bahrain and promised to issue a clarification about the matter after the weekend had finished.

AUTOSPORT understands that the FIA has duly sent a note to all teams, laying down strict dimensions for not only a maximum diameter for the holes but also for a maximum projected area.

It is believed that McLaren, Mercedes and two other teams - believed to be Renault and Force India - will now have to make modifications to their diffuser designs in this area prior to the next race in Melbourne.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said in Bahrain last weekend that his team was one of many that was under investigation over the matter.

"There are holes in the diffuser for the starter, the hole in ours is no bigger than the one on the championship winning car last year," he said. "And also no bigger than it is on about four other cars."

A whole range of possible rule changes are set to be discussed by the teams at the next race in Malaysia.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted that the tone of the meeting will be set by what happens during the 58 laps of Sunday's Australian grand prix.

"If we have a less than stunning race then the likelihood of pushing through changes is enhanced. Personally I want a stunning race and changes," he told the Daily Telegraph.

Any mid-season changes will require total unanimity, which - given some teams' efforts to safeguard their competitive position - is unlikely. Whitmarsh said most of the proposed changes involve the qualifying format, such as reverse grids and 'success ballast', where drivers higher in the championship carry weights aboard their cars. Another idea is a 'knockout draw' where drivers go head-to-head before a final shootout.

"The fastest one who doesn't make a mistake will still take pole but it has a virtue in how you use your tyres," said Whitmarsh. "And in some races you will be in the easy half of the draw and be flattered by your grid position."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/12569.html

I've always said that limitating too much the teams will only bring boring things. Like the 18'000rpm limit for example. All the engines sound the same. I know they did this to reduce the cost, but the price is too high imo. F1 is not exciting anymore and this was one of the reasons why Michael left. Now he's back because he cannot resist, but he admitted that the rules are still "too much".

I really hope the FIA will remove that stupid 18'000rpm limitation, so we'll hear again pure engine sound ! That's just 1 rule, but that makes a lot when you are attending a GP !

Yes but when Cosworth tested their V8 I remember they tested it up to 22'000rpm, and this was awesome.