Formula 1 heads into the 2006 season with new rules governing theengine and the tyres. The most important changes: new V8 enginesreplace the 10-cylinder units used previously, tyre changes during therace are allowed again and qualifying will be carried out in a new format.The countdown to the season’s opening race at the Bahrain InternationalCircuit on March 12 is fully underway. The teams have been preparing for themoment of truth with extensive test drives and have been working feverishlyon their new cars.
It’s not just the engine designers, tuning their new V8 units for power andreliability, who have been working hard: the aerodynamics experts have alsobeen in great demand. The cars now have less output, making them moresusceptible to air resistance, so the engineers have had to work increasinglytowards efficiency instead of concentrating only on downforce.
The spectators at the race tracks will hardly notice the new engine regulations.The drivers, however, will definitely feel the consequences – after all, theymust now make do with approximately 200bhp less. Because of the reducedengine power, they will have to adopt a more balanced driving style andattempt to carry more momentum through the corners. Small mistakes will nowresult in even greater time losses as the engines produce relatively low torque.And torque, according to Formula 1 expert Christian Danner, “is always thething that will make up for the odd mistake.” Due to the reduced downforceof the race cars, the drivers will need to step on the brakes earlier whenapproaching corners, but will also be able to start accelerating again sooner.The first impressions from the test drives show that the cornering speeds willremain roughly the same overall, while speeds on the straights are expectedto be about 10 to 15 kilometres per hour slower on average.
With the new engine regulations, Formula 1 picks up on current challenges inpassenger car production. “Of course, there are no restrictions on enginedisplacement, but rapidly increasing fuel prices and stringent emissionstandards call for highly efficient, low-consumption engines that also need tobe as compactly designed as possible.
So the keyword in standard production is also downsizing, meaning acomparatively low cubic capacity while retaining high power density. Gains inefficiency of this nature are necessary to reduce consumption and fulfil thepolitical requirements in regard to ecological issues in the face of risingdemands concerning safety and comfort,” says Dr. Christoph Lauterwasserfrom the Allianz Zentrum für Technik (AZT).
The second drastic change of regulations in the Formula 1 concerns the tyres.After only a single season, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)has abolished the rule stating that both qualifying and the race have to becompleted using the same set of tyres. The drivers can now change tyresduring the race again, so they are no longer forced to torturously cover thedistance with a braking puncture or risk suffering the effects of serious tyredamage to ensure the chance of a good position.
The new rule is not only a step towards increased safety, it also makes theraces more interesting for the spectators. It is almost certain that the fans willbe seeing more pit stops, simply due to the fact that the new rule allows theteams more flexibility in their race strategies. “It is very likely that we will beseeing three and four stops again,” says Christian Danner, for who the newtyre regulations have an additional side effect. “Because the new tyres do notneed to last as long, they will definitely provide higher grip. This means that,as a driver, you might be able to regain what you have lost through thereduction in engine power.”
The one-hour qualifying will be performed in an entirely new fashion: duringthe first 15 minutes, all the cars will be out on the track. The six slowestcontestants are eliminated and will start from positions 17 to 22 on the grid.After a five-minute break, the remaining 16 cars re-enter the track for a further15 minutes. Their times from the first round are deleted. Again, the six slowestdrivers are eliminated and assigned the starting positions 11 to 16. The 10remaining contestants, whose lap times from the second round are againdeleted, compete for the starting positions 1 to 10 during the last 20 minutesof qualifying.
The new format for the qualifying session sparked some controversialdiscussions among teams and drivers, not least due to the associated fuellingand refuelling rule. In the opinion of experts, the last word on this matter hasyet to be spoken.
Source - Allianz Safety Focus
