F1 Today – 31/03/2020
Development of new generation of cars banned
In addition to the delay to Formula One’s 2021 regulation changes, the FIA has banned all aerodynamic development of those cars until the end of this year.
The changes to the regulations were designed to encouraging wheel-to-wheel action and making the sport more competitive. However, the impact of the coronavirus, both financial and in terms of postponed races means the rules have now been pushed back to 2022.
The teams looking to restrict spending as much as possible during the hiatus to protect their finances. To stop the teams spending money on two different projects the regulations have been amended to ban aero upgrades this season.
The move was agreed by all the teams and was signed off by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on Tuesday, is significant as it means all forthcoming spending on aerodynamic development for 2022 will fall under the new budget cap regulations, which are still due to come into force next year.
There had been concerns that the top teams would have spent the money to develop the next generation of cars before the budget cap was enforced, thus giving them a locked-in advantage from the very start of the new regulation cycle.
However, the tweak to the rules means teams should enter the new era of the sport on a more level footing while aiming to protect them as much as possible from the inevitable financial hit of the coronavirus pandemic.
To save costs further in 2021, the teams will also have to use this year’s chassis again next year, with additional measures still under consideration to extend savings to other parts of the car.
The WMSC also formally agreed to an amendment to this year’s regulation to allow Liberty to change the calendar without the approval of the teams. This is means the FIA only needs the support of 60 per cent of the teams to make changes to some other aspects of the regulations.
The teams are currently in, or about to enter, a period of three weeks of enforced factory shutdown to save costs and remove the need to have F1’s traditional summer break in August
DAS will still be banned in 2021
Mercedes dual-axis steering systems will still be banned next season despite the decision to delay the 2021 regulation changes by a year due to the Coronavirus. The move comes as part of a series of changes made by governing body the FIA to tidy up the rules in response to the coronavirus.
The DAS system was set to be outlawed under new rules for 2021 that have now been delayed. The change keeps the ban in place even though teams will run 2020 cars next year.
DAS alters the ‘toe’ of the front wheels between cornering and straights to reduce tyre wear and could prove to be a significant advantage for the reigning champions once racing finally gets underway this year.
The ban means under the chassis freeze the German manufacturer will only benefit from it for a maximum of only one championship season. F1 has been thrown into disarray as a result of coronavirus, with the first eight races already called off, and others likely to follow.
It remains uncertain when the 2020 championship will start, but the FIA has now tidied up the rules so they take into account a series of changes agreed by the teams and F1 so the sport can respond to the situation to best effect.
The teams have already waived g their rights to the usual consultation process on the schedule of races, so it is easier for F1 to reconstitute the season when global travel restrictions are eased.
The changes agreed to bring the legislative process in line with reality are:
- permission to change the rules during the season with the agreement of only 60% of the teams rather than the previously required unanimity.
- the reduction of the post-season tyre test after the final race in Abu Dhabi to just one day
- Reduce the engine allocation from five to three if there are fewer than fourteen races, or if it is 11 or fewer only one battery and the electronics control unit may be used.
- Banning all aerodynamic development for what are now the major rule changes being brought in for 2022, rather than 2021.
However, BBC News says it has learnt that the teams are discussing a plan to delay the new rules by a further season, to 2023, and to freeze parts of the car beyond the chassis, which will already be carried over into 2021.
Shutdown and lockdown makes Red Bull busier than ever
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he is “busier than ever – a lot is going on at the moment,” despite Formula One being on shut down and the UK being lockdown due to the coronavirus.
So far six races have been postponed and two cancelled due to the pandemic, and the summer break has been brought forward to allow as many races to be fit in as soon as the season starts.
Meanwhile, the UK-based teams have turned their attentions to helping out with the supply of medical equipment, and team bosses such as Horner are engaged in serious talks about how best to secure the future of the sport amid a crisis that he says is far more critical than the 2008 financial crash.
Speaking about the consortium which are building ventilators, Horner says the response from engineers and manufacturing staff to help with what is known as ‘Project Pitlane’ has been “overwhelming”.
He told, BBC News, “People like Rob Marshall, our chief designer, he has done a couple of all-nighters on this coming up with engineering solutions to issues they’ve encountered.”
“The key thing is getting these systems out there as quickly as possible. F1’s ability to problem-solve is second to none and our ability to make rapid prototype parts is again second to none.”
Horner says the sport has responded phenomenally, but he could only judge what is going on within Red Bull.
The teams are unable to share many details of their work because the project is run by the government but Horner says: “Basically, we’ve been using the engineering skill of the relevant people to problem solve and knock out a few rapid prototypes and get it to the point of sign-off.”
Corona camp a throwaway comment
Christian Horner also spoke about the comments made by motorsport advisor Helmut Marko wanted to organise a ‘Corona Camp’ for his team’s drivers so they would deliberately get infected with COVID-19.
Horner says the comments by Marko on Austrian TV caught him off guard. Marko’s idea was for the drivers to catch the coronavirus so they would be fit and healthy whenever the season can re-start.
As Red Bull’s team boss, Horner was, it is fair to say, somewhat caught off guard by Marko’s remarks.
Now, he says: “As Helmut pointed out when he raised it, it wasn’t received with support from within Red Bull. It was in many ways a throwaway comment before understanding the seriousness of the pandemic.”
“Red Bull, yes, they have many athletes but the focus regarding all the actions that are going on at the moment is that this can affect young people, old people, vulnerable people
Buddh converted into quarantine centre
The former venue of the Indian Grand Prix the Buddh International Circuit has been converted into a makeshift quarantine facility by local authorities to combat the increasing spread of coronavirus in India.
The circuit which hosted the Grand Prix for three years between 2011-13, will house migrant workers who were leaving Delhi for their hometowns after the country imposed a 21-day lockdown starting March 25. The country has seen a rapid rise in infections in recent days.
The Uttar Pradesh regional government are warry of letting tens of thousands of workers leave the capital, as they risk spreading COVID-19 into smaller towns and villages. As a result, the owners of the Jaypee Sport City will allow the area to be used.
However, core parts of the facility, including the track itself, will be cordoned off, but the local authorities are still confident of making space for 5,000 people in the sports city, according to reports in the local media.
Formula One hasn’t visited India since 2013, because of a tax dispute with the local government who class it as entertainment rather than a sport. Last month Jaypee settled a case over non-payment of land dues to the tune of Rs 600 crore ($80 million). The track, however, has continued to host several events since then.
Peterson’s grave damaged
The grave of former Formula One Ronnie Peterson has been desecrated after vandals wrecked several tombstones at a cemetery in Sweden last weekend.
The Swedish driver took ten wins in his career before being killed in a start line crash at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, is buried in the Almby cemetery in his home town of Orebro.
The country hasn’t placed any restrictions on its citizen’s due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda said the attack happened late on Sunday night, with the vandals attacking random graves rather than specifically targeting Peterson’s.
Church leader Brita Wennsten told the newspaper: “It’s just shameful. It had nothing to do with Peterson specifically. Everything indicates that the perpetrators acted indiscriminately.”
Peterson was known as ‘The Super Swede,’ he was one of the countries most successful racing acing driver, completing in 123 F1 races and finishing runner-up in the world championship twice. He suffered serious leg injuries in the crash at Monza in 1978 and suffered an embolism in the hours after the crash which proved fatal.
He was buried in Orebro. His pallbearers included Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi. His widow Barbro never got over his death and committed suicide many years later. She is also laid to rest in the Almby cemetery.