Now that the latest crop of F1 cars are being revealed, this looks like an appropriate time to shed some thoughts. This season sees some of the largest rulebook revisions seen in the history of Grand Prix racing. There are significant reductions in aerodynamic downforce and the introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, or KERS. Accompanying those are the reintroduction of slick tires, the ban on in-season testing, and many other smaller, yet no less insignificant regulations. People have a lot of questions going into this season. Will these changes serve to effectively increase overtaking? How is the ban on in-season testing going to affect car development? Is KERS all it's cracked up to be? The answers to many of these questions will only be available in Melbourne, a couple of months from now. In the mean time, all we can do is speculate, given the information available to us.
Regarding the changes for 2009, the biggest one has to be the downforce cuts. The 2009-spec cars are producing close to 50% less downforce than the 2008 generation cars. This has been achieved in several ways. Most obvious are the changes to the front and rear wings. The front wing has been widened and lowered, in order to make it less susceptible to turbulence and "dirty air" in the wake of a leading car. They now have a FIA mandated common center section that is designed to be neutral among all cars. This places a lot more emphasis on the wing elements and endplates this year. Air management around the front tires has also been revised now. In the past, teams were trying to direct as much air as possible between the front wheels, so as not to get any more turbulence affecting the aft bodywork. Now, with the full-width wings, teams are working to move the air outboard of the tires. The wing elements also come into play and try and smooth out the air as much as possible over the top and inboard of the wheels. The exposed wheels are one of the biggest drag factors in an open-wheel race car, and air management around them is crucial in a competitive package. The other revision to the front wings is the introduction of moveable aerodynamics. This has not been legal in F1 since the late 1970's, if one counts the Brabham BT46B fan-car. Now, the technology has progressed to the point where moveable aerodynamics can be used and still retain a satisfactory level of safety. Twice per lap, the driver can adjust the front wing element +/- 3 degrees. This can be used to try and gain an advantage when attempting to overtake a car.
The rear wing has also changed for this season. It is 25cm shorter, 15cm taller than before, and limited to two elements. This serves to reduce downforce over the wider wings, but by mounting them higher up, they get better access to "clean air", as well as reducing the amount of turbulent flow following the car. This combined with a revised diffuser (moved further rearwards and slightly smaller) makes it much easier for a following car to close the gap without suffering from instabilities. Along with these revisions, almost all extraneous bodywork, including vents, chimneys, bargeboards, turning vanes, etc., have also been removed. A major casualty of this is heat management. F1 engines, radiators, gearboxes, and electronics run very hot, and need a constant supply of fresh air to keep them cool. Getting rid of all of the vents will severely restrict the ability to shed heat, and could potentially make the cars more unreliable, unless proper measures are taken.
Slick tires are finally being reintroduced into the sport after being absent for eleven seasons. Once again, we have Bridgestone supplying the tires, with four dry compounds and two wet compounds to choose from. At any race, two of the dry compounds and both wet compounds will be available for the teams to choose from, with drivers required to run both dry compounds during the race. The introduction of slicks has increased mechanical grip significantly, which helps offset the loss of downforce. These tires can be made of a softer compound than the grooved tires, while still maintaining equal life. Since there is no tread to move about and squirm, graining and marbling becomes a much smaller issue with the slicks. Therefore they should also be more consistent through their life.
The final major technological revision is the introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, or KERS. This functions in a similar way to some of the hybrid systems on the road today. Under braking, a motor converts some of the drivetrain energy into electrical or mechanical energy, stored in a battery/supercapacitor or flywheel. Up to 400kJ can be stored, which can be released at 60kW for 6.6 seconds. This corresponds to a boost of about 80hp. This is controllable by the driver, and can be deployed up to twice per lap. All of the teams besides Williams are opting for the electrical KERS, whereas Williams is using the flywheel setup. These systems add about 25-30kg to the car weight, which affects overall weight distribution and leaves the teams with less ballast to play with.
There are several smaller changes as well. Of these, the ban on in-season testing will probably be the most apparent, both to the fans and to the development teams. Constructors are not allowed to test after the first race weekend in Melbourne. This will place a lot more emphasis on the simulators and electronic simulations. Even wind tunnel time is being limited with the budget cuts. As a result, we aren't going to see all of the experimentation that we have seen in years past. This makes sense from a cost-cutting perspective, but at the same time, the FIA cannot introduce a new technology like KERS or the moveable aerodynamics and expect costs not to rise. Teams will always be striving to be ahead of the bleeding edge of development, and money that was taken away from aero will be put into making the KERS systems lighter and more efficient. Another change is the ban on tire warmers. In my opinion, this is one of the worst ideas that the FIA has come up with. Tire warmers are not that expensive, relative to everything else in the F1 paddock. They are essential in getting the tires up to temperature for the first couple laps. With cold tires and reduced downforce, the cars are going to be rather tricky to handle, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see even more first-lap accidents than in years past. After all, cold tires were a prime suspect in the crash that killed Ayrton Senna back in 1994 at Imola.
With all of these changes, F1 in 2009 will be a much different sport than in years past. Whether this will be for the better or worse, only time will tell. Teams have been working since well before the 2008 season started on their 2009-spec cars, in order to maintain that competitive edge. With the sweeping rule changes, the leaderboard might be completely rearranged. The dominant teams in the past years might see a fall in form, while this is the chance for some of the midfield teams to become championship contenders. The pre-season tests will give us some glimpse to the success of the various constructors' cars, but it will only be on the 28th of March, as the teams line up for qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, that we will finally see some definite answers.
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