Motorsport Week's team of writers got together to discuss what they believe will be the big questions for the 2019 motorsport season, covering all the major series from Formula 1 to IndyCar, WEC to DTM and everything in-between. We'll be posting one each day and today we ask…
7/19: Will F1's new aero rules deliver?
Formula 1 has introduced revised aerodynamic regulations for this year in a bid to enhance the quality and quantity of the racing spectacle. Drivers have complained in recent seasons that they struggle to get close to, and then remain close to, an opponent due to the dirty air given off by the car in front.
This turbulent air affects the performance of the following car, as well as accentuating other areas such as tyre life and engine temperature. It also got worse as rear downforce levels increased in 2017, with teams focusing on channelling air through the diffuser via increasingly complex and intricate front wings.
For 2019 these front wings have been simplified, widened and lengthened, while the regulations have been designed to place an emphasis on an ‘inwash’ philosophy, with standardised endplates.
Formula 1 chiefs have targeted a reduction of 20 per cent of the dirty air, which should in theory help matters, ahead of the yet-to-be-defined overhaul set for 2021. It remains to be seen whether the changes will have the desired impact. Designers through 2018 suggested that the lost downforce could be recouped while a fundamental aspect is the nature of the Formula 1 pecking order itself.
In order to race and overtake you need a delta. In 2018 there were two distinct groups – the leading trio and the rest – and within those separate groups the close gaps between the respective teams meant overtaking was often a tricky proposition. If the delta is only a few tenths of a second then, on pure pace alone, a differential (or a late braking move out of nowhere) is needed. That’s just pure logic. And when the delta is so large, such as that which often occurred between the top three and the rest, the challenge is lessened to the extent of being uninteresting.
A DRS-assisted Mercedes breezing past a two-second-a-lap slower Toro Rosso is not what gets the crowd’s juices flowing. It is an extraordinarily difficult balance to strike as F1 officials have to use an ever-changing and unpredictable barometer on which to introduce new regulations. Let’s see if these regs help.
