2009 Rule Changes

[Ardius]

Couldn't find a thread about 2009 rule changes and regulations, so may as well start one.

I'll start off with:
Recently spotted at Jerez testing, we have some pictures of Williams' 2009-spec rear wings on the FW30:

 

[wrcsti]

What have they done! Todays cars are so beautifull and efficient and this is what they are making them run from now on? FIA just lost my respect.

 

[fasj6418]

What have they done! Todays cars are so beautifull and efficient and this is what they are making them run from now on? FIA just lost my respect.

That's for overtaking, which is actually a great move if indee helps.

 

[Metar]

Remember, this is just the beginning. We'll also have oversized front wings next year, which should mean very badly proportioned cars. The body itself will probably be very sculpted, though, but that's the only thing I'm looking forward to. And who knows if those plans will actually improve overtaking?

One thing's sure: Next year's cars are going to be faster than this year's. Calculations on F1Technical have shown that the slick tyres will improve grip so much, that even with 50% downforce cuts, laptimes will remain the same. However, Honda hinted back in July that they're already at 75% of this year's amount, and I'd guess by now, the top teams shaved it down to just 85%.

KERS is where the teams will differ, but that's beneath the skin and thus irrelevant to most fans in today's closed top-secret paddocks. BMW are going for the electric variant (as we all know from the shock incident), while Williams have taken the mechanical route of storing energy via a CVT and flywheel combination.

 

[Tobias123]

I don't know why, but to me those rear wings make the car look less like the beautiful and aggressive racing machines that a Formula One car SHOULD be, and more like a child's toy.

If this improves overtaking I will be a happy happy person, but if it doesn't, we'll have no overtaking, and ugly cars to go along with it.

 

[wrcsti]

Why not just have Monza like wings on the back? Wide and flat, it would let them run less DF and still look beautifull. Ohh well. And for lap times I don't care much but the KERS is also something that should be added to try and get technology on street cars, something F1 has been lacking for a while.

 

[Cultlife]

That looks awful. Possibly worse than the split rear wing. As bad, at least.

 

[nissan tuner]

full slicks and less downforce is great for the sport. The looks will pan out over the years.

Remember, this is just the beginning. We'll also have oversized front wings next year, which should mean very badly proportioned cars. The body itself will probably be very sculpted, though, but that's the only thing I'm looking forward to. And who knows if those plans will actually improve overtaking?

The areo on the Williams looks to be more oversteer prone with more downforce on the front and less on the rear but with the addition of slicks next year, i'm not sure how the 09 F1's will handle. I guess more mechanical or analog?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

It's getting to the point of self-parody ...

 

[Cap'n Jack]

It looks like Williams were running a different diffuser there too, a lot simpler looking.

EDIT: Here's a representation of a 2009 spec car which was shown to me.

 

[Motominded]

that looks grotesque.

 

[Muzaffar]

OMG....... F1 is going back to the 90's!!!!

But it would be interesting how all of these are going to make more close racing in 2009, with all the drivers aids removed and the aero parts being cut down. Especially with how those KERS are going to work in a race.....

 

[Rocket Punch]

A better shot of the front wing. Not running slick yet.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

That's actually Williams' current front wing.

 

[orimarc]

It looks like Williams were running a different diffuser there too, a lot simpler looking.

EDIT: Here's a representation of a 2009 spec car which was shown to me.

Wait...that's a 2009-spec F1? It looks like it from the 90's!

 

[DQuaN]

BMW are going for the electric variant (as we all know from the shock incident).

Shock incident?!!

 

[Pupik]

Dude, who shrank my rear wing? The cars look ridiculous, and the side-pod edges look tacked-on.

OMG....... F1 is going back to the 90's!!!!

...Never mind that car is from 1988, which also has roots in the '86 Brabham BT56. Cars from the 1980s were quite clean-cut, save theturbo inlet ducts and sometimes bulbous appearances of most pre-1987 machinery.

Personally, F1 car design look took a dive around 1994-95, although looking at a few pics from Autocourses of 2000 and 2001 the other day makes me realized the protuberances on all corners of the car are increasing in number with every race.

 

[Metar]

full slicks and less downforce is great for the sport. The looks will pan out over the years.

Only problem is that downforce levels aren't really going to sink that much.

The areo on the Williams looks to be more oversteer prone with more downforce on the front and less on the rear but with the addition of slicks next year, i'm not sure how the 09 F1's will handle. I guess more mechanical or analog?

Erm, what? Oversteer-prone, no. Take a look at Jackington's picture to see just how much simpler next year's front wings are going to be - a lot of downforce will be cut there, too, as we'll have just two elements with limits on the complexity, and no bridge-wings.

The oversized front wing is simply designed to improve front-end traction in another car's wake, but it will lose plenty of downforce compared to this year's cars.

It looks like Williams were running a different diffuser there too, a lot simpler looking.

EDIT: Here's a representation of a 2009 spec car which was shown to me.

That image is pretty much spot on, and the diffusers next year will indeed be simpler, and more steeped.

OMG....... F1 is going back to the 90's!!!!

*image of '88 McLaren*

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Shock incident?!!

Yeah, a BMW technician got a severe electric shock when he touched one of the cars that was testing the KERS system a few weeks ago. They investigated and found that it wasn't a problem with the system itself, but rather that it hadn't be grounded properly, or something like that.

 

[Soundtrack]

Hopefully, new regulations will eventually allow more teams to show there nose in front from time to time.👍 As for overtaking, my understanding is that these maneuvers are getting more and more under suspicious scrutiny at the moment.

One nice reading about regulation/performance/hierachy:
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/9/8370.html

and some info about KERS incident
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/7/8139.html
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/8/8247.html


And about those “ugly” rear wings, haven’t the sponsors complained?

 

[Robin]

They have made all the cars go back to 80's style to make it more competitive, no more fancy aero bits, yeah the cars will look like in 2009 but it should make for more interesting racing...

Oh well no wipeout style F1 anytime soon the way this is going!

Robin

 

[Sureboss]

Yeah, a BMW technician got a severe electric shock when he touched one of the cars that was testing the KERS system a few weeks ago. They investigated and found that it wasn't a problem with the system itself, but rather that it hadn't be grounded properly, or something like that.

They should have used XL, then it would have been grounded well and proper.

 

[GT4 genius]

The only thing I hate is the rear wing, if it will look like that. I'm worried it'll dumb down F1 too much aswell, the only thing that does promote F1 as the pinnacle of technology now is the kers thing, and that will be interesting to watch, to see if it will lead to light weight similar devises in the real world.

 

[RouWa]

The German Auto, Motor and Sport Magazine had the Red Bull 2009 CAD model in one of their last issues with Adrian Newey explaining different things. It looked pretty much the same than the picture Jackington posted. I can scan the article on Monday, if the moderator allows it. In 2009 the front wing will be as wide as the car including the tires, while the rear wing will be much smaller (75 cm IIRC) and as high as the highest point of the car. Newey also explained, that without any rules the front wing would be redundant, because the wing leads to a very bad drag coefficient. This problem could easily be solved with a better diffuser, but such a diffuser is not possible with the current rules because the cars would easily reach 400 km/h / 249,22 mph.

 

[orimarc]

This problem could easily be solved with a better diffuser, but such a diffuser is not possible with the current rules because the cars would easily reach 400 km/h / 249,22 mph.

Oh, please...and that's a problem? Indycar drivers go at almost 400 km/h during a whole race.

 

[Metar]

It's something the FIA will never allow.

 

[racegeek]

i think those cars need to go back to basics with stick shift, less advanced aerodynamics, more power with turbo engines + they need to drive on more difficult tracks such as Laguna Seca, Nurnburgring Nordscheife etc. imagine F1 on Laguna Seca where drivers tackle "the cork screw" corners... damn!

 

[Cap'n Jack]

i think those cars need to go back to basics with stick shift, less advanced aerodynamics, more power with turbo engines + they need to drive on more difficult tracks such as Laguna Seca, Nurnburgring Nordscheife etc. imagine F1 on Laguna Seca where drivers tackle "the cork screw" corners... damn!

Hell, let's just take away all the technology away from F1, the most technologically advanced motorsport, and have them race horse drawn carriages.

 

[Metar]

Problem is, you can't "forget" progress. You can ban semi-automatics, you can ban various additions - but you can't "forget" advanced aerodynamics. The only thing you can do, in this case, is force engineers to work with new, purposely inefficient designs, and hope they struggle for long enough - this is what the 2009 regulations hope to achieve (and already failed - most teams report just 85% downforce lost!).

I don't think F1 needs more power, either. As of now, it's the most powerful lap-based series running (Dragsters don't count), and with the weight these things have, they're also some of the quickest and fastest in every aspect. IndyCar fans like to boast about their higher speeds, but should F1 ever run a race on a Superspeedway, speeds could easily pass the current Monza record of 360km/h.

At the same time, tracks like the Nordschleife will never return to F1, since they're plainly dangerous, and would also make for some terrible racing - how exactly will they pass when they barely fit two cars on a straight, and going off would mean a high-speed encounter with a tree? I also don't see why Laguna Seca is more difficult than, say, Spa Francorchamps. Or even the Gilles Villeneuve circuit at Canada. There's one difficult corner, but once they nail it down, it'll be as easy as every other corner on any other track.

 

[Omnis]

Shock incident?!!