Traction Control Banned in 2008!!

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The FIA has banned the use of traction control in Formula One from 2008 onwards. The change in regulation has been backed by all the teams and by the FIA, who has already taken action to cut the use of advanced technology in the sport in a bid to improve the racing.

The governing body's council met earlier this week and approved of the ban to traction control, which had originally been permitted in 2001.

The new rules state: "No car may be equipped with a system or device which is capable of preventing the driven wheels from spinning under power or of compensating for excessive throttle demand by the driver.

"Any device or system which notifies the driver of the onset of wheel spin is not permitted."

Source
 
My dream has come true. My dream has come true.

There is no traction control in F1. There is no traction control in F1.

I love how that sounds. :)
 
oh well. just means we're gonna see 22 cars simultaniously doing burnouts.
 
I bet Heikki has a huge mark on his forehead after smacking it when he heard the news.
 
Yay.. Next some regulations to stop the cars creating "dirty air" so that they can follow and overtake each other

*hoping for too much*
 
Oh this is going to be fun , a driver putting another driver under pressure and causing him to loose balance for a sec to overtake him at the last turn of the last lap to take the win , think of Shumy and Alonso I think it was in Spa or Hungary in 2005?
 
So? how are they going to police it? these cars are so electronicified, proving a hunch will be nearly impossible.

unless thay ban a bunch of sensors...
 
So? how are they going to police it? these cars are so electronicified, proving a hunch will be nearly impossible.

unless thay ban a bunch of sensors...


The FIA keeps a pretty tight leash on electronics.

FIA
ARTICLE 8: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
8.1 Software and electronics inspection:
8.1.1
Prior to the start of each season the complete electrical system on the car must be examined and all on board and communications software must be inspected by the FIA Technical Department.
The FIA must be notified of any changes prior to the Event at which such changes are intended to be implemented.
8.1.2 All re-programmable microprocessors must have a mechanism that allows the FIA to accurately identify the software version loaded.
8.1.3 All electronic units containing a programmable device, and which are intended for use at an Event, must be presented to the FIA before each Event in order that they can be identified.
8.1.4 All on-car software versions must be registered with the FIA before use.
8.1.5 The FIA must be able to test the operation of any compulsory electronic safety systems at any time during an Event.

So... there's that, but also you can actually hear the engine 'popping' when current traction control systems throttle them back to reduce slip, so continued use of the current traction control would be quite obvious.

Don't forget that this wouldn't be the first ban imposed on traction control. It, along with launch control were banned in 1998 before being reintroduced to the sport a few races into to 01 season. I don't recall there being any issues back then with allegations of cheating, though I'm sure someone could prove me wrong (my memory is a little foggy and I wasn't as focussed on what took place off the track back then).


edit:
hrm, apparently it was first banned in 1994 after appearing on the FW14B. I knew active suspension was outlawed as a result of that car, I didn't know about the TC though.

Was just trying to read up a little more on this and found the following:
Wikipedia
In Formula One, an effort to ban TC has lead to the change of rules for 2008: every car must have a standard (but custom mappable) ECU, issued by FIA, which is relatively basic and does not have TC capabilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_control
 
Interesting one this, but a good move, more skill required so we'll see how good some of these drivers are without their fancy extras
 
It, along with launch control were banned in 1998 before being reintroduced to the sport a few races into to 01 season. I don't recall there being any issues back then with allegations of cheating, though I'm sure someone could prove me wrong (my memory is a little foggy and I wasn't as focussed on what took place off the track back then).

edit:
hrm, apparently it was first banned in 1994 after appearing on the FW14B.

It was first banned at the end of the 1993 season. Cars started to appear with 4-wheel steering, continually variable transmissions (CVT), and traction control devices, and by the end of the year, they were all banned. TC made a "comeback" because it was getting harder to detect such systems during scrutineering, so it came back, under the guise of "road car safety".

The Benetton B194 tried to sneak under the radar, but although the software remained, the equipment likely at the root of "traction control" wasn't there. It's a bit of mystery how this all worked out; but considering the B195 (Renault V10-powered) was so much more dominant in Schumacher's hands than the B194 (which was Ford V8-powered), it's hard to say whether the Benetton team were cheating or not.

In any case, I'm quite happy to see traction control out of F1; it's a fine line to decide what is and what isn't a non-driver-operated automatically and/or electronically-activated aid and what isn't, though.

6000.0 posts.
 
How are they going to handle the power without it? I guess they will also have to make a lot of other changes to make the cars drivable.

I tried turning off traction control in F1 2006 on the ps2 and it was so twitchy, i couldnt do a sector without spinning
 
How are they going to handle the power without it? I guess they will also have to make a lot of other changes to make the cars drivable.
They are supposedly the best drivers in the world. Its what they get paid to do. If they can't keep the car on the road, they're not that good.

A racing driver's traction control should always be his right foot.
 
Great news, means the quality of drivers should improve as the rubbish ones will be forced out eventually.

The FIA doing something useful? Yes.
 
How are they going to handle the power without it? I guess they will also have to make a lot of other changes to make the cars drivable.

They handled 1100+ hp in the prime of the turbo era without it, and 900hp without it as little as 6 years ago.

I don't see a need for any sort of redesign. Theoretically, traction control doesn't do anything that the driver shouldn't be able to do themselves.


I tried turning off traction control in F1 2006 on the ps2 and it was so twitchy, i couldnt do a sector without spinning

:rolleyes:
 
Barichello and the likes of Albers and such are gonna have to change their driving styles.
But are they going to be around in 2008? I think Barichello is getting past his prime, and Albers stupid rookie mistake in Australia is going to cost him.



But I can only see the banning of traction control as being a good thing. I'd like to see them lose semi-automatic gearboxes (a completely manual transmission would be awesome), but maybe that's just too unrealistic.
 
Do you race?
But I can only see the banning of traction control as being a good thing. I'd like to see them lose semi-automatic gearboxes (a completely manual transmission would be awesome), but maybe that's just too unrealistic.

No, a complete manual gearbox is coming in 2008 too, according to the document released by the FIA in 2005. I’m just downloading the latest technical regulations for 2008 and I’ll see whether they are in or out for 2008.

EDIT: Nope, it seems that the idea for manual gearboxes has quietly disappeared.
 
To me making things illgeal to use in formula one is the stupidist thing you can do.

You see formula one has heaps of money which means they can develop electronics and mechanical parts to make cars go faster and work more efficiently. This in turn results in better technology for normal cars.

Banning traction control is stupid as more and more normal cars are getting this. Formula 1 is a great way of reasearching traction control.

Also if they make it illegal for semi automatic in 2008 that would be the stupidist decision ever. Manuals are starting to die off these days and these new automatics seem to be much faster whilst being more efficient.

Note: I will always still prefer to drive a manual and i hate traction control. I'm just lloking at this from a point of futer development.
 
But Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport. Allowing traction control, electronic driver aids and fully-automatic gearboxes would simply dumb it down to the point where anyone could drive one. Plus, it would make the races incredibly dull as all the drivers would have to do it accelerate, brake, steer and the fastest car (not the fastest driver) would win. Skill wouldn't be a factor.
 
EDIT: Nope, it seems that the idea for manual gearboxes has quietly disappeared.

The teams posit that semi-auto trannys "help prevent over-revving the motor", which are magic words to Max Mosely, because he translates that to mean "cost-cutting".

You see formula one has heaps of money which means they can develop electronics and mechanical parts to make cars go faster and work more efficiently. This in turn results in better technology for normal cars.

Banning traction control is stupid as more and more normal cars are getting this. Formula 1 is a great way of reasearching traction control.

Also if they make it illegal for semi automatic in 2008 that would be the stupidist decision ever. Manuals are starting to die off these days and these new automatics seem to be much faster whilst being more efficient.

Virtually every automaker (or their associated suppliers) have invested plenty of money into traction control; many recent cars from exotics to average sedans have traction control systems for preventing wheelspin in wet or icy weather, or to prevent over-zealous drivers that have "run out of talent".

There's little, if any, benefit to road cars on a system that only works well for a very select application: A 1300-pound formula car with 800 horsepower and a high coefficient of aerodynamic drag. Until roadgoing cars are built in this manner (and it's highly likely cars will fly before this occurs), there's little to be gained from this sort of technology. In this way, the need for traction controls in F1 has reached its sunset.

Likewise, semi-automatic transmissions are taking over manual shifting, which doesn't make me any happier, but teams are designing units to last a few 300-mile race weekends...nowhere near the quality of your average road-car warranty!
 
To me making things illgeal to use in formula one is the stupidist thing you can do.

You see formula one has heaps of money which means they can develop electronics and mechanical parts to make cars go faster and work more efficiently. This in turn results in better technology for normal cars.

Banning traction control is stupid as more and more normal cars are getting this. Formula 1 is a great way of reasearching traction control.

Also if they make it illegal for semi automatic in 2008 that would be the stupidist decision ever. Manuals are starting to die off these days and these new automatics seem to be much faster whilst being more efficient.

Note: I will always still prefer to drive a manual and i hate traction control. I'm just lloking at this from a point of futer development.

Traction control is pretty much standard on nearly every new car, so I'm not shedding any tears over this. Formula 1 is not a breeding ground for road car technology, It's a sport, not a science fare. Manuals are not dieing off, it's as simple as the Lazy Average Joe wanting to have a Semi-Automatic instead of having to use a clutch. The automotive industry will continue to develop and change and change and change, Manuals may go into instinction whether you want them to or not my friend. My advice, get used to change.
 
Which means that Button-fans will finally need to prove things. "Uses the least amount of traction-control"...
 
I don't really see losing Traction Control as being such a big deal.

I remember reading somewhere (and when I find it I will provide a source) that numerous drivers have said that the new 19,000 Rev limited V8's 'without' traction control are about as stable as the 2005 V10's 'with' traction control. And most of the drivers in 2005 are still here in '07, and most probably will be here in '08.

Actually, it was Pedro De La Rosa who said it, with many drivers agreeing.
 
I don't know if this is possible or is done now.

But can't the makers just change the throttle map to not deliver full power in situations where you would get wheel spin? Technically that would still be in the rules I assume.

In any case, it's not going make that big a difference except maybe in wet weather. In the pre-TC days, how often did you see guys wheelspinning and/or losing control out of corners? These are the best drivers in the world, I think it'll make no difference.
 
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