Technology in F1 is constantly evolving. The simplicity of the opening statement must be viewed from various angles. In the top tier of motorsport, numerous technical parameters are continuously changing or being adapted according to the required needs. It’s a delicate balancing act, a challenge that engineers embrace despite the limitations within certain scenarios.
This limitation significantly curtails the imaginative minds tasked with exploring specific areas of work. However, it also fuels curiosity. This is where the so-called gray areas come into play, environments where only the most skilled can maneuver with agility and somehow push the moral boundaries while remaining within the regulatory framework.
Such a context brings definite benefits. For this reason, the International Federation (FIA) expends considerable efforts to add value to its work concerning future regulatory frameworks. Furthermore, to ensure the much-desired performance parity (or close to it) and prevent dominant teams like the current Red Bull, the FIA deploys all its logical tools to achieve the set objective.
F1: FIA Ensures a “Lighter” Future
At the beginning of the new 2022 regulatory era, the issue of “wing car weight” was a hot topic for several months. We all remember how Red Bull gradually reduced the dry mass of the RB18, reaping many advantages in the late spring. Although all cars have currently reached the minimum allowed weight, the FIA continues to consider this element crucial for the future.
This is because it seeks to provide increasingly practical solutions. Taking a small step back in history, it’s revealed that in the last four decades, around 200 kilograms have been added to the cars. Approximately half of this weight gain is attributed to the current power units, a technical direction that has been pursued for almost a decade. The rest of the added weight on the cars involves various safety systems, such as the Halo and Zylon structures placed on the sides of the cars.
Not to mention how the increased size of the cars has subsequently increased their mass. The structural complexity of modern F1 cars is exceptionally high, where every available centimeter is used to enhance the overall performance of the car. For this reason, the FIA, in the upcoming regulatory era, has decided to reduce the dimensions of the wing cars, both in length and width.
Technically speaking, this factor will contribute to the larger battle for an F1 aerodynamics engineer: reducing the coefficient of aerodynamic resistance to the greatest extent possible. However, the desire to lighten the cars clashes with the complex architecture of the upcoming power units. We are talking about all the components that will undergo radical changes between the internal combustion engine and the hybrid system.
F1: Unmanageable Active Suspensions
Among the various topics discussed in formulating the regulatory framework for the near future, with a triple somersault back to the nineties, the International Federation had even considered the possibility of reintroducing active suspensions. However, after conducting studies involving simulators and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), while considering the integration of such systems in modern F1 cars, the technical minds at the FIA chose to reject this appealing but ultimately unmanageable opportunity.
The reason is clear. Just as in the budget cap scenario discussed earlier regarding technical-sporting aspects, such suspension freedom would inevitably create a “hellish battlefield.” This element would, in turn, lead to the much-dreaded imbalance, resulting in significant performance disparities between the various teams in the paddock. But it doesn’t end there, of course, as another drawback affects this solution negatively.
According to simulations in the possession of the technical working group led by former Ferrari driver Nicholas Tombazis, active suspensions would significantly limit the development of the cars, maximizing vertical thrust only under specific configurations. This is a highly restrictive condition because just outside the peak performance of the vehicle, its performance would plummet.
Although active suspensions would provide “easy” control of phenomena like porpoising/bottoming, it would exponentially increase the negative impact of slipstream and, consequently, the on-track spectacle related to overtaking. Through precise technical regulations, the FIA is attempting to reduce the sensitivity of cars to any element as much as possible with the goal, as we now know by heart, of capping the category and increasing the on-track competition.
Source: Alessandro Arcari for Formula Uno Analisi Tecnica
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