A Formula 1 technical director has pointed out that the new rule intended to limit metallic inserts on the floors of F1 cars was initially conceived for safety reasons. However, due to numerous exceptions in the approved regulation, it reintroduces a maximum mass of 1.8 kg of metal. Teams that had invested significantly in reducing the weight of the floor, using more metallic supports, have opposed a measure that is less decisive than intended.
Formula 1 regulations need to be read and… interpreted: the message conveyed among the decisions of the FIA World Council is that next year, teams will have to reduce the number and weight of metallic reinforcements mounted on the floor for safety reasons.
The FIA technical stewards had identified the risk that metallic inserts could detach from the car during violent encounters with curbs or contact with another car, potentially posing a danger by flying off.
The measure, therefore, had its logic, but its application, following the usual negotiations with the teams, led to a solution that produced the classic compromise. Article 3.16.4 of the F1 technical regulations governs which metallic inserts are allowed and in which areas of the floor the ban has been imposed.
The idea was to drastically reduce reinforcements with metallic inserts, but then, with the usual “exceptions,” allowances were made that reintroduced over 1.6 kg of metal scattered on the floor.
It turns out that the support brackets for the edge wing, the “scimitar” projecting from the side edge of the curb, can be six per side. Each element should not weigh more than 100 grams, and the total mass of the six brackets should not exceed 500 grams per side.
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The floor support tie rods that anchor to the chassis (seen in various shapes and sizes) cannot exceed a weight of 100 grams, while the metallic inserts reducing floor wear cannot weigh more than 30 grams, with a total sum of 300 grams per side of the car.
It is probably true that any detached pieces should be smaller and lighter (and, therefore, more easily damaged), but the feeling is that the situation has not changed much from today. “The measure was born with an objective,” explained an anonymous technical director, “but under the influence of some teams that have put a lot of effort into containing the weight of the floor, we have ended up with many metallic parts in the floors again.”
Indeed, 1.8 kilograms in total (as the maximum value) is not negligible, but without the cars having to equip themselves with thicker and heavier floors to achieve the same stiffness values. In short, much ado about almost nothing…
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