Wet race, spectacular race: isn’t that a lesson?. Wet race, spectacular race.

Bernie Ecclestone once said that every race should take place at least in part on a wet track so there would be no more boring Grands Prix. Everyone laughed. But given the fact than when old Bernie opens his mouth there is always something to learn, instead of taking it as a joke, perhaps it is better to take a few steps forward in reflection. And maybe understand in which direction Formula 1 should go to ensure uncertainty, spectacle and adequate enhancement of the drivers’ merits.

Sure Bernie discovered hot water. Just go back in the calendar to see that crazy races take place in wet conditions, which test the drivers’ ability to make no mistakes and deliver surprising finishing orders. The recent Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna, the Istanbul roulette and the Budapest race in 2020, the one in which Verstappen broke a suspension in the warm up lap, are there to prove it, even to those with short memories.

So why didn’t this obvious coincidence suggest some clear decisions to those who govern Formula 1?

It’s not like it takes an aerospace engineer. When the track is wet the grip of the cars drops dramatically. The highly sophisticated modern aerodynamics no longer manages to guarantee the grip necessary to go through the curves as if you were on dry tyres, and therefore errors are made, counter-steering and overtaking with unusual trajectories. In short, the spectacle that has been missing for years and that everyone regrets after spending Sunday watching the trains of Sochi and the “splendid” nights of Abu Dhabi.

So why has this evidence never been inspired to decide on a decisive cut in aerodynamics, in order to force the drivers to “really” tame a thousand horsepower beast that doesn’t want to go straight? By sharp cut we mean something a little more serious than the few centimeters less floor used in 2021, about which the aerodynamic engineers have laughed.

Indeed they must have thought that they finally had some ideas to spend the winter. No no. It takes a very strong decrease of the vertical load. Does it now exceed the ton? Let us find a way to reduce it to three hundred kilos, then let’s see who is better at keeping a Formula 1 on the road on a “real” circuit.

Long ago Mauro Forghieri, speaking of the level of aerodynamic downforce reached by modern Formula 1, had already indicated the way forward. In a fairly informal meeting with friends, and with the rather bored attitude of someone who knows he is saying something less than obvious, the former Ferrari designer quantified in a quarter (!) The downforce that should have been allowed compared to today. The cars would have become more difficult to drive, the negative effect of the car in front would have diminished and there would have been races (but not in a wet version) with more overtaking, retirements and emotions. Clear as the sun.

And what does the Federation do? Meanwhile, it instructs the aerodynamic manager Nicholas Tombazis to study a completely new regulation, the one that will go into effect next year. And in the new regulation the current aerodynamic appendages and the efficiency of the wings are cut, but the ground effect is introduced again !!! So the aerodynamics go out the door and back in the window.

Indeed, the downforce will probably be increased: “Yes, but it will be generated with a system that does not harm the car that follows! “. Tombazis will answer. This is probably true, but we hope that the common San Tommaso is not right, less experienced in aerodynamics but certainly tired of seeing overtaking only with the DRS.