Tag: 2014 regulations

Ferrari unveils the F14-T

Ferrari has unveiled their 2014 challenger, the F14 T.

The F14-T which was named by a fan vote and will be raced by what is arguably the strongest driver line-up on the 2014 grid – Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, and features a far wider nose tip than we’ve seen in the cars launched so far.

The F14-T will be debuted by Raikkonen at Jerez on Tuesday and Wednesday, before he hands over testing duties to Fernando Alonso for the remaining two days.

The rear of the car seems very tightly packaged around the new turbo engine but due to the ‘anteater’, ‘bull’ and ‘tusk’ noses that have preceded the launch of the F14-T, all eyes are on the nose of the new Ferrari which features a far flatter design than those preceding it.

Ferrari said in a statement that the new regulations presented designers with a real challenge to repackage the front suspension into a much lower monocoque.

“The front wing is regulated to be 75mm narrower per side in order to make it less vulnerable to collisions with other cars and with the barriers,” their launch statement said. “This change, perhaps one of the less noticeable visual differences to the 2013 cars, has a profound effect on the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

“The front wings used since 2009 have all featured elaborate measures to encourage the wake of the front wing endplates to pass around the outside of the front tyres in order to maximize the downforce on the car. An innocent change of just 75mm to the position of the wing tip has required us to reinvent completely the front wing aerodynamics for 2014.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said that the new additions to the technical team and the upgrades to the wind tunnel – which is now operational at Maranello – have been crucial for Ferrari to make a step forward.

“In the last couple of years the changes and investment we have made in Formula One has been very important and significant,” Domenicali said. “Some have been spectacular in terms of names that were in the Formula One world and some others less, but nevertheless the changes were very important.

“Not only the organisation of the people, but also investment in the new windtunnel and tools of the simulation that are really important to make sure all the group of engineers can make the difference.”

The F14-T retains Ferrari’s pullrod front suspension concept in the new design and the new car is the first that will have been influenced by Ferrari’s new technical chief James Allison, who arrived late last season after switching from Lotus.

Ferrari is clearly hoping that the F14-T will have what it takes to finally bring home the championship that has been snatched away by Red Bull for the last few years. The 2013 season saw Fernando Alonso coming super close to clinching the title but just not having the car to make it happen. He compared his experience of not winning the title in his first four seasons with Ferrari to that of Michael Schumacher, who finally won his first championship with the Scuderia in his fifth season with the team.

Alonso said, “I think Schumacher won in the fifth year with Ferrari. I’m in the fifth year now so hopefully I can repeat some of the success that he had. Obviously in the last four years we had some opportunities, especially in 2010, 2012, we were very, very close to winning the championship. So this year we’ll try again and hopefully this time will be the good one.”

Alonso also believes that his partnership with incoming Kimi Raikkonen will be formidable saying, “I think [with] Kimi and me as a team we should be quite strong because we’ve had some success in the past in our Formula 1 career.”

Coincidentally, Raikkonen is the last driver to have won a title for Ferrari, in 2007 but he was sent packing to make way for Alonso.

Raikkonen is very positive about the F14-T and his return to Ferrari. “It is nice to come back to Ferrari, the place I won my championship,” he said. “The aim is the same. We want to do the best I can, try to win races and championships.”

January 25, 2014
McLaren unveil the MP4-29 – Full details

McLaren today unveiled their the MP4-29 ahead of the first pre-season test at Jerez, via an online launch today on their website and Twitter feed.

The launch felt slightly overshadowed by Lotus’ announcement of Eric Boullier’s departure and the rumours that he’ll be announced as the new McLaren team principal amidst Ron Dennis’ efforts to turn the team’s recent bad performance around.

The MP4-29 will be the last McLaren to be powered by Mercedes ahead of the team switching to Honda power from 2015 onward.

The car was revealed with a clean, menacing silver livery with MP4-29 branding and little else. Two vodafone swooshes are seen on top ends of the sidepods, but the rocket red look is out the window as the team launched with no title sponsor.

Twitter fans went wild as images started appearing and the overall reaction has been a good one. Most were worried about the nose following the Williams team’s reveal of a rendering of their 2014 car but it seems feel that McLaren has done a far better job of working with the new nose tip height regulations.

“We’ve never had such significant new regulations before; reacting to them, and managing those changes, while still pushing the performance limits, has been an extremely tough job,” said managing director Jonathan Neale.

“We’ve been relatively pragmatic about it. We know that the need for consistency initially outweighs the need for performance – the winter tests won’t be about chasing set-up or refining the car; the envelope of performance is likely to be so wide, and so relatively unknown, that the winter – and to some extent the opening races – will be about understanding the operational boundaries of the car as best we can.”

“To achieve this, we need a consistent platform – one that responds positively to changes. Moreover, the work of the engineers and designers to understand and interpret trackside data will be more important than before.”

“That’s because this year, more than ever, will come down to a development race: I don’t necessarily think you can expect the car that wins the opening race to be the car that leads the championship charge, something we’ve often seen in the past.”

Jenson Button has said that the regulation changes make for an exciting time for drivers as he looked ahead at the 2014 season.

“I’ve spent my whole career jumping from different specification cars – I’ve driven V10s, V8s, I’ve raced on grooved tyres, on slicks, with KERS, with DRS, with traction control, without it, with refueling, without it. I’m still here!”

“Obviously, there’s a period of adaption, but the way I drive – working upwards to find the grip level, rather than working downwards – has always made it quite a seamless transition.”

“As a driver, it’s just an exciting time. I’m really looking forward to it – I love the mental challenge of tackling such a complex task; there’s so much to get your teeth into, and the prospect of problem-solving, and pulling apart difficult concepts and drilling down to find the best solution – that really motivates me.”

Team-mate Kevin Magnussen is also excited about his debut and is hoping that the regulation changes will aid his transition into the sport.

“In a way, the regulation changes makes things a little easier: at that first test in Jerez, everybody will be easing themselves into something new, rather than just getting in the car and driving away, so I’ll really be no different from any other driver,” he said.

“It’ll be how we react during the season that will define how successful we are. I know the engineers are working on new things all the time, but I think there’s still plenty of scope to move forward.”

The new MP4-29 will have its first outing at Jerez on Tuesday piloted by Jenson Button.

Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of McLaren.com

January 24, 2014
Eddie Irvine brands double points rule as “insanity”

Former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine has branded the idea of double points for the season finale as “insanity” and vows he won’t be watching another race “until the rule is kicked out”.

Irvine, who drove for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar during his decade-long career, is not one to be shy of giving an opinion and has already voiced his displeasure with additions such as DRS to the sport.

Now, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Irvine has lashed out at the new regulation changes in the sport, more specifically at the new double points rule which will see drivers receiving double points for the final race in Abu Dhabi at the end of the 2014 season.

“I think Formula One has lost its way,” he told Belfast Telegraph.

“This latest rule of double points for the last race is insanity. That actually made me realise I am not going to watch another race until that rule gets kicked out. That is just embarrassing. It really is. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

“I just think the people involved in these decisions have lost the plot. They have no understanding of reality and the people who are in there have been in too long. They have blown up the history of the sport by changing the points, changing the qualifying and now double points for the final race!”

“It’s ridiculous, I’ve never heard such a joke in all my life. Talk about tinsel town bullshit!”

Irvine also had a few things to say about Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

When asked whether he thought that Vettel is on the same level as his former team mate and seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher, Irvine seemed to think that Vettel is proving nothing by staying at Red Bull.

“Vettel’s record is amazing, though he has kept the best car pretty much every year which Michael didn’t have. The one thing about Michael was when he won his first two championships he felt ‘this is boring, I’m going to go to Ferrari and re-build Ferrari’ and that was very admirable. He struggled there for four years before he won another championship. Vettel just staying at Red Bull winning trophies is boring. I don’t see what he’s trying to prove. Okay, he’s going to collect a lot of championships, but you know what, who cares?”

Irvine didn’t hold back about Hamilton either, saying that he’d “lost the plot a little bit because he went too showbiz.”

He continued, “His entry into Formula One was fantastic and his talent was amazing. Then he wanted to be a movie star or a rapper or something else. People want their sports stars to be 100% committed to being sports stars. I think he is coming back from that now and it would be nice if he could challenge Vettel. Lewis and Fernando Alonso are the two guys capable of taking Vettel on if their cars are up to it. Unfortunately, they aren’t at the moment.”

Irvine put a final little dig in at the current state of Formula One saying that he much prefers watching the Discovery Channel and doesn’t keep in touch with anyone other than Kimi Raikkon who “rings me the odd time when he’s drunk!”

December 19, 2013
FIA introduces new penalty points system for 2014

The FIA today released an updated version of the 2014 Sporting Regulations which include a new penalty points system.

According to Article 4.2 of the the new 2014 sporting regulations, any driver who earns 12 penalty points during a 12-month period will be given a one race ban. This means that penalties could be carried over to the next season.

The new system is aimed at punishing drivers who regularly break rules, while cutting some slack to drivers who commit minor infringements as a result of circumstance.

According to the new regulations, “In accordance with Article 16.3 [which covers driving standards], the stewards may impose penalty points on a driver’s Superlicence,” states Article 4.2 of the sporting regulations.”If a driver accrues 12 penalty points his licence will be suspended for the following event, following which 12 points will be removed from the licence.

“Penalty points will remain on a driver’s Superlicence for a period of 12 months after which they will be respectively removed on the 12-month anniversary of their imposition.”

The FIA also appear to be clamping down on unsafe releases. Drivers will now incur grid or time penalties if their car is released from the garage or a pitstop in a manner deemedto be unsafe. Unsafe releases during practice sessions could result in a grid penalty for that race.If the unsafe release occurs during a race, the driver will get a 10-place grid penalty for the next race. He could however also be penalised during the current race if he can continue racing after the incident. If this were to be the case, he could incur drive-throughs and 10-second penalties.

There will also be engine penalties. Five out of six separate engine elements may be replaced. These are the internal combustion engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic, the motor generator unit-heat, the energy store, the turbocharger and the control electronics. Should any of these elements fail, they may be replaced up to a maximum of five times. A sixth replacement would result in a 10 place grid penalty. Thereafter, sixth elements would only incur a 5 place grid penalty.

As for the power unit … should the power unit need replacing at any time, the driver will have to start from the pits.

They’ve also upped the anti on gear box penalties. Gear boxes will now need to last for six subsequent races.

As for drivers at the back of the grid incurring penalties … drivers who incur a grid-penalty and are unable to drop the necessary places, e.g. he qualifies 20th, awarded a five-place drop – he would start 22nd and have to drop the remaining three places at the next races.

What do you think of these penalty rules changes? Let us know in the comments section below.

December 12, 2013
Lotus F1 Team has a laugh with 18 new rules for 2014

The Lotus F1 Team is taking the FIA’s announcement detailing new regulations for next season in their stride.

A good few teams and drivers have voiced their disapproval of the changes, specifically the controversial double points rule which Sebastian Vettel slammed as being “absurd”.

The Lotus team however, posted a link on their website, Twitter account and Facebook pages detailing 18 new rules for the 2014 season which are bound to give F1 fans a good laugh.

The rules range from “anyone with a dog named Roscoe” starting at the back of the grid to championship points deciders being determined by Rock, Paper, Scissors or Cage Fight.

We particularly love the rule that any team with more than four members who’ve been Technical Directors, will have to design their cars using nothing but LEGO.

Below is the full set of 18 rules, as published by the Lotus F1 Team.

December 12, 2013
Pirelli confirm four teams for Bahrain tyre test

Pirelli have confirmed that four teams will take part in the Bahrain tyre test next week.

Following confirmation that both McLaren and Force India have withdrawn from the test because of the short timeframe between the test and the FIA’s confirmation that it may go ahead.

The FIA gave the tyre test the go ahead on Monday night, when they also announced major rule changes for 2014 and 2015.

A McLaren spokesperson said simply, “We are not testing in Bahrain next week.”

A Force India spokesperson added, “Given the short notice of this test taking place and the time frames involved, the team will not be attending the test.”

The teams who will now take place in the Bahrain tyre test for Pirelli are Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Ferrari and Toro Rosso.

The test will run from 17-19 December.

December 12, 2013
Vettel slams double points rule as “absurd”

Four time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has criticised FIA plans to award double points for the final race of the season from 2014.

Under the new double points rule, the winning driver of the final race in Abu Dhabi next season, will score 50 points instead of 25 under the proposed rule change.

The FIA has set out a number of rule changes for next season and beyond, including a global cost cap in 2015, changes to penalties for minor infringements and permanent driver numbers. The new double points rule however, is the one that will raise the most eyebrows.

The decision to award double points, towards the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, at the final race of the season was made “to maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign”, according to a statement released by the FIA.

Vettel would still have won this year’s title in India but would have lost the 2012 title to Fernando Alonso if the double points rule had been in place at the time and the German driver is far from happy.

“This is absurd and punishes those who have worked hard for a whole season,” said the Vettel, who won the final nine races of the 2013 season.

“Drivers, fans and experts are horrified,” he told German newspaper, Sports Bild.

“I value the old traditions in Formula 1 and do not understand this new rule,” he continued. “Imagine, in the last Bundesliga match of the season there was suddenly double points.”

His new Red Bull team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, also appeared to be against the proposed double points rule change.

“Seems to be pretty bizarre. Not sure who came up with that one..,” Ricciardo posted on Twitter.

Interestingly, Red Bull is one of the teams who sit on F1′s strategy group, which contributed to the new regulations being passed. The FIA and Formula One Management also vote on the changes.

But Red Bull’s Helmut Marko said that the team was opposed to the changes and revealed that the original plan was for the final four races of the year to carry double points.

“We were against it,” he said. “But our team boss Christian Horner was overruled.”

“At first it was planned to be awarded double points for the last four races,” he continued. “Then the world championship up to that point would have been almost useless.”

December 11, 2013
FIA announces major changes to 2014 regulations

The FIA has announced some major changes to the regulations of the sport including Double points at the final race of the season; Permanent driver numbers; A 5 second penalty for minor infringements and a cost cap in 2015.

Double Points to be awarded at Final Race

In a rather controversial move, the FIA announced that double drivers’ and constructor’s points will be awarded at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. The change means that 50 points will be allocated to the winner of the final round of 2014, rather than the usual 25.

The FIA have stated that the change was immediately applicable and would “maximise focus on the championship until the end of the campaign”.

There is little doubt that this could most certainly carry the championship through to the final round – if this change had been implemented in previous years, Kimi Raikkonen would have been champion in 2003 instead of Michael Schumacher, and Felipe Massa would have beaten Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Fernando Alonso would have been the 2012 champion instead of Sebastian Vettel.

Permanent Driver Numbers

In a less controversial move, a unanimous agreement was given during a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group and the Formula One Commission in Paris on Monday, to introduce permanent driver numbers.

“Drivers will be asked to choose their race number, between 2 and 99, for the duration of their career in the FIA Formula One World Championship,” said the FIA statement. “Number 1 will be reserved for the current World Champion, should he choose to use it.”

Should more than one driver chose the same number, priority will be given to the driver who finished highest in the previous year’s championship.

Five Second Penalty

The principle of a five-second penalty for minor infringements was also accepted for the 2014 season. Teams will still meet to discuss how it should be applied before the penalty system is implemented at the start of the season.

Global Cost Cap for 2015

The principle of a global cost cap has been adopted and the limit will be applied from January 2015.

A working group will be established within the coming days comprising of the FIA, representatives of the Commercial Rights Holder and Team representatives. The objective of this working group will be to have regulations approved by the end of June 2014.

Pirelli December tyre test

The FIA has also approved the Pirelli tyre test which will be staged next week in Bahrain. Six teams have agreed to take part – Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Force India and Toro Rosso.

Immediate Effect

The FIA stated that these “changes are immediately applicable, given the mandate assigned to the FIA President at the last World Motor Sport Council meeting, held on 4 December in Paris”.

December 10, 2013
Martin Brundle expecting “total calamity” for F1 in 2014

Formula One driver turned commentator Martin Brundle has warned that F1 will experience “total calamity” in the early part of the 2014 season.

F1 will adopt new 1.6-litre turbo-charged engines next year, while teams will also need to make greater use of energy recovery systems.

“I’m expecting total calamity in the early stages of 2014 and it remains to be seen if that’s entertaining or confusing, but I have no doubt that these brilliant engineers and designers will master the issues sooner than later” Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports F1 column.

He did however agree with Jenson Button that certain revisions in the new 2014 regulations and technical changes like those to aerodynamics could dent Red Bull’s supremacy and make for a more level playing field.

Button recently said that he’s expecting the 2014 cars to be more difficult to drive due to increased torque and less downforce, something he doesn’t seem to excited about but he expressed his views that we should be looking at a more level playing field next season.

“I agree with Jenson Button, big changes can only hurt Red Bull given they have such an advantage, but no doubt the usual suspects with the biggest resource will get there first. I’m hoping that we won’t have a three-tier Ferrari – Renault – Mercedes championship in whichever order for both power and efficiency, but it’s possible,” Brundle wrote.

Brundle added that teams have a lot of work ahead of them saying, “I’ve asked my trusted sources in the paddock and they just roll their eyes and throw their arms up in the air. There’s a huge amount of work to do in a very short space of time.”

The Briton seemed most concerned about a crisis in the sport around the current financial state some teams are finding themselves in. He added that, “The midfield driver market should settle down in the next week or so,” just prior to the confirmations that Pastor Maldonado will move to Lotus in 2014 and Nico Hulkenberg will head to Force India.

Brundle added, “I’ve never seen anything like it frankly, and it doesn’t bode well when the only team – Lotus – to consistently take the fight to Red Bull can’t afford to chose its own driver line-up and take the best available.”“My alarm bells are going off for the general health of F1 and it needs urgent action, if not then a crisis, before it’s back on track,” Brundle said in closing.

Photo Credit: By greenmashup (Martin Brundle) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

December 5, 2013
FIA confirms changes to 2014 regulations

The FIA today confirmed a number of changes to the 2014 regulations including the introduction of a penalty points system and in-season testing.

Here are the changes to the 2014 regulations as published by the FIA.

The following summarises the changes made to the 2014 Sporting Regulations:

Further to a request from Mercedes, it will be permitted to supply engines to a maximum of four Formula One teams in 2014.

A penalty point system for drivers will be introduced. If a driver accumulates more than 12 points he will be banned from the next race. Points will stay on the driver’s licence for 12 months. The amount of points a driver may be given for infringements will vary from one to three depending upon the severity of the offence.

The procedure for a driver to be given the chance to give back any advantage he may have gained by leaving the track has been adopted.

A significant reduction in the amount of wind tunnel testing and CFD work has been imposed to help reduce costs and potentially allow two teams to share one wind tunnel.

Four two-day track tests will be allowed in season in place of the current eight one-day promotional days and the three-day young driver test. These will take place at tracks in Europe on the Tuesday and Wednesday after a race in order to ensure minimal additional resources are necessary.

Track testing will now also be permitted in January 2014 in order to allow earlier testing of the new power units.

For safety reasons all team personnel working on a car in a race pit stop will be required to wear head protection.

Each driver will be provided with one extra set of tyres for use only during the first 30 minutes of the first practice session on Friday, to encourage teams to take to the track at that time without having to worry about using valuable tyre wear.

A number of new regulations have been confirmed to govern the new, far more complex power units. It is agreed that only five power units may be used by each driver for the whole season. Any use of an additional complete power unit will result in that driver having to start the race from the pit lane. Any changes of individual elements above the permitted five, such as turbocharger, MGU or Energy Store, will result in a 10 grid place penalty.

No manufacturer will be allowed to homologate more than one power unit during the homologation period from 2014-2020. Changes to the homologated unit will continue to be permitted for installation, reliability or cost saving reasons.

Drivers must now use a gearbox for six consecutive events, an increase from the current five.

No car may use more than 100kg of fuel for the race, from the time the lights go out at the start of the race to the chequered flag. This will be monitored by the use of an FIA approved fuel flow meter.

The pit lane speed limit, which is currently set at 60km/h for the free practice sessions and 100km/h for the qualifying practice and race (60km/h for the whole event in Melbourne, Monaco and Singapore), has been amended so it is set at 80km/h for the whole event (except the three races mentioned which would stay at 60km/h for the whole event). This is for safety reasons, as most accidents happen during the race when the speed limit is higher; drivers also have very little chance to practice stopping from 100km/h until the race.

The following summarises the changes made to the 2014 Technical Regulations:

Measures have been put in place to ensure that the cars do not incorporate a step in the chassis behind the nose. These changes will also ensure that a genuine low nose, introduced for safety reasons, is always used.

The minimum weight limit has been raised by 5kg, as the power unit is now likely to weigh more than originally expected. The weight distribution has also been changed accordingly.

Electronic control of the rear brake circuit is permitted in order to ensure consistent braking whilst energy is being recovered.

In order to ensure that side impact structures are more useful in an oblique impact and more consistent, they will become standard items made to a strictly laid out manufacturing process and fitted to the cars identically. The impact tests currently carried out will be replaced by static load push-off tests and squeeze tests. This will also help reduce costs as no team will need to develop their own structures.

In order to ensure that the cockpit rims either side of the driver’s head are stronger, the amount of deflection during the static load tests has been reduced from 20mm to 5mm.

June 28, 2013