When The Five Red Lights Go Off At Melbourne!!!
A sneak preview at the 2009 Formula1 1 season, which kicks-off in a few days time
The 2009 Formula 1 season unfolds in a few days time. What lies ahead of us is a season (possibly) filled with glorious uncertainties. The season kicks off with some radical rule changes; both technical and non-technical. There is a section of F1 enthusiasts who even claim that 2009 could be a ‘year for the dark horses’. We can’t be sure whether they would be proved right by November 2009. But there is no denying the fact that the rule changes for the 2009 Formula 1 season is unparalleled in (at least) the recent history of the sport. Here’s a brief look at what lies ahead of us.
The most disputed of the rule changes could be the one regarding the Drivers Championship for the new season. What was proposed and approved by the FIA was that the 2009 Drivers Champion would be the driver with the most wins and not the one with the maximum number of points. Had this rule been in place last season, the 2008 champion would have been Felipe Massa instead of Lewis Hamilton. In my personal opinion, this wouldn’t have been a right decision. A driver needs to be rewarded not just for the races he dominates the field and wins outright, but also for the points he wins after a hard-fought battle (be it with himself, the machinery, or with his opponents) and those points that he ekes out of a race on a track which doesn’t suit him or his car. A driver’s champion needs to be not just a race winner but one who works hard in each race he drives-in. Thankfully, the FIA have deferred that decision on the driver’s championship.
The rest of the rule changes are -
KERS
Tyres
Aerodynamics
Engines
Testing
Safety Car
Pre-Race Weight
KERS
The term stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System. This is theoretically, a simple application of physics. Here, the enormous amount of Kinetic Energy generated during the braking of a Formula 1 car, is stored and reused later (at the driver’s discretion) for little surges of horse-power for the car. The power surge avilable equates to about 80 horse power. This energy could be stored using a mechanical flywheel or an electrical battery and then made available to the driver, in set amounts per lap, via a ‘boost button’ on the steering wheel. These are just the plus points that this system could afford. Now here are the possible minuses. The KERS could severely affect the weight-distribution of a Formula 1 car. Normally, the F1 cars have a minimum weight of 605 Kg, including the driver. Any difference between the actual weight and the minimum is made-up with ballast. This, naturally, is positioned at various points on the car to achieve the optimum effect, thus putting a heavier driver at a disadvantage in comparison, as they have less ballast to balance-out. With KERS, the problem of the right weight-distribution is exacerbated, especially since the system needs to be positioned towards the rear of the car. The fact is that the field is already split by teams who have chosen to go in with KERS and the ones who aren’t yet ready to experiment. Which group would stand to benefit at Melbourne – we’ll have to wait and watch!
Tyres
The Formula 1 circus had abandoned the use of slick tyres for a decade now. After 10 years, the slicks have returned to the circuit. Now the emphasis is on mechanical rather tha aerodynamic grip. With no grooves, the grip would supposedly increase by about 20%, but the reduced downforce and the revised aerodynamic regulations is supposed to nullify the effect (see below).
Aerodynamics
The Ferrari F60 Front Wing
This is one of the biggest areas of change for 2009 – the vastly reduced downforce levels in the car. The front wing becomes lower (75mm from 150mm) and wider (up from 1400 to 1800mm – the same width as the car) with driver-adjustable flaps. Drivers would be allowed to make two wing-adjustments per lap, altering the wing angle over a six degree allowed to make two wing adjustments per lap. The rear wing becomes taller (up 150mm to bring it level with the top of the engine cover) and narrower (750mm from 1000mm). Also at the back of the car, the diffuser has been
moved rearwards, its leading edge now level with (rather than ahead of) the rear-wheel axle line. All these changes would reduce the downforce in the car. I believe the emphasis laid is more on driver ability rather than machinery ability.
Engines
The regulations for the engines are tweaked as well. The rev limits on the engines have been cut from 19,000 to 18,000 rpm. Each driver would be limited to eight engines per season, and each team allowed an additional four engines for testing. If a driver would exceed his allowed eight engines, he would suffer a 10-place grid penalty(or a move to the back of the grid if made after qualifying).
Testing
Starting from this season, testing is not allowed during the course of the season (from the week prior to the first Grand Prix until December 31) and is limited to 15,000 kilometres. Clearly, this is another move by the FIA for cost-cutting.
Safety Car
The pit lane would now remain open throughout the safety-car period, allowing drivers to refuel without penalty. However, each driver is assigned a ‘back-to-pit’ time based on his position on track. If he would arrive in the pit-lane before this time, he would be penalised.
Pre-race weight
After the qualifying for each race, the FIA would publish the weight of each driver’s car. This would give the spectators a much bettter idea about the fuel load each driver would be carrying for the race.
That’s about the rules. Now, regarding the grid! Thankfully, we would get to see 20 cars on the grid at the Melbourne
Brawn GP
GP 2009. This was doubtful, since the Hondas had made it clear that they would be backing out from the circus, due to financial issues. But team principal Ross Brawn has bought out the team and in 2009, the team would be racing with the name Brawn GP. The team has two experienced drivers in Ruebens Barichello and Jenson Button.
The Torro Rosso would be (at least) slightly hit by the loss of their race-winning driver Sebastian Vettel, who moves to Red Bull this season. They had had a tremendous 2008 where they even managed to overshadow the big brother Red Bull. They still have two Sebastians at the wheels - Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Buemi(who is on his debut season).
The Force India are also hopeful this season, as the VJM02 is now powered by a Mercedes engine. But, personally, I am not impressed by the drivers that they present on the grid – Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.
The Williams team has shown good pace in testing after they have gone for some radical changes, the most notable being a trick diffuser similar to the Toyota(with which they share the same engine). However, there are a few who question it’s legality. With their drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima remaining unchanged, the Williams would be hoping for a much improved performance in 2009.
The Red Bull Racing have Mark Webber retained this season, and the talented Sebastian Vettel joining their ranks replacing David Coulthard, who has hung up his racing helmet at the end of last season. They had a disappointing 2008, where they were comprehensively out-done by the Torro Rosso. You can be rest-assured that they would not like that to happen a second time round.
Toyota have retained Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock as their drivers for 2009. They have shown very impressive pace during off-season testing. This is mainly attributed to an innovative new diffuser design. Question marks remain on it’s legality, though. The 2009 season is crucial for the team as they had to fight to keep the season in F1, after the back-out by the Honda team. Panasonic’s continued sponsorship helped them win it in the end.
All these teams wouldn’t be running the KERS during the first few races. It would be interesting to see whether the KERS equipped cars come up trumps at Melbourne or would it be the other way round.
The Ferraris and the McLarens have, as always, looked good during the testing stints. The Renault claim that they have closed down the gaps with them further down. BMW Sauber would look to keep up the good work they had done during the last season.
With all these radical rule changes for the coming season, I am not sure what to expect at Melbourne this weekend. All I can hope for is a great season-opener, a thrilling race weekend and an awesome season ahead of us. May the best driver and the best team win!!!
Related posts:
Leave your response!