2014 F1 regulations: 8th gear, electric power, front wing narrowed and fuel flow restricted
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has recently published the full regulations that are going to be in enforced from the 2014 Formula 1 season.
Firstly, without even looking at the number of overtaking manoeuvres and the capacity crowd turning out the see the Grand Prixs live from the grand stands, the FIA has decided early in the 2011 season that the current V8 engines will have to go from the sport to cut down on costs.
Even in festival events in Moscow, where the Formula 1 cars were showcased on the circuits, more than 100,000 people attended the show which pretty much tells us that there is still a huge spectatorship for the V8 engines.
Although several Formula 1 figures and analyst voiced concerns over the downsizing of the engines, the FIA sees a pretty strong reason to do that by stating that along with cutting down cost, Formula 1 should be environmentally friendly. FIA is firm on their decision and has issued regulations that are dropping the V8 from the 2014 Formula 1 season.
The engine will be downsized to 1.6 litre V6 turbo from the current 2.4 litre V8 engines. There is a serious issue with the sound of the engine which Bernie Ecclestone claimed will not be the same but the FIA assures that the engine roar will be almost the same in 2014 season.
The engine revolution rate has been increased and now is set to 15,000 rpm which was previously set to 12,000 rpm. This much relaxation has been given to Formula 1 teams after they appealed against it.
Some other tweaks to the Formula 1 cars will include the narrowing of the front wing. Currently the width of the Formula 1 car wing, although teams used different setup, is 1400mm but the 2014 regulations states that the size of the wing and the body work will be reduced to 1250mm.
Another interesting tweak added to the car is the addition of one additional gear to the car. Currently the Formula 1 car has seven gears but for 2014 it will have eight gears.
FIA has also taken notice of the way Formula 1 engines are currently started. Usually an engineer applies an external source, electric or by fuel supply, to start the car in the pit lanes before taking it to the grid. FIA’s new regulations now state that a driver must be able to start the car from within the car and no external force should be applied to it.
The regulation states, “It must be possible for the driver to start the engine at any time when seated normally at the wheel and without any external assistance. The car must be run in electric mode (no ignition and no fuel supply to the engine) at all times when being driven in the pit lane.”
Along with that the fuel flow must be restricted to 100kg/h.
Apart from this, small tweaks have been regularized to accommodate the V6 engine and also to ensure the security of the drivers. However, the enclosed canopy on the cockpit suggestion has not been finalised yet.
2011 season continues in Germany but some debate on the regulations can be expected in the near future from Formula 1 teams.
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