Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting says more regulations expected for 2013 – Formula 1 news
Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting says that Formula 1 will add more tweaks to the exhaust regulations in the 2013 season.
He mentioned that the rule adjustments are necessary as teams have smartened up and found ways to replicate the same advantage they received through the blown diffuser exhaust.
The blown diffuser issue was raised in the previous season when FIA in the middle of the season decided to ban the innovation. The ban only took one Grand Prix to be lifted again. FIA thought that the ban was causing too much of a confusion and development
issues to teams and said that it the ban can be lifted until the end of the season if most teams agree to allow it.
The majority ruled for it and the ban was lifted. The ban though has been hailed by most teams and followers of the sport as it brings more levelled competitiveness.
“Our objective is to prevent teams operating a blown diffuser, which under certain circumstances infringes Article 3.15 (moveable aerodynamic device),” he said. “In combination with additional constraints on engine mapping, as described in technical directive
number 36 and incorporated into the SECU code, it will limit designers' ability to exploit exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect.”
“However teams will not unlearn the knowledge they have gained and it is quite likely this area of regulation may need to be revisited again in 2013,” he added.
He understood that the new rule change regarding the height of the tip of the car has caused the cars to look unpleasant design wise. The stepped nose looks similar to a platypus. He explained that the rule change was only meant for safety purposes. The
management decided that the nose should be lower than the cockpit so in the unfortunate case of a T-bone accident, the driver is safe and the nose hits the lower part of the car.
It will be interesting to see what type of rule changes FIA brings in for 2013, but for now the more important aspect is how the teams have managed to make up for the loss of blown diffuser exhaust in order to gain the same advantage. That will be on display
during the season. The season will begin on March 18, 2012.
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