James Allison reveals FIA has banned changes to engine mapping from European Grand Prix – Formula 1
Renault’s technical director, James Allison, has out lined the ban imposed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to changes in the engine mapping from the European Grand Prix of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
Allison stated that the blown diffuser will be banned from the Silverstone Grand Prix whereas the Engine mapping change will be effective immediately from the Valencia Grand Prix starting next week as per FIA directions.
He said, “With immediate effect, it will no longer be possible to reprogramme the ECU configuration between qualifying and the race in the expectation that this will discourage extreme ECU setups for qualifying - previously electronic access to the ECU under
parc ferme conditions had been explicitly permitted,” read the statement.
Recently it had been decided that the ban on the blown diffuser will be carried out from the Silverstone Grand Prix but no changes to the engine mapping between qualifiers and race was not part of the planned changes to rules.
Out of the blue, the FIA has decided to restrict teams from using different kinds of engine set ups in the qualifiers and the race.
Allison further elaborated the diffuser ban and said, “when the driver lifts fully off the throttle, the ECU maps must be configured to cut off the fuel supply to the engine - this is intended to prevent so called ‘hot blowing.”
He further added that previously when the driver was off throttle, the throttle itself was not closed to keep the gases running but the speed of the engine was reduced by other means. But now as the FIA has imposed its will, every team will have to design
their engine in such a way that no extra benefit is taken in the corners and turns from hot gases.
By banning the blown diffuser, engine maps were going to automatically change in every car, but with the restriction on different set up in qualifiers and race, Formula 1 teams will have to rethink their strategy on the race weekend as a whole.
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