Starter

The FIA has proposed a MAJOR overhaul of the 2008 FI reulations.

There will need to be a lot of clarification (and there WILL be a huge amount of politicing), but over all I thing I like it.

www.grandprix.com

fdl

The less rules the better IMO. Even if it means less cars racing.

Competition is important yes, but not at the cost of neutering the cars. I want to see the bleeding edge of racing design. If all I wanted to see was a competative race I'd watch go-carts or something.

Starter

And F1 will go the way of the old CanAM. What's the point of anybody making or racing cars if only 1 or 2 teams show up.

dom

Reducing team spending from 300 mil to 30 mil isn't my idea of improvement.

fdl

You need the right balance.

fdl

for example, why not allow tire changes? or slicks? or even turbos? These dont give certain teams an advantage. If anything, it will HELP the teams with less money.

dom

Some suggested objectives

We have prepared a first draft of the 2008 rules with the following objectives:

-æthe rate of increase in performance of the cars should not exceed the rate of improvement in measures to protect the public, marshals and competitors;

-æthe rules and the means of enforcing them should be clear so that everyone competes on the same basis;

-æthe rules and methods of enforcement must be sufficiently flexible to deal with unforeseen technical innovation;

-æcosts should be contained in order to (i) decrease the likelihood of a manufacturer leaving after poor results (ii) enable a private team to be competitive without the support of a major manufacturer and (iii) reduce the performance deficit of the less well-funded teams;

-æexpensive technology which is invisible to the public and known only to a tiny band of specialist engineers should be eliminated where possible;

-æexpensive materials or designs should not be used as a substitute for good engineering;

-ædriver aids should be eliminated as far as possible.æ In particular the use of electronic devices should not be allowed to replace driver skills;

-ædownforce should be drastically reduced and "mechanical" grip increased substantially for closer racing.

This, then, has been our approach to 2008.æ Criticism, constructive or otherwise, is welcome.æ All comments received during the July consultation period will be carefully considered when the FIA technical department finalises its proposals, which it will do in consultation with those teams and race organisers which have indicated their intention to participate in the Formula 1 World Championship from 2008 onwards.æ We will also take full account of the results of the FIA/AMD survey of public opinion.æ Once finalised and approved by the World Motor Sport Council and FIA General Assembly, the rules must be published before the end of 2005 as required by the Concorde Agreement.æ Thereafter the 2008 technical regulations cannot be changed without the agreement of everyone concerned.

Changes for 2009 will still require two years' notice (ie publication before 31.12.2006).æ Thereafter notice of changes which affect the design of the car (sporting or technical) will be announced no later than 30 June to come into force for the next-but-one season (ie a change for 2010 will be announced before 30.6.2008).

Summary of the main changes proposed for 2008

ENGINES

-æAll components of the engine will be controlled by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which has been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification

-æThe ECU may only be used with FIA approved software and may only be connected to the control system wiring loom, sensors and actuators as specified by the FIA

-æAll control sensors, actuators and FIA monitoring sensors will be specified and homologated by the FIA

-æThe control system wiring loom connectivity will be specified by the FIA

-æA 3 litre V10 engine will remain an option for teams unable to obtain a 2.4 litre V8, but subject to similar strict performance limitations as in 2006 and 2007

Reasons

-æto eliminate the use of driver aids such as traction control

-æas teams will not be able to develop their own ECUs, expenditure on electronics will be considerably reduced

-æto allow the FIA to check testing mileage and other elements

-æto keep engine costs low for the smaller independent teams

GEARBOXES

-æAll cars will be fitted with gear ratios, final drive ratios and differentials which have been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification

-æGear changing will only be permitted by the use of a manually operated mechanical linkage to the gearbox

-æClutches will only be operated via a foot pedal connected mechanically to a release mechanism

Reasons

-æto restore control over the clutch and gear changing to the driver

-æthe use of standard gearbox internals will result in a very significant reduction in expenditure

BODYWORK

-æDownforce will be reduced to approximately 10% of current levels

-æDrag will be maintained at current levels

-æOverall car width will be increased

-æBy stipulating maximum and minimum dimensions cars will be "cleaned up" with devices such as barge boards, flip ups, winglets and other small add on parts removed

-æTotal advertising area on the car to remain unchanged

Reasons

-æto reduce the reliance upon downforce as a means of improving performance

-æby increasing mechanical grip the likelihood of one car being able to follow another closely in corners, and hence be in an attacking position at the end of the following straight, will be increased

-æeliminating winglets, bargeboards, etc, will reduce costs as well as the danger of debris on the circuits

-ædrag should remain unchanged in order to ensure straight line speeds do not increase significantly

WHEELS AND TYRES

-æTyres will be supplied by one manufacturer appointed by the FIA after an invitation to tender. Such an appointment will be conditional upon :

æ-æa suitable supplier being available ;

æ-æa suitable system to ensure tyre testing is carried out in an equitable manner ;

æ-æno team being disadvantaged by the appointment of a single supplier (detailed regulations will be written to ensure this would not be the case) ;

æ-æthere being no legal impediments during the process of appointing a supplier

-æSlick tyres will be introduced for use in dry weather

-æLower profile tyres will be introduced

-æSignificantly larger wheels with minimum and maximum sizes stipulated for front and rear will be permitted

-æTyre blankets and other heating devices will be prohibited

-æAll tyre regulations will reside in the Technical Regulations

Reasons

-æa single supplier would allow a bigger safety margin

-æthe absence of competitive tyre testing would reduce costs

-æas relatively small differences in tyre compound and construction can have a significant effect on lap times, a single tyre supplier would simply ensure that no team would be adversely affected by being contracted to the "wrong" supplier

-æslick tyres would be re-introduced as a part of the low-downforce and high-mechanical-grip package

-ælower profile tyres would be introduced in order to give the wheels and tyres a more modern look and also permit more freedom on brakes and suspension

-æa ban on tyre heating devices would eliminate this significant but unnecessary expenditure

CHASSIS

-æThe minimum height of the centre of gravity of the chassis will be specified

-æThe minimum weight for a chassis will be specified

-æEnergy of all impact tests will be increased

-æLoads for all static tests will be increased

-æSide intrusion test requirements will be increased

-æBallast will be reduced to minimal levels

Reasons

-æto ensure that weight is distributed throughout the chassis

-æthe centre of gravity requirement should result in less pure ballast being used, the minimum weight will have to be achieved by the construction of a stronger chassis

-æby raising the impact test speeds, the static load criteria on structures such as roll hoops and increasing the penetration resistance, drivers will be even better protected than they are at present

BRAKES

-æAll cars will be fitted with brake discs, pads and callipers which have been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification

Reason

-æto reduce the cost of continual development of new materials and designs, the FIA specified products will be designed to work on all types of track and last an entire Grand Prix weekend

DATA ACQUISITION AND TELEMETRY

-æWith specific exceptions, any data acquisition system, telemetry system or associated sensors additional to those associated with the ECU will be physically separate and completely isolated from the control electronics

-æPit to car telemetry will be prohibited

Reasons

-æto ensure that any data acquisition system used by a team cannot interfere with the FIA specified ECU and sensors

-æto ensure teams are unable to send messages to a car and potentially affect its performance

MATERIALS

-æLimitations, similar to those within the 2006 engine regulations, will be imposed on all parts of the car

Reason

-æcosts will be reduced as research into exotic materials will be unnecessary

STARTER

-æAll cars will be equipped with a driver operated starter which is capable of starting the car without outside assistance a minimum number of times

Reasons

-æto simplify the operation of starting a car, at present it is massively complex

-æto give the driver a chance of starting a car unaided in the event of it stopping on the track

-æto reduce the number of personnel needed at an Event and hence reduce costs

NOTICE OF CHANGE

-æNotice periods for changing the rules will be related to the effect (if any) of a change on the design of a car rather than an artificial distinction between "sporting" and "technical" regulations.æ There will no longer be a distinction between changes to the engine, transmission or chassis.

Reason

-æto ensure that changes may be made to the regulations in a timely and more realistic way

SPARE CARS

-æSpare cars will be prohibited, i.e. no team may have more than two built-up cars available at an Event at any one time. Spare chassis will be permitted but precisely what constitutes a car in this context will be clearly defined

Reason

-æby taking one car less to races teams will be able to save considerable sums of money as, apart from the cost of the car itself, fewer personnel will be needed

TESTING

-æTesting will be limited to 30000km per team between 1st January and 31st December, subject to a single tyre supplier being appointed

Reason

-æTo reduce the enormous amounts of money currently being spent on testing

CAR ACQUISITION

-æTeams will be free to buy a complete car or any part of a car from another constructor

-æHow constructor's points are to be allocated will be clearly defined after further discussion

Reason

-æto enable a team to buy a complete car, or any part of a car, from another constructor. As a result teams will be able to save considerable sums of money on the design and development of their cars

Dan Martin

If I were in charge of rules at F1 HQ, I'd model the series after the Speed GT series. Allow the teams to go nuts with R&D and slow down the winning teams with rewards weight or other restrictions. Lift some restrictions on the slowest teams and you'll have a great race.

Dan Martin

That has got to be the dumbest rule I've ever heard.

Kighter

A couple things I like to see in there:
Slicks
Lower Profile Wheels
Wider Cars

A couple things I hate to see in there:
Common ECU (yuck)
Manual gearbox
Teams buying cars from each other

Let's just go back to carburators and make it real simple!

Billiam

You've got to remember one thing about F1. The top teams are not the top teams because they spend ridiculous money on pieces and parts. They're the top teams because they spend ridiculous money on R&D that gets the absolute maximum out the design and implementation of the pieces and parts.

I'm as big a racing techno-geek as the next guy so I don't want to see these types of regulations come to F1. I really feel however, that if drastic measures aren't taken to reel in costs the series will implode because hardly anyone will be able to afford to run it. As starter alluded to, look what the Porsche 917 did to Can-Am.

kurt_bradley

You can't even pay MS on that. He makes over $70/year.

fdl

Is that all from ferrari though? Or is a big chunk of that through his own endorsement deals?

Starter

About 1/2 is Ferrari $$$.

dom

I hear they're moving to FWD as well.

Honda is firmly behind that move

Dan Martin

gsclifton

iTrader: (2)

x2

Clifton who thinks "the" are ruining F1.

srika

I hear the V8's are gonna rev to 20k.....

davo-cls

No tire warmers and downforce to 10% of current levels??? Can you say a guaranteed 1st corner crash at every race??

fsttyms1

thursday in the pits they were stating they have been testing over 21k rpm