F1: Changing Times for the 2014 Season
The 2014 season will see a radical change in regulations, for a change most of the teams are doing celebratory cart wheels. Just Red Bull isn’t. Find out why.
01 Radical change in car design?
While the jury is still out on how the cars might look next and whether there will be any significant change in terms of appearance, a nose job is definitely on the cards as the new rules state that the nose on the car can now be no higher than 20cm (previously 5.5cm). So will this make them look uglier? At a press conference at the Circuit of the Americas, Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey said, “The low nose that we have next year is… I think there could be some fairly awkward-looking aesthetics arriving.” But Ferrari’s technical director James Allison made a valid point, “I think as a technical team we really have a duty to try and make the thing quick rather than make it beautiful.” Also teams have to do away with exhaust pipes, as it will be mandatory for them to have a single tailpipe, which has to be angled upwards so that they don’t gain any aerodynamic advantage.
Apart from the “fairly awkard-looking” front nose in the 2014 cars, expect most of the changes hidden under the monocoque body.
02 Change of guard
- Daniel Ricciardo – Current: Toro Rosso; New team: Red Bull; Replaces: Mark Webber
- Felipe Massa – Current: Ferrari; New team: Williams; Replaces: Pastor M
- Kimi Raikkonen – Current: Lotus; New team: Ferrari; Replaces: Felipe Massa
- Daniil Kvyat – Current: GP3 Series; New team: Toro Rosso; Replaces: Daniel Ricciardo
03 New 100kg fuel cap rule
Fuel efficiency has entered the F1 world, as 2014 will introduce a cap of 100kg of fuel in a race. There has never been a limit before and it’s understood that around 160kg of fuel is used per race. Ferrari’s head of engines Luca Marmorini shot down the new rule and said, “Ferrari feels this could be a danger. We would like Formula One to consider efficiency, but we don’t like F1 to be a sport where you are cruising for 50% of the laps.” Renault F1’s technical director Naoki Tokunaga has downplayed this theory and said it is all about more diverse strategies. He added there will not be more fuel run outs than there are today.
04 Thinner, shorter drivers
The significant change is the new 1.6-litre V6 engine, which will replace the 2.4-litre V8 engine. As the V6 has a bigger turbocharger assembly that makes this new unit heavier and as a result adds more weight to the car body, the current 642kg will go up to 690kg. To compensate, the drivers’ ideal weight has to be in the region of 60kg to 65 kg. This is a major problem for tall drivers like McLaren’s Jenson Button and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, has called upon Formula One to ditch its self-serving interest when it comes to the debate over driver weight for next season. The suggestion is that taller and heavier drivers could be putting their health on the line to meet these new regulations. “The situation we’ve got is not good as there’s been an increase in the weight limit, but it isn’t enough,” said Whitmarsh. “It’s a disadvantage to some drivers and teams in terms of having to have the resources to design it down to the new weight, but it costs more money,” he added. This sport has always forced the drivers to push their limits as veteran driver David Coulthard revealed in his autobiography in 2007 that he suffered from bulimia in an effort to control his weight.
05 ERS to replace KERS
The idea of using a small powered engine has been panned, but F1 will live up to its reputation thanks to the Energy Recovery System, which captures waste heat dispelled from the exhaust turbocharger, using an electrical device known as a Heat Motor Generator Unit. The waste heat is stored as an electrical charge until it is utilised by Kinetic Motor Generator Unit. This device is connected to the drive train to deliver the additional power in the most efficient way. It will generate 160bhp for 33 secs per lap.
From the December 2013 issue of FHM India.
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