Formula 1 puts on the handbrake

In this process of reinvention in which it has been involved for several years now, Formula 1 has put the handbrake on next season's cars, which will see their performance penalized from a series of mandatory aerodynamic tweaks introduced in the Technical regulations, present as of this Friday and until Sunday in the pre-season tests to be held in Bahrain, where the World Cup will start on the 28th. The objective of this modification is to try to slow down the constant reduction in lap times that it has become a trend in recent years, and that logically increases the possibility of accidents.

No blow is desirable at the speeds at which these cars circulate, but much less when the origin can not be attributed to a pilot failure, but to the collapse of any element of the car or the circuit.

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• World Formula 1

The roller that Mercedes has walked, seven consecutive doubles (2014-2020), perfectly reflects the stability of the regulation, a scenario that makes it easier for teams to sharpen their prototypes more and more.

In Bahrain, all these changes will already be livable in the cars, which according to the approximate calculations of several

paddock

engineers

should lose around 10% of their competitiveness, moving to 2019 values.

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With the current engine freeze, imposed in response to the covid pandemic, aerodynamics takes the leading role.

And it is there where the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has attacked, in four aspects practically imperceptible to the eye of the fan, but very relevant in the opinion of the clock.

The floor of the cars will lose ten centimeters of surface in the most affected area, the one in front of the rear tires, and at the same time the grooves and holes in the area behind the front tires have been prohibited.

It has also sought to reduce the aerodynamic load generated by the diffuser, with a five-centimeter cutout of the plates that descend from it.

And another component that loses centimeters (four) are the appendages of the rear brake ducts.

"These four elements, although they may seem irrelevant, bring the performance levels of the car to those of 2019", concedes James Allison, technical director of Mercedes, who will be presented again this Friday, at the Sakhir circuit, as the main favorite to revalidate the title held by Lewis Hamilton for the last four years.

“The challenge for the teams has been, since the regulations were released, to try to recover the maximum lost ground.

Let's say we had an entertaining winter ”, adds the British engineer.

Goodbye to DAS, the extendable steering wheel

Regardless of the aerodynamic restrictions, Mercedes will have to face this 2021 without its famous DAS, the acronym for

Dual Axis Steering

or

Dual Axis Steering

, This system allowed Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to modify the toe-in of the front wheels by pulling the steering wheel towards them. .

The mechanism, which has been banned by the FIA, was intended to affect tire temperature and the car's

drag

coefficient

.

“For us it is a shame to have to say goodbye to the DAS, because it gave us very good results depending on which routes.

But this year we will compete with a conventional steering wheel, like the rest ”, Allison emphasizes.

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