Thursday 4 March 2010

Formula 1 2010 - new rules

Last year's regulation overhaul changed the way Formula 1 looked, both in terms of aesthetics and in terms of grid order. This year's changes are hopefully set to change the way it works. I'm focussing on the rules that may make a difference to the on-track action here, but you can find a full list of the alterations here.

Chief among the changes for 2010 is a ban on mid-race refuelling. It's been 17 years since Ayrton Senna won the Australian Grand Prix halting only for tyres. In the intervening period, I think it's fair to say that refuelling and pit strategies have only added any value to a sport they were designed to revitalise on a handful of occasions. The most notable of these to my mind was Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn's strategic masterclass victory in the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix. But therein lies the problem - even at its most exciting, the fuel stop era was about drivers running alone as fast as they could, to overtake rivals in the pits.

Whilst there's no guarantee that running on a single tank of petrol will serve to give the sport its long-saught answer to the overtaking on track problem, it cannot fail to help. Put simply, it removes a tactical variable for the teams and drivers to lean on. Come half or two-thirds distance in Bahrain, any drivers wanting to gain a position will have far less options than before. The ones they do have - staying out, preserving the car and hoping other drivers stop for fresh tyres, or a quick stop for new rubber ready for a late-race dash - can only benefit the action on the track, which is most likely where it belongs.

A lot of talk regarding this rule change has been about who the change will most favour. Certainly, smooth drivers like Jenson Button will probably receive a slight advantage over their rougher counterparts like Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton. It's possible, too, that old hands Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello - the two drivers in the field to have driven Formula 1 pre-1994 - will enjoy an experiential advantage in the season's initial races. However, over the course of the season I think these things will become moot. The best drivers will always be the best drivers, and what makes a great driver is understanding that one has to adapt to win.

The greatest joy of the new fuel regs, however, is that qualifying is back as an ultimate test of speed. No more silly fuel-burning phases with cars starting the top-ten shootout on race fuel. Every session will be run flat out and on fumes, as it should be.

Another welcome change is to the points system, which has long been a bugbear of mine. Finally we're back in a position where a race win is properly awarded, the 25 points on offer are a clear 7 more than for the second-placed driver. The argument is that this will give the drivers extra motivation to try and make the pass, but I've never been a great subscriber to this view - I think that the majority of drivers are always looking for another place. Working the percentages is for the end of the season, but in 2010 the framework is in place for fortune to favour the brave.

Finally for the positives, aerodynamic wheel covers are banned for 2010. This won't change the racing on the track any, but it will make the cars look a lot less stupid. Plus, it may also help shave off vital tenths during the tyre stops. During pre-season, most of the teams have been changing all four wheels in 3-4 seconds, meaning that pitstops this season will be more spectacular than ever and that strategic elements have not all been vanquished from the sport.

The effect of all of the above changes will hopefully be a season where the best of Formula 1 is retained, but in a more transparent and understandable way to the casual fan. No-one could see how much fuel someone had on board their car, but everyone can understand what a new set of tyres will do. Likewise, KERS should also bow out this year, F1 never really finding a way to exploit both its benefits and its entertainment value in a balanced way.

Alas, the sport will have to wait until 2011 for a change which will hopefully really spice up the on-track action. The double diffuser row from last year looks set to rumble on into this, with Mercedes set to turn up in Bahrain in a week with their ominous-sounding Super Diffuser. The ins and outs of this may be very interesting from a design and regulatory standpoint, but for spectators the only real effect is a reduction in the quality of the racing. Trick diffusers were outlawed in 2009's rule package, aimed at improving the chances of overtaking, because they made it difficult for one car to follow another closely.

Formula 1 is lucky to have such an array of brilliantly talented engineers that such rulings can be cunningly circumvented. However, Formula 1 fans deserve a lucky break too. Hopefully this will be the last year for these devices. Equally, though, here's hoping that it will not prove a politically divisive issue until the start of 2011. Formula 1 fans had enough of that last year, and not enough of anything else.

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