The first three races of the season have highlighted significant difficulties, which is why Formula 1 will take action
The new Formula 1 regulation cycle could be overturned after just three races. Despite the dramatic increase in overtaking (+150% compared to last season), the new rules have exposed significant difficulties. This is why the Federation itself has called an important meeting with the teams for April 9th to discuss key issues and implement substantial changes, starting with the Miami race.
According to British media reports, the three key areas where the Federation will decide to intervene are safety, qualifying, and speed at the end of the straights, seeking to avoid the incident between Bearman and Colapinto in Japan. Priority, therefore, will be given to what happens on the track, given that most (if not all) drivers have expressed their disappointment with what they’ve seen so far.
But, going into specifics, what does the Federation have in mind to try to salvage a regulation that was born poorly from the start? According to sources across the Channel, the proposals are as follows:
- Increase the power of Super Clipping by trying to delay it near the braking point and not mid-straight as was the case in the first few races of the season.
- Reduce the maximum power output by 350 kW so that the cars will consume the same energy but over longer periods, preventing the battery from running flat.
- Reduce the maximum energy charge from the current 9 MJ to the 6 proposed by the Federation itself. A similar situation has already been tested in Japan, during qualifying, with a maximum charge of 8 MJ.
- Introduce the use of active aerodynamics in every single area of the circuit, thus mitigating battery consumption. This is a point that will be discussed with great care, given that the use of active aerodynamics could compromise driver safety, as it will primarily affect qualifying.
- Last but not least, the split between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor will be discussed. The Federation will propose a new ratio (55-45), but it will take time to implement it. If this last point passes, it will not be implemented in Miami, as the various teams will have to adapt and develop new solutions to avoid reliability issues.
Foto: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari HP
