F1 2017 - Changes to cars and rules

Roadhawk

Formula 1 is heading for one of the biggest overhaul of its rules next year, when new technical regulations deliver cars that are up to five seconds per lap quicker. Whats your view on the changes?

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/video-analysis-how-different-will-f1-cars-be-in-2017-739541/

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/05/10/side-side-compare-f1-cars-2016-2017/

AMKC

I think it could be great for the sport and next year could be one of the most exciting years we have seen in a long time. Saying that I also still think the cars getting bigger is going to makes passing in tracks like Monoco, Singpore, Baku and some other tracks very hard to near impossible. I am also not sure that the cars will be 5second quicker as they will be bigger and so surely a little heavier. I also think the pit stops are going to be slower maybe 2.5 to 3second for a pit stop because of the bigger, wider and no doubt slightly heavier tyres.

ScumLord

I'm not sure how adding aero will fix the aero problem while following, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Maybe the bigger wings will lessen the effects of dirty air?

It should at least negate Mercedes engine advantage assuming that red bull will maintain their aero advantage and Ferrari are just better all round.

They can make the cars faster, they can make the cars slower, if they can't race close to each other it makes no difference. One thing I think F1 could maybe do with is longer races, which would introduce more pit stops.

skipper_G

The cars are getting more downforce to make them 5 seconds a lap faster, which is completely pointless, the focus should have been on adding mechanical grip so that there's less aero wake coming off the back of the cars. Allowing drivers to get closer and increase opportunity for overtaking. What we'll end up with is nothing new, cars struggling to overtake because of the aero effect just happening 5 seconds a lap faster.

recyclebin

It would not surprise me if one team came up with some clever aerodynamics and dominated next season.

Spudman_20000

If we're talking aero, then Red Bull should be in with a shout next year.

Roadhawk

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

If we're talking aero, then Red Bull should be in with a shout next year.

I completely agree.

As I've said elsewhere, Merc have anything around a second a lap advantage in the engine. Brawn dominated early season 2009 without any such advantage and were overhauled quickly. The chances of a team gaining over a second on Merc through aero is pretty damn low.

Spudman_20000

Well, going back to Vettel's Red Bull era, they didn't have the most powerful engine by any means, but had great aero thanks to Newey's "dark arts".

Don't know what his involvement is on next year's car, but you can be sure he'd come up with something no one else has thought of.

skipper_G

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

Well, going back to Vettel's Red Bull era, they didn't have the most powerful engine by any means, but had great aero thanks to Newey's "dark arts".

Don't know what his involvement is on next year's car, but you can be sure he'd come up with something no one else has thought of.

I think Mercedes have a fundamentally good chassis though & it's not all down to the engine, on the rare occasions where they've struggled in the last few years it was generally down to them not being able to get the tyres working correctly. Which is something I didn't really think about. What are the implications of changes to tyre compounds next year ?

Jordan 199

I just hope next season will be like the one we had in 2012.

eviltimeban

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

If we're talking aero, then Red Bull should be in with a shout next year.

That'd be epic battle, between Max and Danny.

skipper_G

eviltimeban wrote: »

That'd be epic battle, between Max and Danny.

It surely would! I'd find it hard not to root for Danny Ric, he's the most likeable guy on the grid

Harika

https://twitter.com/andrewbensonf1/status/803952034634407936

Wrong thread? If not, good news, maybe more F1 drivers in LeMans!

Jordan 199

eviltimeban wrote: »

That'd be epic battle, between Max and Danny.

If both the Red Bull drivers have a chance to win the title, it will be interesting to see how Horner will handle it.

thierry14

Anyone think the new cars will be the quickest ever?
Lap times in qualifying/ in race quicker than peak 04/05 V10's?
I don't think they will, probably making the same power now as the V10's but 720kg vs 600kg is still a signifacant handicap.
Pity they didn't lower the weight or keep at 700kg.
Will the extra downforce and tyre width help at slower twisty tracks like monte carlo or only the faster tracks?

ScumLord

The new cars will certainly be quicker and have a lot of scope to go even quicker in the following years. Bottom line is the tyres give bigger contact patch means more grip everywhere, in slow and fast corners. It will help with acceleration, cornering and braking.

Aer won't really make much difference in the likes of Monte Carlo but the bigger tyres and wider car should allow them to go faster than before.

It's hard to know how the changes will pan out, they could all just make a slightly faster car that's essentially no different than this year's cars. The problem with adding aero and fatter tyres is you sort of make the car easier to drive. Bigger back wheels means it's easier to put the power down out of corners, so they will need less throttle control. Bigger front wheels makes braking easier, more downforce means high speed corners become less of an issue.


But it's hard to know, the likes of Max Verstappen seems to highlight that the younger drivers are just more used to this generation of sports cars with high downforce. They may be able to make use of all this extra grip and downforce to bring back exciting racing.

The new cars should play into the hands of red bull, which may nullify Mercedes engine advantage. So we'd have Mercedes that are fast in a straight line and red bulls that are fast through the corners. We saw that this year, but next year the difference in lap times could be much smaller.

flazio

I think special consideration should be brought in to bring back narrower tyres specifically for Monaco and possibly Baku.

Zcott

flazio wrote: »

I think special consideration should be brought in to bring back narrower tyres specifically for Monaco and possibly Baku.

Not at all. Monaco was exactly the same in the wider track days.