Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.
Ferrari also is planning to fail. The word initially was that they would treat their drivers as co-equals (remind me when that ever has worked?).
Now they’re straight-up saying Buttboi is their #1, and Chuck is chopped liver.
Which is certain to light a fire under Leclerc.
Interesting stuff!
Thanks!
Stay warm currently it’s 92 degrees colder outside than it is inside here in Montana!
Sergio Perez ‘is in talks over a shock F1 return’ - just two months after leaving Red Bull after disastrous 2024 season
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Yeah, like hammiebuttboi is going to play that game. We all know that in reality hammiebuttboi is #2 and needs to be Flushed !!!
Those Side Pod Intakes could swallow
A Driver !
Beautiful Machine.
I like it with Rain Tires.
100%
they definitely give the car a more aggressive posture even if there’s less surface area
1. The removal of the fastest lap point
Since 2019, a driver finishing in the top 10 could earn a bonus point by setting the fastest lap of the race. Sometimes that meant drivers would still be pushing late on trying to take the accolade, or even make late pit stops for fresh rubber to increase their return.
2. Driver cooling systems
If a weather forecast predicts temperatures of 31C or above at some time during a Sprint or Grand Prix, a Heat Hazard can be declared. Teams will subsequently be notified by the FIA of the declaration and will be required to fit a mandated driver cooling system.
This, in turn, leads to an increase in the weight limit of the cars with two different limits applied – an additional 2kg for practice, Qualifying and Sprint Qualifying sessions, but a total of +5kg for a Sprint or Grand Prix.
READ MORE: From an underdog win to record-breaking success – 7 times a driver signing transformed a team’s fortunes
The two different weight limits are in place to allow teams to fit the base system to ease workloads, but without needing to fill it with cooling fluid – as it is not considered necessary to mandate use of the system in a practice or qualifying type session due to the shorter run nature of these sessions.
LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 01: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing
Driver cooling systems will be mandated in 2025 once a Heat Hazard is declared
A driver cooling system is “defined as a system, the sole purpose of which, is to provide additional cooling for the driver”, and is set to be delivered in the form of a fireproof shirt that allows a fluid to be pumped around a series of tubes. It also includes a pump, plumbing and a thermal store to generate the cooling (such as an ice block).
READ MORE: Throwing snowballs, flying planes and getting lost in the desert – How F1 drivers have spent the winter break so far
3. Limits to race drivers testing old cars
A year ago, there was a tweak to the Testing of Previous Car (TPC) regulations as teams had to use components that had run during a race weekend at least once. This time around, the changes relate to the drivers getting behind the wheel.
While teams can carry out up to a maximum of 20 days of TPC running in any given calendar year, their race drivers are only allowed to take part in four such days, during which they are not allowed to exceed 1000km of running in total.
Why you should be excited for the 2025 season
The restriction only relates to TPC track time – using a car that is at least two seasons old – and not tyre testing or promotional running with current machinery.
Teams are also only allowed to have one TPC car available to run during a test at any one time.
READ MORE: Norris and Piastri in action as next generation of wet weather tyres hit the track in first test of 2025
4. More running for rookies
The mandatory FP1 running for rookie drivers has been expanded for 2025, ensuring double the amount of track time during a race weekend for those who have participated in no more than two F1 races in their career.
Teams have had to run a rookie at least once in each of their cars – so on two occasions in total – each season since 2022, but as of this year that number increases to twice per car. So, with each team made up of two cars, that means four occasions during the year when they will run an inexperienced driver for the first practice session of a weekend.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 06: Luke Browning of Great Britain driving the (46)
There will be increased rookie running opportunities in 2025
5. Tighter restrictions on DRS designs and wing deflections
The FIA has tightened up the technical regulations surrounding the rear wing and DRS (Drag Reduction System), with the main changes focusing on defining the state of deployment and restriction to only two positions (closed and open).
This has been brought in to close off “mini-DRS” concepts – where the top elements of a rear wing tilt backwards at speed to reduce drag.
READ MORE: F1 announces race start times for 2025 season
There will also be more stringent testing of the rear wing slot gap to limit how much deflection is acceptable, up from an applied load of 10 newtons to 30 newtons.
Other related areas that are still pending approval by the F1 Commission include a new deflection limit on the upper rear wing, to reduce the gap allowed between the rear wing profiles and the rear wing tips. Similarly, stricter limits on front wing deflection limits to be introduced from Round 9 (Barcelona) onwards are still to be approved.
F1 Explained: Aerodynamics, drag and DRS
6. Tweaks to qualifying classifications
Last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix raised the possibility of qualifying not being possible due to the weather, and it has now been written into the regulations that, as long as the stewards accept that a qualifying session can’t take place, the grid for the race will be defined based upon the Drivers’ Championship classification.
The same applies for a Sprint Qualifying session not being able to take place. In both cases, if the Drivers’ Championship order can’t be used (such as at the first round of the season) then a grid order will be decided at the stewards’ discretion.
READ MORE: 5 things to be excited about as F1 gears up for the 2025 season
The way a qualifying classification will be reached in the event of multiple drivers failing to set a time in Q2 or Q3 (or SQ2 or SQ3) has also been clarified.
While drivers will continue to be ordered based on whether they started a flying lap, ahead of those who left the pits to make an attempt, if there are any drivers who don’t set a lap time and can’t be separated by those metrics, then the order from the previous segment of the session will be used.
As an example, if two drivers start flying laps in Q3 but fail to complete them due to a red flag and don’t set a time, then they will be classified in the order based on who was fastest between them in Q2.
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG
Tweaks have been made to qualifying classifications for 2025
7. A mule car tyre test
The end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi will take on a slightly different form this year, due to the major change in regulations that will come into force in 2026.
While the Young Driver Test will run as usual – with a current car being used by a driver who has started no more than two Grands Prix – the second car has to be a mule car that is adapted for the purpose of testing the 2026 tyres.
Those tyres will be of a different dimension and specification to the 2025 Pirelli rubber, and the expected performance characteristics of the next generation of cars will also differ, so teams can use either their 2025 car, or any car falling within the previous four years, that has been “suitably modified for the purpose of providing the appointed tyre supplier with a means of track testing of its future products”.
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Sorry, I didn’t mean to address that specifically to you.
Mea maxima screwup.
I thought it a bit odd but anything can happen in F1 Club!
Thanks for updates to the regs...
Very interesting!
welcome...
15,000 rpm is tough on an engine. Those sounded great and took great skill. I’d love to see Max winding those up.
oh yeah...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSVXrPImStw"
A little bit of fact and a whole lot of opinion in that video.
The fact is that over the course of a season the cost of running these new last-forever hybrids is significantly higher than back when they used to run 20 engines in a weekend.
Everybody knew Mercedes was sandbagging when they claimed they had spent $250 million USD developing their 2014 V-6 turbo-hybrid. In 2019 they revealed that to that date they had spent $1.4 BILLION on its development. Amortized over six seasons comes to $233 MILLION USD per. To that point Mercedes counted it well-spent because their indomitable V6-T engine had won 74% of all races in that period, including six WDC & WCC double-titles on the trot. Which drastically inflated both Hambone's reputation and his ego (as if such a thing were possible).
Ferrari is believed to have spent still more but only won 14% of races in the same timeframe. It's unlikely any constructor (who fancies winning) is spending less than $200 million per season on engine development. Times four engine constructors is $800 million per season.
Red Bull customer engines are believed to go for $16 million per copy. So for Red Bull engine clients, the eight pre-penalty engines cost $128 million.
So the part he left out of the video is the real reason the cars now are so reliable is the engines are made from pure cubic dollars.
He also left out that the goal of the V6-T hybrids was to reduce fuel consumption by 35%. Which means that based on the excess engine costs of the V6-T hybrids it's costing F1 several thousand dollars for each liter of fuel they're saving compared to the 2013 season.
Maybe it's just me but I don't find that very economical.
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