[Chode]

Formula 1 cars are set for more radical changes in time for 2013 as bosses look to make the sport more efficient and potentially more exciting.

The major changes will be:

* Much smaller front and rear wings;

* A far greater proportion of the total downforce of the cars will be created by the underfloor, compared to the wings;

* A major reduction in the amount of total downforce created by the car;

* To achieve this, the underfloor of the cars will be shaped along its length to generate downforce for the first time since the 1982 season - currently cars have bottoms that are flat between the wheels;

* The average proportion of a lap that a driver is able to spend on full throttle to be cut from 70% in 2010 to 50% in 2013;

* Tyres will remain large and chunky to ensure cornering speeds remain high.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9307861.stm

[jeffc]

As to the changes for next year:

Every time the FIA tries to do something, anything, to the cars to slow them down, they just get faster. They should just figure out a way so that the aerodynamic forces created by the car don't create "dirty" air behind it, thus allowing much easier slipstreaming. This seems to be the main culprit behind the F1 races becoming boring follow-the-leader-to-the-end parades.

I remember the early 90's, with Prost, Senna, Mansell, battling it out, and there were great battles down the straights to see who would take the corner. Not much dirty air back then . . . .