Madrid, March 1. Formula 1 officially starts the 2023 season this Friday, the second with a new regulation that promised equality and overtaking, which was not respected, and in which it updated its technical regulations, increasing the minimum height single-seaters in its attempt to reduce the rebound, and the sporting regulations, going from three to six races in the “sprint” and with the anticipation of trying a new classification format.
After a year with the new regulations, which will remain until 2026, F1 has updated the technical part based on the increase in the safety of certain cars which, at times, has been compromised in 2022.
LIMITING KICKBACK
The big problem with the new single-seaters was “porpoising”, known in Spanish as “marsopeo” or “rebound effect”, a consequence of the return of “ground effect”.
It is an aerodynamic concept that improves the grip of single-seaters by taking advantage of the current of air entering the car, directing it towards the lower part thanks to its design so that it exits through a diffuser.
This last part has become essential for F1 and serves to increase the speed of the air which reaches it, thus creating a suction which will make the car stick more to the asphalt.
However, this generated the porpoise problem. This happens when the cars go at high speeds suddenly losing and gaining downforce, because from sticking, when the front wing hits the asphalt, they suddenly lose said downforce and the nose rises.
The solution came, from the first moment, to increase the height of the front wing, although this reduced the performance of the cars and for this reason the teams were reluctant to do so.
However, F1 asserted safety and increased the minimum height of the front wing by 15 millimeters and the outer part of the flat bottom by 10 millimetres.
In addition, Formula 1 will place a new sensor to measure this porpoise, thus guaranteeing compliance with regulations and the safety of single-seaters.
A change which, even if it seems minor, can affect the performance of the single-seaters compared to last season. For example, Aston Martin debuted in current regulations with the tallest front wing on the grid; which could now benefit them and be one of the reasons behind their good feelings in pre-season testing.
EVOLUTION ANALYZE ACCIDENTS
Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou’s crash at the start of the Silverstone Grand Prix, in which the Alfa Romeo team car ran more than 100 meters upside down before jumping the tire guards and ending up braking with a fence that protected the public, It has resulted in a modification of the technical regulations.
The anti-roll system, which was not as strong as expected in this scenario, the halo being the safety system that allowed Zhou to escape unscathed, has been hardened and rounded in shape to reduce the possibility that it remains stuck in the asphalt in the event of a rollover.
In addition, with the biggest and heaviest cars in the history of the championship, F1 decided to increase the mirrors by 5 centimeters, thus increasing the vision of the drivers.
A RETURN WITH THE SPORTING RULES
Formula 1 continues to seek formulas that increase spectacle, uncertainty and, above all, on-track action to fill hours of television.
In this scenario, the “sprint” races, of around 100 kilometers and 30 minutes, set up in 2021, go from three to six.
Azerbaijan (Baku), Austria (Red Bull Ring), Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps), Qatar (Losail), USA (Circuit of the Americas) and Sao Paulo (Interlagos) were the chosen circuits for the races which will take place at ‘sprint’ on Saturday.
All will have the novelty that F1 will distribute medals to the first three classified.
A test which, yes, will remain decisive for the position on the grid on Sunday. Although one of the main changes requested is that the grid on Sunday is made up of the classification and not of this “sprint”, so that the drivers are less afraid of taking risks and that a mistake does not compromise the essence of the weekend .
Of course, the damage suffered by single-seaters in “sprint” races will not count towards a budget ceiling which is set at 127 million euros for the 2023 season.
Regarding the innovation of formats, F1 will proceed, in two Grands Prix still to be determined, to a change of classification system. This novelty consists of doing Q1 -the first qualifying round in which five drivers are eliminated- with hard tyres, Q2 -in which five others are eliminated- with medium tires and Q3 -in which the top ten fight for pole – with mandatory software. As long as, of course, it’s not raining.
During these two test weekends, 11 sets of tires will be available for the Grand Prix, 12 in the six events that have Sprints and 13 sets in the rest of the championship.
Continuing with the tyres, Pirelli, their supplier, has introduced a new type of tire so that when choosing the three options for each Grand Prix, there is a greater range of options.
Minor changes to a sporting regulation that continues to seek equality and action on the track that the 2022 technical regulation could not achieve.
Oscar Maya Belchi