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Changes to this year’s
car are not very visible, but they’ve been extensive nevertheless.
If you look closely at the rear wing, it now only has three movable
elements compared to last year’s nine. This
means less possible adjustment for the teams and less downforce on the rear.
The front wing is also narrower, thus making the cars more prone to
understeer. There are now two wires
tethering the wheels to the chassis; unfortunately, this wasn’t able to save
the life of the marshall killed by the BAR’s flying wheel assembly.
Thankfully, the addition of a fifth groove was nixed. The big news on the technical front this year is the reemergence of World Championship-winning tire company Michelin. They’ve been away from F1 for more than ten years now, so getting on the same level and even surpassing Bridgestone will take a while. Williams is the highest-scoring team last year who opted to go Michelin rubber this year. Other teams taking the gambleare Jaguar, Prost and Benetton. Michelin’s wet tires have done very well in preseason testing, so expect Bibendum to sprint when the rain pours. The FIA’s effort to slow
the cars down have failed miserably; fastest lap time at Melbourne was 4 seconds
faster than last year’s, at 216.37 km/h.
There’s already talk of reducing engine displacement to 2.5 liters from
today’s 3.0 V10s. That would mean
a shift to high-revving V6 engines, and some engine makers who have the budget,
like Mercedes-Benz, say they won’t mind if the FIA mandates the reduction. This year though the
regulations are in place, and the racing will be faster and more furious than
ever. So stand back, hear the
engines roar, and let the games begin! |
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