typewriterswould eventuallyreproduce the works of Shakespeare,
time should see a convergence toward this ultimate design.
Indeedthis is the caseand it ’s been wellillu strated in the power
units in recent years. In 2014 the dominance of both the Mercedes
engineand itsmanagement ofthe complex newelectrical systems
that made up the hybrid system leftothers in itsvery distantwake.
Five years later it may be argued that Ferrari,left behind at the start
of the new formula, has not just caught up butsurpassed certain
aspects of the Mercedes performance.
What thismeansfor fans is that wecan expect a season where
the performance gaps edge slightlycloser and thispromises some
extremely closeracing at thefront. It would
be nice to think that the Mercedes/Ferrari/
Red Bull triumvirate could be joined by
at least one of themidfield teams,and it
would be great ifWilliams shookoff the
monkey that hasbeen on its back forthe
past two years.
Given stable rules, whatare likely to
be the technical talking pointsof 20 20?
I suspect it willbe more of the same.
Aerodynamically there will stillbe a
plethora of ever more sculpted devices
designed to push the front wheel wake out
to avoid it havinga negative impact on
the downforce-producing devices further
downstream on the car. As last year, thisINSIDER
PATSYMONDS
UNDER
THE
HOOD
Such is the relentless paceof Formula 1
that evenas the flag droppedin AbuDhabi on
1 December2019, senior engineers were steering
their thoughts towardsthe first test of2020, a
mere 80 daysaway. The design ‘freeze’ for that
test would be around Christmas, althoughmany
of the largerand more complex parts wouldbe
well into productionby t hen. The monocoque,
for example, wouldbe nearingfirst-st age
completion to allow enoughtime for t he rigorous
impact and strength tests that must be passed
before the car hits thetrac k.
Since the biggest technical changes in decades
are comingin 20 21, the regulatorsrightly decided
on continuityfor 2020 and as such the cars we
will seethis season will be evolutionary. This does
bring somerespite to the workload. For example
the complexfront wings, which take seve ral weeks
to manufacture,can generally be carried over
for initial testing, giving the aerodynamicists,
designers and production departmentsvaluable
time torefine a superior design for the latter partof testing – or,if con fidence ishigh, maybe
even the Australianrace.
So if we’re looking at an evolutionary year,and
the winter breakhas been so short, can we expect
a change in the pecking order? Luckilyfor us the
answermay well be yes. Stability of regulatio n
has many advantages.For th e fans theprimary
one is th at it generallycloses up the field. If one
is to believe that for any set of regulations there
is one supreme answer then,just as it’sbeli eved
that an infinite number of monkeys set to work onWHY THE GAPS
WILL CLOS E
THIS YEAR
PICTURES:ANDYHONE;MARKSUTTON.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE26 GP RACING MARCH 2020
Thegapswillclosebutthe
scenarioofaMercedes
lapping aWilliamswillstil l
bethe real ityPICTURES
typewriterswould eventuallyreproduce the works of Shakespeare,
time should see a convergence toward this ultimate design.
Indeedthis is the caseand it ’s been wellillu strated in the power
units in recent years. In 2014 the dominance of both the Mercedes
engineand itsmanagement ofthe complex newelectrical systems
that made up the hybrid system leftothers in itsvery distantwake.
Five years later it may be argued that Ferrari,left behind at the start
of the new formula, has not just caught up butsurpassed certain
aspects of the Mercedes performance.
What thismeansfor fans is that wecan expect a season where
the performance gaps edge slightlycloser and thispromises some
extremely closeracing at thefront. It would
be nice to think that the Mercedes/Ferrari/
Red Bull triumvirate could be joined by
at least one of themidfield teams,and it
would be great ifWilliams shookoff the
monkey that hasbeen on its back forthe
past two years.
Given stable rules, whatare likely to
be the technical talking pointsof 20 20?
I suspect it willbe more of the same.
Aerodynamically there will stillbe a
plethora of ever more sculpted devices
designed to push the front wheel wake out
to avoid it havinga negative impact on
the downforce-producing devices further
downstream on the car. As last year, thisINSIDER
PATSYMONDS
UNDER
THE
HOOD
Such is the relentless paceof Formula 1
that evenas the flag droppedin AbuDhabi on
1 December2019, senior engineers were steering
their thoughts towardsthe first test of2020, a
mere 80 daysaway. The design ‘freeze’ for that
test would be around Christmas, althoughmany
of the largerand more complex parts wouldbe
well into productionby t hen. The monocoque,
for example, wouldbe nearingfirst-st age
completion to allow enoughtime for t he rigorous
impact and strength tests that must be passed
before the car hits thetrac k.
Since the biggest technical changes in decades
are comingin 20 21, the regulatorsrightly decided
on continuityfor 2020 and as such the cars we
will seethis season will be evolutionary. This does
bring somerespite to the workload. For example
the complexfront wings, which take seve ral weeks
to manufacture,can generally be carried over
for initial testing, giving the aerodynamicists,
designers and production departmentsvaluable
time torefine a superior design for the latter part
of testing – or,if con fidence ishigh, maybe
even the Australianrace.
So if we’re looking at an evolutionary year,and
the winter breakhas been so short, can we expect
a change in the pecking order? Luckilyfor us the
answermay well be yes. Stability of regulatio n
has many advantages.For th e fans theprimary
one is th at it generallycloses up the field. If one
is to believe that for any set of regulations there
is one supreme answer then,just as it’sbeli eved
that an infinite number of monkeys set to work onWHY THE GAPS
WILL CLOS E
THIS YEAR
PICTURES:ANDYHONE;MARKSUTTON.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE26 GP RACING MARCH 2020
Thegapswillclosebutthe
scenarioofaMercedes
lapping aWilliamswillstil l
bethe real ity