anticipate the greater aerodynamicload ings that
car developmentsbring year-on-year, reverting
to the 2019 construction means pressures will
actuallybe raised atmany circuits. At Monza, for
example, the fronts will go up 2.5psirelative to
last year. While thismay not seem a lotin ro ad car
terms, it’s enormous in racing: teams will need to
re-learnthe tyre optimisations they may have felt
comfortable with lastseason.
The final factor that will determine the
competitiveness of teams thisyear is how
they handlethe very difficult balancing act of
developing the 2020 car while devoting time to
the very different beastneededfor 2021. On top of
that, teamsare having to convert cars to test the
new 18” wheels, whichadds anot her burdento
the already stretched design departments.
All in all, 2020 promises some close racing.
But it may be t hat by theautumn we seea
lower level of development from allbut
those chasing a clos ely fought position in the
constructors’ championship.Of coursea major talking point in F1 is tyres
and I personally felt that Pirelli was unfortunate
when, atthe end of last year, teamscollectively
rejected the developments the tyre supplier had
planned. The newtyr e construction wasaimed
at making the stress distributionin t he contact
patch more even;in turn, that would allow lower
pressures to berun, ultimately opening the way
to softer compounds. Instead, sincePirelli has towill focus on bulk airflowmanagement fromthe front wing, assisted
by various deflectorsand vortex generators in thebargeboardarea.
The complexity of thisarea makes theterm ‘bargeboard’ rathera
misnomerthese days, perhaps‘fili gree devices’ wouldbe more apt.
On t he chassis I don’texpect anythingrevolutionary.Various
com ponents will become outlawed at the endof 2020 forreason s
of costand policing ability, so the returns on developing these
areas will be short-lived. Geometricride -heightadjustment with
steer or speed willcont inue to be an a rea showing ingenuity and is
transferrable to 2021, so it will continue to receive attention.
Turning to the power unit, it’s hard to believe that yet more
efficiency will be found but Ibeli eve it will, even though we’re
now enteri ng the seventhyear of thes e
regulations.Unfortunately,a change to
the sporting regulations for 2021 which
will remove the limit on the fuel consumed
duringa race goes against thislaudable
principle.We’ ll also see additionalfuel
being used to generate electricityfor later
use (when the performance gained from
that electrical power exceedsthe penalty for
carrying the massof th e extra fuel).IT MAY BE THAT BY AUTUMN WE SEEA LOWER LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT FROMALL BUT
THOSE CHASING A CLOSELY FOUGHT POSITIONIN THECONSTRUCTORS ’ CHAMPIONSHIP
INSIDER
UNDER THE HOOD28 GP RACING MARCH 2020
Tyres remain a big
talking point. The
teams rejected
using Pirelli’s new
constructionfor 2020
but will still have
to convert carsfor
testing the 18-inch
wheels that will be
used in 2021anticipate the greater aerodynamicload ings that
car developmentsbring year-on-year, reverting
to the 2019 construction means pressures will
actuallybe raised atmany circuits. At Monza, for
example, the fronts will go up 2.5psirelative to
last year. While thismay not seem a lotin ro ad car
terms, it’s enormous in racing: teams will need to
re-learnthe tyre optimisations they may have felt
comfortable with lastseason.
The final factor that will determine the
competitiveness of teams thisyear is how
they handlethe very difficult balancing act of
developing the 2020 car while devoting time to
the very different beastneededfor 2021. On top of
that, teamsare having to convert cars to test the
new 18” wheels, whichadds anot her burdento
the already stretched design departments.
All in all, 2020 promises some close racing.
But it may be t hat by theautumn we seea
lower level of development from allbut
those chasing a clos ely fought position in the
constructors’ championship.Of coursea major talking point in F1 is tyres
and I personally felt that Pirelli was unfortunate
when, atthe end of last year, teamscollectively
rejected the developments the tyre supplier had
planned. The newtyr e construction wasaimed
at making the stress distributionin t he contact
patch more even;in turn, that would allow lower
pressures to berun, ultimately opening the way
to softer compounds. Instead, sincePirelli has towill focus on bulk airflowmanagement fromthe front wing, assisted
by various deflectorsand vortex generators in thebargeboardarea.
The complexity of thisarea makes theterm ‘bargeboard’ rathera
misnomerthese days, perhaps‘fili gree devices’ wouldbe more apt.
On t he chassis I don’texpect anythingrevolutionary.Various
com ponents will become outlawed at the endof 2020 forreason s
of costand policing ability, so the returns on developing these
areas will be short-lived. Geometricride -heightadjustment with
steer or speed willcont inue to be an a rea showing ingenuity and is
transferrable to 2021, so it will continue to receive attention.
Turning to the power unit, it’s hard to believe that yet more
efficiency will be found but Ibeli eve it will, even though we’re
now enteri ng the seventhyear of thes e
regulations.Unfortunately,a change to
the sporting regulations for 2021 which
will remove the limit on the fuel consumed
duringa race goes against thislaudable
principle.We’ ll also see additionalfuel
being used to generate electricityfor later
use (when the performance gained from
that electrical power exceedsthe penalty for
carrying the massof th e extra fuel).IT MAY BE THAT BY AUTUMN WE SEEA LOWER LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT FROMALL BUT
THOSE CHASING A CLOSELY FOUGHT POSITIONIN THECONSTRUCTORS ’ CHAMPIONSHIP
INSIDER
UNDER THE HOOD28 GP RACING MARCH 2020
Tyres remain a big
talking point. The
teams rejected
using Pirelli’s new
constructionfor 2020
but will still have
to convert carsfor
testing the 18-inch
wheels that will be
used in 2021