F1 2009 regulations PART 1: More overtaking?

At the moment to get a slipstream from the car in front and get past fairly comfortable you need to be around 1.5 to 2.0 seconds quicker (on average) than your rival in front. At circuits better for overtaking such as Bahrain and Fuji that I mentioned earlier you can be around a 1.0 second faster and have a good chance of overtaking. If you are not fast enough to get the slipstream then to overtake you need to take a big risk or hope the driver in front makes an error

What is changing for 2009 and will it improve overtaking opportunities?

The OWG (overtaking working group) comprises of talented engineers and technicians from teams such as Ferrari and Mclaren and their task was simple: Find ways of improving overtaking in Formula 1! After a long time of research and wind tunnel work the team came up with a set of proposals for the FIA. These are going to be put into place for next season in the biggest changes to Formula 1 cars for a very long time.

Overall the 2009 cars will look very different, with such a vast number of big changes. It is said that the cars will look very similar to the ones in the 90s. The first change is that all the upper aero devices such as winglets, shark fins and horns etc will all be outlawed. The front wing will be lowered from 150mm to 75 mm and made wider. The rear wing on the other hand will become raised so that it is parallel with the engine cover and made narrower.

On the front wing will be an adjustable flap, which the drivers can adjust upto 6 degrees a maximum of 2 times per lap. They can lower it when they are following another car so that they stay closer to them, especially through corners. Bargeboards will also disappear next season. That area of the car will look very different. Also the diffuser will be longer and higher than it was before and will become less powerful.

The other two main big changes are the return of slick tyres and the introduction of KERs (Kinetic Energy Recovery system). Basically this will allow drivers to use energy and heat that has been stored in the car to give them a speed boost upto 2 times a lap. So rather than the energy being wasted the drivers can use it to their advantage instead.

All these aero changes will see the cars around 2 seconds slower than the 2008 cars. However with the re-introduction of slick tyres, which have more grip than the current grooved tyres, these 2 seconds lost will be gained back straight away. I don’t expect much of a difference in lap times in 2009.

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