If you haven’t read part 1 of my F1 2009 regulations feature focusing on overtaking, then click the link below.
Which teams will adapt best to the 2009 rules?
The 2009 rules are probably the biggest changes to be made to the F1 car for quite some time. It will nearly be an entirely different racing series next season.
For all the teams, it’s like starting on a fresh piece of paper. Rather than evolving the current cars as most teams did for this season, they have to build a completely new car.
Due to the extent of the challenge of building the 2009 challenger, all the teams have had to consider how to split their time and resources between continuing development on the 2008 car and creating the 2009 challenger. The teams who get this decision right will have a good starting point already for next season.
At the moment there is a lot of guesswork involved as to which teams will be where on the grid next season. An awful lot could change before the start of next season and we won’t really get a huge indication of performance before testing starts in January next year.
One of the main factors of these new rules is that developing the cars according to these new regulations is going to cost the teams a lot of money, particularly the very advanced KERs.
Therefore the biggest and richest teams (or the biggest manufacturer teams) are at an advantage.
Getting KERs right will be critical as it could be worth about half a second. Some teams may even struggle to have KERs ready for the first race due to the extent of work required to get it ready and also make it safe to use, which is proving another challenge (a BMW mechanic recently got a shock whilst testing the system).
Although I do think there will more grid changes in 2009 than there was between 2007 and 2008, it won’t be as extreme as some fans are predicting it to be (or perhaps hoping for!).
9 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Saraswathi Siriginia 10 months ago
Great read DC, exemplary work.
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Jamie Arnold 10 months ago
very good writting DC although i disagree one thing in particular and that is when you said the drivers will be able to brake later due to more mechanical grip, im pretty sure that the loss of aero will mean much earlier braking regardless of going back to slicks, the whole reason of the new changes is to promote overtaking and with a longer braking distance you will see more overtaking, a shorter braking distance leaves less time to overtake.
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Daniel Chalmers 10 months ago
According to Gary Anderson from Autosport braking zones will be shorter. The slick tyres are worth two seconds so will counter the loss of aero grip due to the changes.
As I mentioned in part 1 of this report lap times next year will be very similar. The aero changes will lose about two seconds but the slicks will bring will gain that two seconds back straight away. It depends though how the teams develop their cars and if they get some grip back in other areas of the car, so perhaps there is a chance even that the cars will be a bit faster than this season.
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Isuru Wakishta Arachchi 10 months ago
just when i thought i saw the best article this forum offered with your previous. you prove me wrong! this is the best. so i suppose you predict hamilton for WDC?
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Jamie Arnold 10 months ago
oh, well thanks for putting me right on that one then DC, i thought that the big time gainer was in the slow corners where aero doesn't do such a big job as in the fast corners, but i will take your word for it.
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Daniel Chalmers 10 months ago
on a lap the most important corners are the slow ones, so you are right in that last statement. On a quick lap thats where a driver can shave the most tenths of their lap time.
The stadium section at Hockeneheim for example is the most important section at that track for example. That's where pole is won and lost. Hamilton hooked that section up brilliantly this year.
As I mentioned above the drivers will be able to brake as late as they dare. The Slick tyres will give so much more grip (20% more than the current grooved tyres) they will be able to afford to brake later and be more daring.
As a comparison when we switched to the Bridgestone control tyre in 2007, that offers less grip than the tyres we had previously during the tyre war (when Michelin and Bridgestone were pushing for ultimate tyre performance). Due to less grip the braking distances have been larger for the last couple of seasons. So that will change next season and driving styles will need to be adapted to Slicks accordinly.
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D-Boy 10 months ago
I honestly believe that teams who have given up on their current cars to focus on next season's cars are going to surprise us. I don't expect guys like Force India to do well, but with McLaren and Ferrari in a title fight and therefore making it a necessity that they continue to develop the current car, I honestly believe they'll stumble a bit with the new car for the first couple races at least.
Honda has apparently given up on their current car in favor of building their 2009 challenger, and rumor is that the Red Bull teams, Renault, and Toyota will be following suit before much longer. I expect at least TWO of these teams to outperform McLaren and Ferrari in qualifying at the very least in the first couple of races of 2009.
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
I think Honda will ceratinly make a leap, as for Red Bull, I don't know. I think the manufacturers will do better, and not the customer teams
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Charles Osmose 10 months ago
Well researched and informative article.
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