Have I missed something?

Has rear wing adjustments replaced front wings for 2011? I knew the adjustable rear wing was taking over from the F Duct but I didn't realize the adjustable front wing was going next year.

If that's the case it seems like a bad move. As I understand it, the rear wing can't be trimmed until you are 1 sec back so the drivers won't be able to use the wing to help with the understeer in the wake or to balance the car as the fuel load changes. The cars are gonna be dogs at one stage of the rave or another.

So this rule is for real? I thought it might just one of those things some idiots need to say from time to time just to keep people from thinking they could be smart or something. I'm looking at the bright side. At least I'm going to have some good sunday afternoon power naps.

Yup it's for real, seriously whoever came up with the adjustable rear wing wants shot (in a figurative sense). Nothing wrong with adjustable rear wings if you can adjust them whenever you want as often as you want, but this whole idea that you need to be 1 second behind another car is just retarded beyond belief. It's blatantly just a ploy to try and get cars to overtake more.

Also I don't think F-ducts are being completely outlawed, just the driver operation of them. I read in Motor Sport magazine a couple of months back that the general concept of blown slot-gap wings was not being outlawed so if there's a way to make an automatic f-duct with a fluid switch that chokes at a certain velocity, you can still have it.

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Originally Posted by V12

Also I don't think F-ducts are being completely outlawed, just the driver operation of them. I read in Motor Sport magazine a couple of months back that the general concept of blown slot-gap wings was not being outlawed so if there's a way to make an automatic f-duct with a fluid switch that chokes at a certain velocity, you can still have it.

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Mercedes have been using a passive version if I am not mistaken.

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Originally Posted by ioan

Mercedes have been using a passive version if I am not mistaken.

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You are right. Perhaps that will give them a lift for 2011 given their experience with it?

It's going to give the cars serious balance issues next season so I'm a bit concerned about the safety of the whole idea. At least with the adjustable front wing the drivers could compensate for oversteer or understeer of their cars when the fuel loads got lighter, but now they can't. I'm sure they'll learn to adjust, but it seems to me unnecessary to subject the drivers to that.

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Originally Posted by Duchess

but it seems to me unnecessary to subject the drivers to that.

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Exactly.

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Originally Posted by ioan

Mercedes have been using a passive version if I am not mistaken.

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That would make sense since they don't have the shark fin extending to the rear wing. I'm glad they're not being banned to be honest because it's a very clever idea, although I can see the logic in banning the driver-operated versions, especially the ones that require the drivers to be one-handed.

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Originally Posted by V12

Yup it's for real, seriously whoever came up with the adjustable rear wing wants shot (in a figurative sense). Nothing wrong with adjustable rear wings if you can adjust them whenever you want as often as you want, but this whole idea that you need to be 1 second behind another car is just retarded beyond belief. It's blatantly just a ploy to try and get cars to overtake more.

Also I don't think F-ducts are being completely outlawed, just the driver operation of them. I read in Motor Sport magazine a couple of months back that the general concept of blown slot-gap wings was not being outlawed so if there's a way to make an automatic f-duct with a fluid switch that chokes at a certain velocity, you can still have it.

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totally agree, the 1 second rule is stupid a rule and cant how it can policed as the driver wont know the gap and create artificial overtaking. when we want to see more overtaking we want driver skill but not made impossible because of things like the DDD

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Originally Posted by wattoroos

totally agree, the 1 second rule is stupid a rule and cant how it can policed as the driver wont know the gap and create artificial overtaking. when we want to see more overtaking we want driver skill but not made impossible because of things like the DDD

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It can be policed fairly easy as I believe the plan is for it to be computer controlled and governed by sector times/gaps etc. If the gaps aren't as required, the wing adjustor simply won't operate, as least that's my understanding.

But the fact they are going to that level of digging into race control data just to create a few phony overtakes, when I first saw the story I figured it was either April 1st and I'd missed it - or it was one of those classic Bernie/Max ploys to get the teams and fans to agree to something a little less bad further down the road.

If they are serious about overtaking they need to severely limit downforce, not just by 10% or 20% that will be recovered by the engineers, but a real shift in thinking, perhaps even going the FFord route and banning wings altogether. Otherwise they should just accept that these are technologically and aerodynamically advanced cars that are racing to beat each other, not put on a pretty little show.