More rule tweaks

[truefan72]

I don't like that Q3/ Race single tyre rule. It is just plain dumb. and to me seems to penalize drivers for doing well in qualy. If they got rid of the declared fuel thing then why would they introduce another handicap into the fold.

I think the show is good enough and I don;t need gimmicks like this to improve it. once agian proving that the collective minds of fIA and FOTA are suffering from winter brain fade.

[airshifter]

Also, with the lager fuel tanks, weight is concentrated more rearwardd on full tanks, but the weight characteristics will move a lot more (and the CofG) as the fuel load comes down. Potentially, the fronts will get more wear from aero load in the latter part of the races.

Has anyone seen the regs on fuel tanks for 2010? I would have to assume that given the chance the teams would use forward and aft tanks so that they could use the fuel load to affect the car balance as the race progressed.

[call_me_andrew]

No one seems to notice that the FIA is coppying NASCAR's rulebook.

[Mark]

Has anyone seen the regs on fuel tanks for 2010? I would have to assume that given the chance the teams would use forward and aft tanks so that they could use the fuel load to affect the car balance as the race progressed.

ARTICLE 6 : FUEL SYSTEM
6.1 Fuel tanks :
6.1.1 The fuel tank must be a single rubber bladder conforming to or exceeding the specifications of FIA/FT5-
1999, the fitting of foam within the tank however is not mandatory. A list of approved materials may be
found in the Appendix to these regulations.
6.1.2 All the fuel stored on board the car must be situated between the front face of the engine and the driver's
back when viewed in lateral projection. When establishing the front face of the engine, no parts of the fuel,
oil, water or electrical systems will be considered.
Furthermore, no fuel can be stored more than 300mm forward of the highest point at which the driver's
back makes contact with his seat. However, a maximum of 2 litres of fuel may be kept outside the survival
cell, but only that which is necessary for the normal running of the engine.
6.1.3 Fuel must not be stored more than 400mm from the longitudinal axis of the car.
6.1.4 All rubber bladders must be made by manufacturers recognised by the FIA. In order to obtain the
agreement of the FIA, the manufacturer must prove the compliance of his product with the specifications
approved by the FIA. These manufacturers must undertake to deliver to their customers exclusively tanks
complying to the approved standards.
A list of approved manufacturers may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.
6.1.5 All rubber bladders shall be printed with the name of the manufacturer, the specifications to which the tank
has been manufactured and the date of manufacture.
6.1.6 No rubber bladders shall be used more than 5 years after the date of manufacture.

[V12]

Im not a big subscriber to the "qualifying order will equal race order if nothing is done to artifically shake things up" school of thought.

It's common knowledge that some drivers seem to be intrinsically better at qualifying than racing, and vice versa. Yes they both require talent at driving quickly, but some drivers seem to be better at putting together one fast lap than consistently over a race distance. Jarno Trulli is the most extreme and stereotypical example but I'm sure it applies in varying degrees to most drivers.

It applies to cars too, especially now the race fuel farce is over - some cars may handle better relative to the opposition on lower fuel or full tanks, and it goes on. Stuff like this is totally unnecessary IMO.

[Mark]

Stuff like this is totally unnecessary IMO.

Agreed. Many, myself included, used to enjoy the pureness of qualifying in days gone by, all the drivers competing on an equal basis to see who was fastest on that track at that moment. None of this, well he was only on pole because he was lighter on fuel. And now it'll be, he's only ahead because he's got the soft tyres and others are on hards etc.

[maximilian]

It's as unnecessary as having to change tires in the first place. Nothing wrong with running soft tires when you wanna go quick for a short time, and hard tires when you wanna go less quick for a long time. That's really all it needs to be, leave the rest up to the teams, and the situation at hand!

[wedge]

Agreed. Many, myself included, used to enjoy the pureness of qualifying in days gone by, all the drivers competing on an equal basis to see who was fastest on that track at that moment. None of this, well he was only on pole because he was lighter on fuel. And now it'll be, he's only ahead because he's got the soft tyres and others are on hards etc.

It made race day more unpredictable until the damn publication of fuel weights.

With refuelling thankfully banned we don't have pit passing to fall on and more onus on overtaking on the race track.

[52Paddy]

It's a pity that the days of the underdogs qualifying well on merit are declining

Remember Pier-Luigi Martini qualifying on the front row in Phoenix 1990? (details off the top of my head). In fact, that whole grid was out of place due to bad weather in Saturday qualifying. I'd love if they brought back Friday qualifying. That would be a fine solution because if there's one element in F1 that is a constant unknown, its the weather. If you get that to muck up the grid, rather than selecting puny regulations to artificially achieve, then you're talking my language mokin:

[wedge]

It's a pity that the days of the underdogs qualifying well on merit are declining

Remember Pier-Luigi Martini qualifying on the front row in Phoenix 1990? (details off the top of my head). In fact, that whole grid was out of place due to bad weather in Saturday qualifying. I'd love if they brought back Friday qualifying. That would be a fine solution because if there's one element in F1 that is a constant unknown, its the weather. If you get that to muck up the grid, rather than selecting puny regulations to artificially achieve, then you're talking my language mokin:

Qualifying tyres.

Arguably a gimmick.

De Cesaris was also pretty nippy around that time when he would get a decent grid slot and did his usual job of annoying the 'genuine' front runners.