2022 Regulatory Overhaul (a.k.a. Project Death to Dirty Air/DRS-free Overtaking)

[Chrill]

Wow, they actually agreed to do something that might help drivers follow each other... and then for balance they also agreed to enlarge the rear wings & so strengthen the DRS effect.  If they shorten the DRS zones accordingly then fine, at least the speed boost won't get any more ridiculous, otherwise we're just going to be treated to a barrage of tedious motorway passes.

With what the rear wings looking over-dimensioned already, I wonder just how much wider they will get. I'd be all for removing DRS on circuits that don't need it. The Baku straight could do without one.

[Penfold]

Especially as larger rear wings should aid slipstreaming.  Just a shame it won't happen.

[Penfold]

Next year's DRS will be 25 - 30% more powerful (great!), making it a 'useful' tool on shorter straights than at present: https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/10/enhanced-drs-will-be-available-more-often-in-2019/

Charlie Whiting's view of DRS: "What we attempt to do is look at how effective the DRS is at each circuit and then we try to tune it in order that you have to be within four-tenths [of a second] of the car in front to make it work.  Four-tenths is quite a difficult gap to get to. If you can get that and you?ve got the length of straight, you should be alongside by the time you get to the braking point."

Most DRS passes I see have the overtaker nicely ahead before they hit the braking zone, but then I've often felt that Charlie and the other rulemakers don't actually watch F1.

[Penfold]

Appears F1 will be moving to 18-inch wheels in 2021: https://www.racefans.net/2018/07/20/formula-1-18-inch-wheels-2021/

No explanation as to why front wheels are being made narrower - cut from 305 mm to 270 mm - so I can only guess that it's part of the grand plan to minimise the effect of dirty air.

[Chrill]

Sounds logical. The dirty air thing. Also, 18 inch rims make perfect sense when looking at modern road cars.

[Penfold]

Had to change at some point, makes sense to lump it in with the aero overhaul.

[Matt]

They have also apparently said that tire warmers will be banned, but that has been said many times before. The experts over on Reddit seem to think that it will be the end of the world because everyone will crash as soon as they put steering input. I know F1 cars have more downforce than anyone else, but the vast majority of racing series do not use tire warmers.

[Chrill]

I don't see why tyre warmers need to be banned. Is it cost saving? I mean, that can't save much. Is it to insert a bit of "gamble" because drivers have to run with cold tyres for a little while after a pit stop? Add "spice" and "excitement"? Boo.

[Penfold]

A couple of F1 engineers who see ditching blankets as a challenge but not an insurmountable one: https://www.racefans.net/2018/07/20/engineers-believe-f1-can-ban-tyre-warmers-without-risking-safety/

Plus one interesting commect from a random guy off the internet: "At the moment, a lot of a F1 car's suspension is in the tyre. The volume of a tyre is large so it's really very pressure (and thus temperature) sensitive. Moving to bigger rims means shallower tyres without the volume and the big side-walls. The 'suspension' elements will be part of the car, decoupling temperature from ride quality to some extent. This should make it simpler to design tyres with a broader working temperature range."

[Penfold]

Wider front wings from next year means more knocks and so the plan is to strengthen those hunks of carbon fibre: https://www.racefans.net/2018/07/24/wider-2019-front-wings-will-make-risk-of-damage-even-worse/

[Chrill]

Another plan would be to not crash.

[Penfold]

You try and sell that idea to Grosjean....

[Chrill]

I need not. He won't be around for next season!

[Matt]

Stronger front wings also means they are more likely to cause punctures. Seems like a net neutral at best. And I cannot claim to be an aerodynamicist, but making the wings wider seems like it would partially offset the gain they were trying to achieve in terms of decreasing aero wash.

[Penfold]

I'm sure it will.  We need far less downforce from the front wings so leaving the width as is would've been better, or in an ideal world make them narrower still and/or even more simplified than planned.  I'd also love to see the cars shrink in length and weight at the same time as slashing over-body aero, though I suspect the hefty power units likely make the first half of that wish impossible.