© WRi2
#2 REASON FOR HOPE – MORE BALLSY OVERTAKING MOVES
While some dread to see less action on track, others actually predict a surge in overtaking moves, due to the fact that the floor and diffuser will be generating most of the downforce, which will be then less exposed to aero turbulences.
“The regulation has been drafted in a way so that the car will generate more downforce from the tyres, so mechanically, which should not hurt the overtaking numbers,” McLaren-Honda racing director Eric Boullier told Sky Sports.
“Additionally, the influence of the front wing will be lower, since the floor and the diffuser will generate more downforce, allowing more overtaking.
“All this makes the car allow more overtaking manoeuvres, maybe by 5 per cent, as all current overtaking manoeuvres are driven by DRS and tyre regulations.”
What’s more, the extra grip from the wider and low-degradation tyres could make up for the dirtier wake from the car in front, as the new compounds give the chaser the opportunity to get closer and try a move without risking overheating his tyres.
Describing how the new tyres will work to Motorsport.com, Pirelli’s Paul Hembery said: “The thermal overheating is significantly reduced and wear levels are reduced, so the drivers in overtaking situations can push harder and not go into an overheating scenario”
Other simulations, including Simon McBeath’s work for Racecar Engineering, suggest drivers will get closer to the car in front but only up to a certain point, beyond which the drop in downforce will be brutal…
Even if overtaking becomes harder, this could well end up making the show more exciting.
“This could mean we see fewer overtakes but the chance for an overtaking manoeuvre going wrong could be higher,” Toro Rosso’s former chief race engineer Phil Charles told JA on F1. “This could be good for the show and will promote the more skilled drivers who can overtake well.”
Future will tell us whether flat-out attack on low-degradation compounds delivers a better show than high-degradation tyres and multiple pit stops.
