Ferrari's 2016-spec engine and its battery | © F1i
A CLEAR IMPACT ON KINETIC ENERGY RECOVERY
The power unit will continue to be a cardinal element in the overall package, also because energy recovery and management will change in 2017. There are three main sources of power on a hybrid F1 car – the internal combustion engine (ICE), and both motor-generator units (MGU-K and -H) –, and energy balance among these will be different.
Although new-spec cars will be faster on corner exit, they will go slower on a straight line, resulting in a lower speed differential. Theoretically, there should be less acceleration phases and less braking.
“The vehicles will be wider, from 1.80 up to 2 meters,” said Sauber’s returning technical director Jörg Zander. “We will also have 25 percent wider tyres, the front and rear wing will also be wider as well as the diffusor being increased.
“All-in-all that means more downforce, more grip and therefore faster lap times. The apex speed will be increased as well as the air drag.
“Therefore, the regulation for the energy recovery will be changed. The car will have a lower top speed, but can brake later due to the higher downforce.
“The braking distance therefore becomes shorter, which has an impact on the energy recovery. There needs to be different driving profiles and strategies in order to pick up the limited energy of 2 MJ on the MGU-K.”
