BBS justifies safety upgrade for F1 18-inch wheels

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Formula 1 has confirmed that it is introducing a stronger wheel rim design by supplier BBS for the new season, after a number of incidents last year in which tyres came off in high-energy impacts.

A tyre came off Alex Albon's Williams in an incident at the start of the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix, which was thrown into the air before hitting Daniel Ricciardo's AlphaTauri.

Even before then, the FIA had been sufficiently concerned to direct wheel rim supplier BBS to develop mark two designs to strengthen the parts, and these MK2 parts will now be rolled out as standard to all teams.

Some teams have been already been using them at race weekends, after a number of unspecified teams began to be supplied with the updates after the 2023 summer break.

Formula 1 moved to 18-inch rims at the start of 2022 as part of the most recent rules and regulations tweak, which come with a greater risk of sustaining critical damage in impacts than the old 13-inch versions.

Read also: FIA to trial wet weather wheel arches at Silverstone F1 test

“The background of the MK2 development is that compared to the era of 13-inch wheels, 18-inch wheels are subject to greater side impacts from the outer rim of the wheel," a spokesperson for BBS told Motorsport.com.

The statement went on to explain that this had resulted "in more frequent side impacts and resulting tyre loosening".

The new MK2 parts are stronger, but visually identical to the old ones. “MK2 has no change in spoke shape compared to MK1.

“Fatigue was not a problem with the original design, but the outer rim shape has been strengthened to better handle side impacts," BBS added. “The weight has only slightly increased, but the side impact resistance has more than doubled.”

“Paint properties have also improved," the statement continued. "This is largely due to the company's own plant completed at BBS MS.

“MK1 and MK2 are coated using the same coating engineering technology," BBC explained. "But by using the newest facility equipment, the company has been able to improve quality efficiency.”

There had been criticism from drivers that the larger wheel rims obstructed visibility from the cockpit.

There has also been concerns that the larger wheel rim resulted in a smaller sidewall on the Pirelli tyres, as well as increased weight on the chassis design as a whole.

Any solution to these issues could be overtaken by the next round of rules changes in 2026, which could see the size of wheel rims changed again, this time down to 16-inch designs.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.