The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is placing high demands on the teams, especially with the new engine regulations. According to the changes, an engine must last this season for two successive grand prix weekends – which is equivalent to twice the mileage of last season, and when compared to 2003 this corresponds to fourfold the distance. With this change, the FIA intends to reduce the capacity of the engines as well as their cost. What this meant for the development of the Williams FW27’s 84/5 engine was, according to BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen, that “the goal was to achieve the longevity required for twice the mileage, while compromising performance as little as possible”. This season, the engine may be replaced only in the case of damage, and even then the driver is moved back 10 places on the starting grid as well as being restricted to the replacement engine until the end of the following grand prix. Only those drivers who do not finish a particular race can participate in the next using a new engine.

The teams’ available range of tyres has also been limited this season. Per grand prix weekend, each driver must now make do with only three sets of tyres. The qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday as well as the race itself must be performed using one set. In effect, this means that the tyres will be significantly harder, reducing mechanical grip. As a result, cornering speeds will be substan-tially lower, which in turn increases safety. A change of tyres during a race is only permitted in the case of tyre damage and refuelling during such a stop is not allowed. So, effectively, pure tyre-changing pit stops have been abolished. This new regulation will also affect the spectators. “When the teams have fewer tyres,” Christian Danner says, “it is only obvious that they will be driving fewer laps during free practice.“

Beyond that, the FIA plans to reduce the cars’ downforce by about 25 percent by restricting the aerodynamics. The front wing must now be 15, instead of 10, centimetres above the track surface, the rear wing is moved 15 centimetres closer to the body and the part of the underbody that rises to the rear, the diffuser, may not be higher than 125 millimetres. The idea behind these measures is that less downforce leads to reduced aerodynamic grip, reduced grip leads to lower cornering speeds – thus improving safety. This would mean that the FIA, after ever faster lap times over recent years, would achieve its goal of slowing the race cars enough to match race speed with the tracks’ safety features. Whatever the case, the FIA has won itself some time. “The teams will be able to regain the lost downforce by and by through new wind tunnel developments,” Christian Danner is convinced, “but the fact that these developments are ongoing is exactly why it is sensible for the FIA to introduce such restrictions occasionally.”

The FIA aims to achieve three things with the new regulations: more safety, lower costs and more exciting races. Whether this is accomplished or not will be shown by the 19 grands prix of the 2005 season.

And did you know…

... that a Formula 1 car takes only 1.9 seconds and covers only 55 metres before coming to a standstill after full braking from 200km/h? This results in deceleration rates of 5G, which, according to Dr. Christoph Lauterwasser of the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT), force a 75 kilogram driver into the belts with a pressure corresponding to 375 kilograms. By way of a comparison, when performing a full stop from 200km/h, a passenger car will come to a standstill only after 5 seconds and a distance of 150 metres.