| Name the number one criticism of Formula One and | | | | news. |
| the same answer given by just about every person - | | | | The big teams in Formula One literally spend hundreds |
| there is no passing! Off-season testing for the | | | | of millions of dollars fine tuning the aerodynamics on |
| upcoming F1 season may be bringing some good | | | | the cars. Even a quarter of a second of speed can |
| news in this regard. | | | | mean the difference between winning the |
| F1 is nothing if it isn't a giant marketing machine. The | | | | championship or a complete disaster of a season. To |
| races are seen by hundreds of millions of people | | | | eliminate this issue, many of the car design elements |
| world wide, so the championship knows how to | | | | where simply banned. The manipulation of diffuser |
| market itself. Given this fact, one may wonder why | | | | and engine cover areas was greatly simplified. The |
| a sport so marketing savvy is also devoid of much | | | | goal was primarily to eliminate the vast majority of |
| passing. Passing, after all, is the most exciting aspect | | | | aerodynamic elements on the body of the car. |
| of motorsports. | | | | At the same time, the cars still need to be speedy. |
| The answer with Formula One is simple. The problem | | | | To compensate, the sport is going back to slick tires. |
| is found in the designs of the cars. The aerodynamics | | | | Slicks have a larger area of contact with the road |
| of the cars are so highly tuned to pin the car to the | | | | then grooved tires. This means there is more |
| ground that the air coming off the back of the car is | | | | mechanical grip. Since mechanical grip is not influenced |
| like a small hurricane. This means cars approaching | | | | when trailing another car, the hope is emphasizing |
| from the rear cannot get close to the car without | | | | mechanical grip over aerodynamics will lead to more |
| losing the air off their noses and losing control of the | | | | passing. |
| car. This is why you will often see a leading car in a | | | | So far, the results are really unknown. The teams are |
| Formula One race have difficulty passing a lapped car | | | | notoriously tight lipped in the offseason as they hope |
| even though that car is literally a second lower on a | | | | to avoid giving away any secrets. The few |
| lap. On the other hand, this does lead to some | | | | comments that have come out seem to suggest |
| "interesting" hand gestures when the pass finally | | | | that the run up to the back of a car is indeed easier |
| happens. | | | | than it was last year under the old regulations. This |
| So, what has changed with Formula One that might | | | | would seem to suggest that passing is also easier. |
| create more passing? Two things, really. First, the | | | | The truth will not be known till the season begins in |
| teams and sport realized they needed to put on a | | | | March. Formula One should be applauded for |
| better show. Second, the teams also saw the | | | | acknowledging the problem and trying to fix it. The |
| economic collapse coming and realized money was | | | | new team organization, FOTA, is going to make |
| going to be very tight. The combination of these | | | | further announcements in early March regarding the |
| factors resulted in a completely rethinking of the | | | | view of the teams on the future of Formula One. |
| sport and therein do we find our potential good | | | | Perhaps there will be even more surprises in store. |