Wider tires, greater aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce should make the heavy cars five seconds quicker per lap – is Formula 1 2017 what the fans want?
The tires are 25 percent wider, have more grip and – crucially – are more durable, enabling drivers to push harder and limiting the cyclical pit stop strategy that made many races easy to call.
There is also much greater license to develop engines, although each driver remains restricted to four per season before incurring penalties.
This wholesale revamp is a welcome boost for the sport and especially its fans, who in recent times were crying out for entertainment. As well as Mercedes dominating everything, some races were almost processional, with far too much emphasis on fuel and tire strategy and little toe-to-toe driving.
Overtaking was seen as a bonus, rather than a key part of a sport representing the pinnacle of quick racing.
This lack of excitement even prompted two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to make the remarkable statement that F1 was so boring it sent him to sleep – and that the sport should instead be paying fans to watch.
The general mood is far more upbeat now, with drivers expressing overwhelming enthusiasm for the new cars.
“It’s so much faster in the corners,” enthused triple F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who has often spoken about wanting a return to a more challenging form of racing. “The force you feel on your body and on your neck is much higher. I’ve got bruises and bumps where I’ve never really had them before.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made a novel comparison, “If you would put them next to each other, last year’s would look like a toy car. With the larger tires, there isn’t that much (to) spare. In certain corners you need to take a different line, or else you’ll hit the curbstones.”
Drivers will need to pile on muscle to handle these new, aggressive machines and have been beefing up in pre-season, rather than slimming down.
The rule changes even seem to have appeased known purest and traditionalist Sebastian Vettel, which takes some doing, “It works pretty much like an aspirin, it fixes pretty much everything. From a driver’s point of view it’s better everywhere. Braking is better, cornering is better, you’ve got more grip.”
More competition and more excitement will be music to the ears of F1’s new American owners Liberty Media. The Americans completed their takeover in January – ending 86-year-old Bernie Ecclestone’s 40-year reign as F1’s chief executive. He made way for Chase Carey.
With future plans promising to win back even more fans via an increased emphasis on digital media, it very much feels like a new dawn for F1. But what fans want most of all is an open contest on the track, like in 2010 when several drivers were in title contention in the final race.
Other factors should also work toward this.
One of those is limiting clutch control and radio communications, thus reducing the amount of help a driver can get. It’s up to the driver to perfect his clutch settings this season, without outside help from engineers, hopefully making race starts and the dash for the first corner more unpredictable.
Fans will see some new faces, too, with 18-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll driving for Williams and Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne replacing Jenson Button at McLaren.
Better rules, faster cars, new drivers and fresh challenges: the F1 season is the most promising it has been for a long time.
Big Question: Are you happy with the new technical regulations?
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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