New 2019 front wing rules to be finalised next week

42 comments on “New 2019 front wing rules to be finalised next week”

1. 

   Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
   30th November 2018, 0:50

   Fernando should be ranked in the top 3 drivers of the year. The fact that he scored 50 points, resulting in Mclaren finishing ahead of much faster cars (yes, even Force India after they lost all their points) is testament to the feat. He also finished ahead of the likes of Ocon, Lleclerc, Grosjean despite them being in faster cars. That and the fact that he decimated Stoff in qualifying. No matter how good or bad your teammate is, a clean sweep is quite rare in F1.
   1. 

      ColdFly (@)
      30th November 2018, 4:52

      I just mentally compiled my to 3, and yes Alonso is in it.
      His teaching and results, eliminating the car impact, was very strong throughout 2018.
      @jaymenon10
      1. 

         ColdFly (@)
         30th November 2018, 10:00

         to-top; teaching = racing
         This is what swiping does on a small screen on a website which obscures the text entry box :(
   2. 

      Todfod (@todfod)
      30th November 2018, 5:54

      @jaymenon10

      Agree. Crazy to think how he was so close to best of the rest despite having a the 8th to 9th quickest car all season. If it wasn’t for his reliability issues in Monaco and Canada he could have finished best of the rest. And as you mentioned, sweeping your teammate in qualifying for an entire season is no small feat.

      He’d definitely make my top 3 for the season as well.
   3. 

      BlackJackFan
      30th November 2018, 16:34

      “decimated” means: ‘1 in 10’ – i.e. Not too bad…
      Why do people uses it as if it means ‘annihilated’…?
      1. 

         AlphaCentaurian
         1st December 2018, 1:18

         Because its etymology derives from the Roman military punishment whereby one in every ten men from a deserted unit would be beaten to death by the other nine. While it’s true that only ten percent of the unit has died, the manner in how this is achieved is traumatic and, frankly harrowing. Much like Stoffs qualifying.
2. 

   DB-C90 (@dbradock)
   30th November 2018, 2:48

   And still they’re fiddling with the rules on wings.

   Way to go F1 – give the entire midfield no chance at all. Most of them will have already finalised designs and invested awhile heap of money on fabrication etc.

   Again a huge advantage for those that can afford to change things on the fly (Mercedes, Ferrari’s, Red Bull). A complete disgrace that ultimately most engineers suggest will make next to zero difference to the car following.
   1. 

      ColdFly (@)
      30th November 2018, 8:24

      Agree @dbradock,
      It’s almost like this is driven by RBR; they have the self declared best chassis and biggest gap to the F1.5 teams with the same PU.
   2. 

      Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
      30th November 2018, 8:55

      Yep – sometimes it is almost as though they want to appear like a disorganised bunch of amateurs.
3. 

   Miani (@miani)
   30th November 2018, 3:08

   Alonso problem isn’t his past. It’s very simple actually. None of the top teams wants two top drivers competing against each other. Mercedes have Hamilton, Red Bull Verstapen and Ferrari Vettel, if ANY of these 3 teams only had two average drivers they would sign Alonso immediately. It’s something very situational, it isn’t related to his personality at all.
   1. 

      KGN11
      30th November 2018, 4:35

      To say it’s not his pass, is just ridiculous. Why didn’t Brawn go for him at the end of 2012? You forgetting he was still under contract when Vettel was announced at the end of 2014?

      Ferrari had 3 drivers on their books for 2015 and it became clear that he was the one that would be surplus to requirement. He was pretty much sacked and McLaren was the only team interested in his signature. His pass as a lot to do with why none of the top 3 wanted him. That’s why he has sounded so bitter on his way out.
      1. 

         Mashiat (@mashiat)
         30th November 2018, 5:46

         @KGN11

         Why didn’t Brawn go for him at the end of 2012?

         Maybe it was because he was driving for Ferrari, three years into a seven year contract till the end of 2014? And he clearly wasn’t planning on leaving Ferrari yet at that time. Had Hamilton not joined in 2012, I’m almost certain Mercedes would have tried to sign him for 2014, given Schumacher was likely retiring soon and no other elite was driver available. And as for Ferrari announcing Vettel first, you have to remember that Vettel was only announced officially in Abu Dhabi, when it was also confirmed that Alonso would be leaving. He would have received a huge payday (probably somewhere in the region of 20-30m) had he been sacked from Ferrari, which he didn’t. And even Montezemelo has confirmed since he left that it was a mutual termination. But for some reason, people keep pushing the plot that he was “sacked” from Ferrari, probably because it fits their agenda.
         1. 

            Darryn Smith (@darryn)
            30th November 2018, 5:53

            He may not have wanted to go to Mercedes at that time anyway. Alonso’s instincts or his managements aren’t the best when it comes to going from team to team. We are 5 years into Mercedes domination, and it’s easy in hindsight, but at the time Hamilton switched it didn’t look like that great of a move.
            1. 

               q85
               30th November 2018, 6:32

               i personally would say Ferrari did have 2 average drivers this year
            2. 

               anon
               30th November 2018, 7:53

               @darryn, you are indeed right that, back in 2012, a lot of pundits suggested at the time that Hamilton was making a major mistake and risked destroying his career by signing for Mercedes. In fact, the majority opinion seemed to be that it was a mistake or were, at best, ambivalent about the idea – as you say, it was, in retrospect, the right decision to make, but at the time a lot of people thought it was the wrong one.

               After all, back in 2012 Mercedes were only fifth in the WCC that season and, from 2010 to 2012, had arguably slipped back slightly in the WCC – they’d been 4th in 2010 and 2011, and had seen their points haul drop over those years too. The team was still reorganising itself, given that Mercedes had initially expected the sport to implement a spending cap and had initially held back on investment, and there were quite a few people who were critical of the way Mercedes were organising the team and thought that they had an overcomplicated and inefficient structure.

               Equally, there was no expectation that they would have any advantage under the incoming regulations – if anything, the expectation was that Renault were the ones who would have an advantage. It was Renault, after all, that in 2007 put forward the outline proposal and the draft technical document that formed the backbone of the current regulations – indeed, Mercedes was, along with Ferrari, initially opposed to the current regulations precisely because Renault had been so heavily involved in writing them.

               By contrast, although Ferrari had not produced a great car, in 2010 and 2011 they’d still produced fairly solid cars that were more competitive than anything Mercedes had produced. In 2012, meanwhile, Alonso still had the support and belief in the team that, despite their difficult start to the season, they could turn it around – Luca Di Montezemolo has suggested that it wasn’t really until the latter half of 2013 that Alonso began to lose confidence in Ferrari, but even then it wasn’t until early 2014 that the relationship really began breaking down.

               @mashiat, as you say, all of the indications are that Ferrari did not sack Alonso, but rather than both sides had been drifting apart from some time and the decision was a mutual one. Ferrari had signed a contract with Vettel, but the contract included a clause that meant it was only valid if either Alonso or Kimi left – it was Ferrari’s insurance policy if Alonso didn’t continue, but there was no guaranteed position for Vettel at Ferrari.
         2. 

            KGN11
            30th November 2018, 8:30

            @mashiat

            Lewis was driving for McLaren. So your statement makes no sense
            1. 

               Mashiat (@mashiat)
               30th November 2018, 9:10

               @KGN11 Which year did he sign for Mercedes? Answer that.
            2. 

               KGN11
               30th November 2018, 12:02

               What does it matter, he was driving for McLaren and we all know the contracts in F1 aren’t worth the paper they are written in.
            3. 

               BlackJackFan
               30th November 2018, 16:42

               Mashiat – Answer that. Why so aggressive…? It doesn’t help your point. In fact it makes you sound about 12… ;-)
            4. 

               Jim
               30th November 2018, 17:26

               @BlackJack
               You call Mashiat’s “answer that” aggressive?? It isn’t.
               It doesn’t hurt his point at all.
            5. 

               BlackJackFan
               1st December 2018, 10:03

               Hi Jim… I guess you are Mashiat’s alter ego – or you’re brothers…
               Mashiat’s question, as indicated by the ‘?’, is all that is needed here. To unnecessarily add “Answer that,” is challenging and aggressive – in my view.
               It hurts his point because many people who will also find the comment unnecessarily aggressive will fail to react the the original point – ipso facto, it is ‘hurt’ – in my view.
               Even if you are correct here I see you are not disputing my suggestion of Mashiat’s age… which perhaps makes you about 13… ;-)
               On the other hand, just refuting my assertions without reason puts you back to about 10… ;-)
               Ah well… ‘Live & Learn’… while others just live. Nice chatting with you.
         3. 

            Miani (@miani)
            30th November 2018, 15:51

            Actually Alonso wanted to get out of his contract with Ferrari and the condition for Ferrari was to sign with Vettel first.

            But that’s irrelevant, my whole point is that “if ANY of these 3 (top) teams only had two average drivers they would sign Alonso immediately” independently of he did in his past.
      2. 

         Kenny
         30th November 2018, 17:17

         Where do you come up with this stuff?
         in any case, most is fabricated.
   2. 

      Daves
      30th November 2018, 17:14

      I agree. If Hamilton or Vettel decided to quit today, Red and Merc would be knocking Alonso’s his door down.
      A shame a driver of his caliber is leaving F1 when still at the top of his gain.
4. 

   Todfod (@todfod)
   30th November 2018, 5:59

   I have a sneaky feeling that the new wing regulations are going to give one of the big three teams a massive advantage. Because the rules are still so poorly formed, it will end up being a Brawn 2009 type of advantage, where one team will design their car around a loophole and exploit it up until it gets banned for next season.

   Obviously just a hunch.. but the vagueness of the regulations definitely makes it possible .
   1. 

      anon
      30th November 2018, 6:49

      @todfod, on the contrary, it seems that the full set of draft rules for 2019 are very restrictive – over 2300 words and nine clauses – to the point where the design of the front wing is being semi-standardised.

      It is also worth noting that the FIA had included a clause in those regulations which states that “…should there be a requirement for any additional component to be added, a team must write specifically to the FIA with an explanation, design, and calculated aerodynamic effect, in order to get approval. Such a communication will be circulated to rival teams if deemed to cover a new aspect that had previously not been considered…”.

      It seems to be rather unlikely that any team will find a major advantage – on the contrary, it seems more that the 2019 regulations are intended to take away some of the advantages of the larger teams by enforcing simpler and more standardised designs. Even if a team did find a loophole, the fact that the FIA would then tell the rest of the grid about it means that they’d lose any advantage almost immediately – in fact, what is happening now is probably a result of that clause being triggered.
      1. 

         ColdFly (@)
         30th November 2018, 8:31

         It’s probably all correct what you (non registered contributer) say, but you miss something big.
         It’s not necessarily the front wing which will define the performance difference but the IMPACT of the new wing on the rest of the car.

         Only three teams have the resources to find that ‘needle’ and as it is the rest of the car’s aerodynamics it might be very difficult to replicate.
   2. 

      Jonathan
      30th November 2018, 10:43

      I read that the 2019 changes will make high rake concepts less effective, which Ferrari and Red Bull have, and Mercedes do not. Also Ferrari and Red Bull use blown axles, which are banned, but Mercedes do not. Advantage Mercedes?
5. 

   Matthijs (@matthijs)
   30th November 2018, 8:24

   Anyone else spotted Shaun the sheep on the wing endplate?
   1. 

      Lums (@lums)
      30th November 2018, 9:55

      hahaha nice one.
   2. 

      alex
      30th November 2018, 13:00

      No, please say where!?
6. 

   Dobb
   30th November 2018, 8:33

   F1 never fails to look utterly incompetent!

   What hope do the teams have if the organisers can’t even make up their minds in a sensible amount of time.
7. 

   hahostolze (@hahostolze)
   30th November 2018, 8:35

   ‘Then, throughout the years you always stay in contact; your paths cross again through the other series. Then he ended up in the Red Bull programme. He’s a very fast driver but also a very nice guy to be with and that’s important.” – think this goes on the Red Bull story, not the Alonso one.
   1. 

      erikje
      30th November 2018, 11:38

      It confused me.. Alonso with red bull. We know his attempt to imply interest but no participation.
8. 

   Phylyp (@phylyp)
   30th November 2018, 8:57

   Ah, so it’s PKN ORLEM that’s Kubica’s backer. Good that Williams have been able to secure this funding, it was much needed in the absence of Stroll and Martini for 2019.
9. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   30th November 2018, 9:46

   ”I think Pierre was not that good at English and neither was I.”
   – And neither was I at that age. I mean I did understand it already but didn’t really communicate with it yet. I was still in the learning process at that point.
   Also from the same interview:
   ”I actually overtook two Ferraris and two Mercedes cars on track” – Not entirely true. He didn’t actually overtake Hamilton on track, but rather through the pit stop phase to be precise.

   That’s an Interesting statistical fact on the COTD. I would’ve thought Ricciardo completed the fewest number of laps out of all the drivers during the season due to the number of DNFs he faced.
   1. 

      erikje
      30th November 2018, 11:40

      He did overtake Hamilton on track in Abu dabi.
      1. 

         Jere (@jerejj)
         30th November 2018, 20:24

         @erikje No, he didn’t. He overtook the Ferrari-drivers as well as Bottas, and then caught Hamilton but didn’t get past him until he came in for his scheduled pit stop in front of him, and then subsequently Max managed to keep the gap significant enough to be able to rejoin the track ahead of LH after his own scheduled pit stop. That’s how he gained the race-lead.
10. 

    bosyber (@bosyber)
    30th November 2018, 10:09

    That article where Buemi speaks about the new Formula-E has more or less the first real evaluation of the Gen2. car I have read (until now it was always ‘huge improvement, looks great, etc’.

    “It’s very tricky to manage [the new race strategy elements] but otherwise the car itself, the chassis itself, is no big evolution,” he said.

    “The car is 20kg heavier, it has less downforce than the previous car, so you cannot expect the car to be much quicker.

    “You are quicker because of the evolution of tyres and the powertrain itself.

    “In the corner, the car is not really quicker than before but the FIA and Formula E wanted that, because if they wanted the car to be quicker, you go slick tyres [and] gain I don’t know how many seconds.

    “You go [with] wings, and you go much quicker. But that was not really the objective. We just need to make the most out of what we have.”

    Fair enough, I suppose.
11. 

    rpiian (@rpiian)
    30th November 2018, 11:46

    What if… Williams duped us all and was running a 2019 floor.
    DISABLE OUTWASH
    ENGAGE OPERATION DOUBLE DIFFUSER
12. 

    Ben (@scuderia29)
    30th November 2018, 12:15

    We’re officially into the winter now and front wing rules are still being played with? crazy, teams will have started designing next year’s cars months ago, presumably having to chop and change things every time the front wing rules change
13. 

    StefMeister (@stefmeister)
    30th November 2018, 14:38

    Am I the only one expecting the 2019 front wing rules to end up having no significant effect on the racing?

    Like with the 2009 changes… Testing in the wind tunnel & on CFD computers may well result in a set of regulations that would have a positive impact. But F1 isn’t a spec championship so the concept that is tested by a small group of people looking at one specific design will not work in the same way when you have 10 teams & hundreds of engineer’s all coming up with different designs that will work in different ways. And regardless of how restrictive (Which they shoudln’t really be in F1) the regulations are somebody will inevitably find something that will negate the original intention & everyone else will follow.

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