Could F1 2011 be even better?

The final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi summed up why the 2010 season will go down in Formula 1 history as a classic year.

There were super-fast Red Bulls, world champion drivers in the thick of the action, strategic errors, raw emotion and a final twist in an epic tale as Sebastian Vettel won his first world title.

Before the race was run, the sun-soaked paddock was buzzing with talk of "the greatest season ever" and debate about the highlight of the season swelled.

In fact, as the dust settles on Abu Dhabi, the teams' attentions are already turning to 2011 - all the teams and most of the race drivers get their first run on next year's new Pirelli tyres at the Yas Marina track at the weekend.

With just 118 days to go until the cars and drivers return to the desert in Bahrain to rejoin battle, expectations are already building that 2011 could be another classic year, matching events this season.

As BBC pundit Eddie Jordan exclaimed on Sunday: "We have five world champions competing next year, what are we in for?!"

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


Jordan is right to be excited.

The men who defined this season remain in situ - Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at McLaren, Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, and Vettel and Mark Webber at Red Bull.

All of them know they have things to improve in 2010 - particularly the number of errors they have made. And the long winter will give each of the 24 drivers on the grid time to analyse and agonise over crucial mistakes and frittered points that ultimately defined their seasons.

"Every one of us made too many errors and that is why we found ourselves in a position with five guys fighting it out," reflected Button, who saw his title defence end in Brazil.

Though he was the first to bow out, Button had the cleanest season of all the five contenders but found himself let down by a lack of pace - particularly in qualifying - as he got to grips with a McLaren in his first season with the team.

Alonso will rue his uncharacteristic errors in Australia and China, his crash in Monaco and, most of all, the fatal call from Ferrari to bring him in early for fresh tyres in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton will reflect on his ill-judged passing moves in Monza and Singapore, which effectively ended his hopes, while Webber will relive his frightening somersault in Valencia and his costly crash in Korea.

Vettel, too, made more than his fair share of errors. He must take the blame for crashes with his team-mate Webber in Turkey and an unwitting Button in Spa, while his attempt to go around the outside of Webber at the start in Silverstone earned him a puncture.

For Red Bull, though, one of the biggest areas of focus will be the poor early-season reliability, from spark plugs to wheel nuts, that prevented Vettel bursting into an early lead.

When Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko was asked on Sunday what his next goal was after his team captured both championships, he said they intended to cut out the errors so they could win the titles sooner.

All the top teams will be adding grease to their usually slick operations over the winter at the same time as building their cars to a set of regulations that have been tweaked again.

Gone will be the double-diffusers which caused so much controversy at the start of 2009, as well as the F-duct that McLaren pioneered at the start of 2010, forcing everyone else to follow suit.

Blown diffusers - 2010's other defining technical tweak - will stay to an extent, though.

In come those Pirelli tyres, while Kers energy storage and power-boost systems return after a year away. There will also be a new technical trick in the form of moveable rear wings, an attempt to solve F1's perennial problem even in a season as great as this - the difficulty of overtaking.

The success of the teams' research into the effects of these changes will shape next year's title chase - and it is by no means a given that this year's big three will be the ones who get it most right.

There have been concerned whispers that the efforts of waging a season-long campaign have diverted attention away from 2011 development programmes at Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

The strain of winning the 2009 championships certainly drained Brawn Grand Prix, which had a debilitating effect on them this season in their new guise as Mercedes.

However, with no championship to fight for, teams such as Mercedes and Renault, who stopped developing their 2010 car in September so they concentrate on next season, could make it a five-way battle for honours next year.

"It has been a special year," mused McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh. "Can there be more?

"We have to keep the focus on brave, fantastic drivers in great machinery; an even-handed regulator, stability and clear rules that are administered properly.

"We can't guarantee it but there is no reason the championship next year can't be as good - or even better."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2010/11/could_f1_2011_be_even_better.html

Mack Hellings Brian Henton Johnny Herbert Al Herman

Nascar Fan Factor Up Close And Personal

There is no doubt that Nascar is one of the strongest brands ever in America's sporting chronicle. But what makes Nascar to be such a hot brand? Who is behind the success of Nascar? Well, the winnows of Nascar, who else?!? Nascar sports fans are the most faithful devotees in the world. You will never see the fans of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. drink any other beer other than Bud. This is because Dale is the brand name ambassador for Budweiser. Jeff Gordon is affiliated with Dupont paint, and most Jeff Gordon fans never use any other paint.

The brand name commitment of the sports fans is then cashed in by the sponsors. A survey divulged that in order to have their name and logotype on the lid of a top Nascar Nextel cup car, a person and or corporation has to pay $1.5 million! Now that is big money. The drivers are the main factor behind the success of the Nascar cars. The drama associated with the sport and the adrenaline rush cannot be compared to that of any other sport.

Loyalty To The Drivers
If a Nascar Nextel cup driver suddenly advertises Pepsi before the race, then the sales of Pepsi during that race will be incomparable. All the fans of that driver will simply quit using any other soft drink and start using Pepsi. Similarly, if a driver connects himself with a particular brand of shopping store like, say, Home Depot then all the fans will shop at Home Depot.

Role Of The Media
The media, too, will encounter a big role in promoting some of the stuff. For example, if Bill Elliot is seen eating at a specific restaurant and the photo hits newspaper headlines, the coming week, all of his devotees will eat in the same eatery. During the race, the fan following hits a new level altogether!

Individuals come from far-off distances to watch the races and then the sales of accessories and branded stuff hits the roof. Drivers like Jeff Gordon who are associated with car dealerships are also cashing in on the popularity. The sales of the cars have inflated dramatically after these drivers linked themselves with the car companies.

Automotive Productions
Automotive products, too, have established a market like never before, thanks to the growing popularity of Nascar drivers and their ever increasing fan following. If a particular Nascar driver uses a specific brand of paint on their car, then that paint has to be used by all his fans as well. The most common instance is that of the headlamp restoration product used by most Nascar drivers. The product which restores the condition of the headlamp to as good as new is exceedingly popular and is now used by many Nascar fans across the world as well.

This author is a HUGE fan of NASCAR licensed merchandise

Article Source: Nascar Fan Factor Up Close And Personal

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/111196/nascar-fan-factor-up-close-and-personal

Jeff Burton Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Chase for the Sprint Cup

F1: Fauzy released by Lotus

Fauzy released by Lotus By Matt Beer Sunday, December 12th 2010, 12:23 GMT Fairuz Fauzy has parted company with the Lotus Formula 1 team and intends to return to full-time racing in 2011. The 28-year-old Malaysian completed two test days for the team during the winter, and also participated in Friday morning practice for the Malaysian, British, German, Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix in his role as reserve driver. A statement from Fauzy's management said that he had now been released from his Lotus deal. Related posts:
  1. F1: Fauzy: Lotus quicker than times suggest Fauzy: Lotus quicker than times suggest By Jonathan Noble and...
  2. F1: Fauzy hopes Friday run leads to more Fauzy hopes Friday run leads to more By Edd Straw...
  3. F1: Lotus signs Jeffri for development plan Lotus signs Jeffri for development plan By Pablo Elizalde Friday,...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Source: http://doxcar.com/f1-fauzy-released-by-lotus/

Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings

Your questions answered - Brazilian Grand Prix

Do I think Red Bull should have allowed Mark Webber to win in Brazil instead of Sebastian Vettel? Do I think Mercedes and Renault will benefit from such a tight battle this season? Do I agree with Bernie Ecclestone's comment that Lotus are the only new team to have contributed this season? Do I think heads should roll at McLaren? Who do I think has been the best driver in the bottom five teams? And the big question - who is going to win the title?

Watch my answers below.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THE UK, CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2010/11/your_questions_answered_-_braz.html

Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne

Team orders and F1's radical plan to improve racing

Formula 1 will be changed for ever by the new rules announced by Formula 1's governing body at its world council meeting on Friday.

The decision to switch to vastly different, far more efficient engines from 2013 and the introduction of movable rear wings for next season will change both the way the sport is viewed by the wider world and the action on the track.

The new engine regulations - the adoption of 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo engines with energy recovery and fuel restrictions - mirror the way the car industry is going and are aimed at boosting F1's public image, helping it to survive into the future by opening up new avenues for sponsorship and - most importantly - speeding up the adoption of more sustainable engines in road cars over the next few years, thus dramatically reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

More immediately, the controversial adoption of movable rear wings in 2011 will make overtaking easier. At least that's the hope.

The issue of overtaking is a perennial problem in F1. All stakeholders agree it has been too hard to do in recent years. Races can be processional, or turn on pit stops.

The problem for F1's bosses, who want racing rather than tactics to decide outcomes, is aerodynamics.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

Watch highlights of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Cars are created with quite incredible capabilities but significant limitations when it comes to racing. Cornering forces often reach 5G. To see an F1 car in the flesh as it negotiates a fast corner like Silverstone's Becketts complex is both to doubt your eyes and to marvel at the way it uses physics to test the limits of the possible.

But aerodynamics work most effectively when a car is running on its own. Give it some turbulent air - such as that created by another car directly in front of it - and its ability to produce downforce - and therefore grip - is dramatically reduced. So drivers find it difficult to get close enough to a car in front to try to pass it, even if they are in a faster car.

A number of attempts to change this have been made in recent years, most recently major new rules in 2009 with significant changes to the way cars produced their downforce and the reintroduction of slick tyres. None of them have worked.

So F1's brains have come up with the movable rear wing.

The idea is that drivers will, when on a straight and trying to pass another car, press a button in their cockpit which will move a part of the rear wing.

This will reduce its effectiveness, thereby cutting drag and increasing straightline speed, allowing the driver to get a run on his rival into the next corner. The driver in the car in front who is defending his position will not be able to use his wing at the same time.

The plan is controversial because it appears to be adding a degree of artifice into the situation - and critics are worried it will make a joke of overtaking by making it too easy, particularly when used in conjunction with the Kers energy recovery and power-boost systems that are returning to F1 in 2011 after a year on the sidelines.

The sport's bosses are aware of the concerns. One insider who has been instrumental in writing the rule says: "The idea is to make it work, but not work too well."

The way it will work is as follows:

The FIA will define a time gap between the two cars at which point the driver behind will be able to use the system. Initially, it is likely the driver in the trailing car will need to be within a second as he enters the corner before a straight where it is possible to overtake.

The driver will then get an indication - either via a light on his dashboard or audibly - that he can operate his wing. He will then press the button when he is on the straight, giving him more speed than his rival and thus the potential to pass him.

The problem is that no-one is sure whether the system will work or achieve its objectives until it is used in a race - and the first opportunity will be on 13 March, when Bahrain hosts the first grand prix of the 2011 season.

The bottom line is that F1's bosses want to make overtaking easier but not so easy that it requires little skill.

Had the movable rear wings been in place in 2010, I am told Ferrari's Fernando Alonso would have been able to overtake the Renault of Vitaly Petrov in the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and thus keep alive his chances of winning the title.

Instead, the Spaniard was unable to pass Petrov's slower car, which had a prodigious straight-line speed, and therefore unable to chase down his rivals as he went in search of a third drivers' crown.

That would have freed Alonso up to try to catch the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who was in the fourth place the Ferrari driver needed to prevent Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel snatching the title from under his nose.

Rosberg was quicker than Petrov but probably marginally slower than Alonso. But because the performance differential between the Mercedes and the Ferrari was much less, getting past Rosberg would not have been a given - even under the new rules.

So rather than watching a race in which overtaking was practically impossible, the audience would have known it was possible, but not inevitable, that Alonso would get by - and would have been on tenterhooks as they watched him try.

Such a scenario would have made the title-deciding race much more exciting.

Put like that, as long as F1 finds a way to make it obvious to the audience when a driver is using his movable rear wing, the introduction of such a device has at the very least got to be worth a try.

UPDATE 1530 GMT:

The FIA's decision to remove the rule banning team orders will doubtless offend those who did not like Ferrari's application of them in this year's German Grand Prix and who objected to the Italian team "getting away" with "only" a $100,000 fine for doing so.

But the move - telegraphed when the FIA said it would look into the rule after deciding against giving Ferrari further punishment - is the only practical solution open to F1.

However offensive some find team orders, there is simply no way of effectively policing a rule banning them. There are any number of ways a team could employ them without anyone finding out.

Ferrari might have got caught out because of the unsubtle way in which Felipe Massa was asked to let team-mate Fernando Alonso through in Hockenheim but other leading teams also employed what could be termed team orders in 2010 and no one complained about them - or, in some cases, even noticed.

It is about reality not idealism, logic not emotion.

If you cannot police a rule, what's the point of having it? And surely it's better to have it out in the open than to force teams to go through the ridiculous charades some - not just Ferrari - did last season.

The lifting of the ban does not mean all teams will act in the same way as Ferrari, who now don't need to be quite so secretive about Alonso being their number one driver.
It simply means that when teams choose to use them they don't have to cover it up.

In every other way, nothing will change.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/12/f1s_radical_plan_to_improve_ra.html

Yuji Ide Jesús Iglesias Taki Inoue Innes Ireland

Jimmie Johnson Wins Fifth Straight NASCAR Title, Carl Edwards Wins Race

Filed under: , , , , ,

The Jimmie Johnson dynasty in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series stretched to half a decade at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday as the most dominant driver the sport has ever seen won his fifth straight championship with a second-place finish in the Ford 400 season finale.

As Carl Edwards motored to his second straight victory in as many weeks, leading 190 laps, Johnson fought back from early pit problems, settled into his regular routine and came on at the end to seal the title.

For Edwards, the two consecutive victories came after a 70-race winless streak.

"This is unreal," Edwards said in victory lane. "It's a great way to finish the season. I think the way we're going, if we can start like that, our Aflac team will have a shot at them next year.

"To finish like this is unreal. It's just these guys not giving up. We don't give up. We've had just an unbelievable run toward the end of this season. It's just a great way to end the season."

The championship battle was a nail-biting contest whose complexion changed time and time again throughout the 267-lap event.



 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/jimmie-johnson-wins-fifth-straight-nascar-championship-as-carl-e/

Dodge Dodge Trevor Bayne Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota

Canadian GP: Hamilton denies Webber of pole, pushes car home!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBR7Za671lI/AAAAAAAAGUs/2i2O0617Pwc/s1600/Hamilton+denies+Webber+of+pole,+pushes+car+home%21.jpg

June 12 '10

Lewis Hamilton will begin tomorrow's race on pole position, beating the Red Bulls, who for the first time this season didn't qualify on pole.

Hamilton's final attempt to set the fastest time was when he crossed the line to start the lap with eight seconds remaining. This is his third pole in as many visits to Montreal.

Mark Webber yet again out qualified his Red Bull mate Sebastian Vettel. They both start second and third on the grid respectively.

In Q1

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4oIvMdzI/AAAAAAAAGT8/IDFivCVO-00/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_1.PNG


@Jamesallenonf1

Dropping out of Q1 were the usual suspects, the six drivers of the three new teams. A gearbox change on the HRT of Karun Chandhok limited him to just one run in Q1 and costing him a five-place grid penalty.

Heikki Kovalainen was the fastest of the new team drivers. He out-qualified his Lotus team mate Jarno Trulli by more than four-tenths of a second. Kovalainen's impressive performance put him in 19th position.

Also failing to make it into Q2 was Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi who had impressed us by reaching Q3 in Turkey couple of weeks back. He narrowly beat Kovalainen by just two-tenths of a second. At the end of Q1, Hamilton was quickest from Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Kubica, Button, Webber, Sutil, Petrov and Schumacher.

Drivers eliminated in Q1
18. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 18.019s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 18.237s
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 18.698s
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 18.941s
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 19.484s
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.675s
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1m 27.757s


In Q2

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4ohoS_TI/AAAAAAAAGUE/SZXREJ-AXOM/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_2.PNG


@Jamesallenonf1

Michael Schumacher failed to make the cut. He struggled for grip throughout the session and then when he came under pressure to clock a fast lap, he made a mistake at the final chicane and had to skip the corner altogether.

During the dying moments of the Q2 session, Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi improved on their lap times and pushed Jenson Button onto the relegation zone. Liuzzi had improved ahead of Schumi and when Button improved on his lap time, Schumacher got dropped into the relegation zone.

"I am obviously disappointed after today's qualifying," he said. "We simply did not have the balance or grip and overall we had a lot of problems with braking and handling. The car was just not performing as we expected. We had similar issues yesterday afternoon and we made some changes after second practice. This morning, the changes seemed to have made sense as our position was reasonable but this afternoon, I was facing similar issues again. It's difficult to understand the reasons at the moment but we will look deeply into it now and find a good strategy for the race tomorrow."

Up at the front it was as close as can be, one second separating the top 13 drivers. At the end of Q2 it was Hamilton again on top of the timing screens followed by Vettel, Alonso, Kubica, Webber, Button, Rosberg, Liuzzi and Sutil.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 16.434s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 16.438s
13. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.492s
14. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 16.844s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 16.928s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.029s
17. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.384s


In Q3

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4qSeNb6I/AAAAAAAAGUU/ZpIZFLOF4LM/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_3.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4pICezNI/AAAAAAAAGUM/Z95ONpwz8xQ/s1600/Copy+of+Jamesallenonf1_2.PNG


@Jamesallenonf1

Hamilton was at the top of the timing screens for majority of the session, until Fernando Alonso claimed it using super-soft tyres. Not far behind was Mark Webber who beat Alonso using the harder of the tyre and his team mate Sebastian Vettel claimed second, leaving Alonso in third. With eight seconds remaining, Hamilton began his final lap which eventually resulted in a spectacular pole, some two-tenths of a second faster than Webber.

But on his way back to the pits on a slowing-down lap, Hamilton's team radioed him to turn off his engine and save fuel as he had no sufficient fuel left in the tank for a mandatory fuel sample.

He unbuckled his belts and sat on the side of his cockpit as the car slowly rolled forward. He then jumped out of the rolling car and proceeded to push the car home along the back straight! His efforts were interrupted by the track marshalls and a medical car dropped him back to the pit lane.

BBC commentator Martin Brundle said, ?The FIA don?t take kindly to you not having enough fuel to get into the pits at the end of the lap ? they?ll be taking a look at that.?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBR5vpKG5TI/AAAAAAAAGUk/rwaAJWpF29E/s1600/002_small.jpg
Hamilton pushes his car home along the back straight

Whether or not Hamilton will be penalized will have to be seen. Assuming that he wont receive a penalty, Hamilton would still be vulnerable as he starts the race with the softest of the 2 compounds that Bridgestone have provided for the weekend. Super-soft tyres seem to grain a lot quicker at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as we saw during the second practice session. Red Bulls seem to be in a stronger position having qualified using the harder of the two compound tyres and starting the race from first and second row of the grid.

Said Vettel: ?Looking at the strategy, obviously, McLaren hopes for a safety car. We don?t know. There?s no guarantee, but we?ll see (Sunday). It?s a long race.?

Hamilton, for his part, said he didn?t think his team?s approach amounted to a particularly big gamble.

?Every race you?re taking gambles,? said Hamilton. ?It?s definitely interesting to see the two different strategies. It?ll be interesting to see how they pan out (Sunday) . . . I feel we?re in the best situation we can possibly be.?

Update:
Hamilton will keep his pole position. The FIA have issued a $10,000 fine for exceeding the maximum time allowed to return to the pits and given Hamilton an official reprimand.


Top ten drivers in Q3

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.105s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.373s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.420s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.435s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.520s
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 15.648s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.688s
8. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 15.715s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 15.881s
10. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.071s


Images(C) Daylife, F1aldia

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/yB7o_8t53Xw/canadian-gp-hamilton-denies-webber-of.html

Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota Paul Menard Brad Keselowski

F1 2011: Tyres, adjustable rear wings, 640 kg and...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TCNfBsjCsAI/AAAAAAAAGaw/J-XN8f4CWfY/s1600/Tyres,+adjustable+rear+wings,+640+kg+and....jpg

June 24 '10

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) announced a raft of decisions after a meeting in Geneva on Wednesday (June 23). Decisions include the rule clarification which involved Michael Schumacher at the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix, where he passed Fernando Alonso on the final lap when the safety car returned to the pits and was handed a twenty-second penalty. Also, repeat of Hamilton's Montreal qualifying stunt wont be allowed.

Others decisions are taken to "improve the show" which involves the use of proximity rear wing.

Tyres

We finally have an F1 tyre supplier for 2011. The FIA preferred the idea of Michelin, as did McLaren and Ferrari in particular. But it is Pirelli who have beaten off competition from Michelin. Pirelli becomes the official F1 tyre supplier from 2011. The Italian tyre manufacturer gets a three-year contract from 2011 to 2013. They last supplied F1 teams in 1991.

According to WMSC:

Pirelli has been selected as the single tyre supplier for the FIA Formula One World Championship for a period of three years, commencing in 2011. The sole supplier will undertake to strictly respect the sporting and technical regulations implemented by the FIA.

Safety Car

In the wake of the controversy involving Michael Schumacher in Monaco, the FIA has ruled that there will be no overtaking even when the safety car pulls in on the last lap of a race.


With immediate effect, no car may overtake until it has passed the first safety car line for the first time when the safety car is returning to the pits. However, if the safety car is still deployed at the beginning of the last lap, or is deployed during the last lap, it will enter the pit lane at the end of the lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.

General safety

Lewis Hamilton?s fine and reprimand after qualifying in Canada has resulted in a new rule requiring drivers to stay below a ?maximum time? set by the FIA on in-laps.

With immediate effect, any car being driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically, or which is deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers, will be reported to the stewards. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.

In order to ensure cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on in-laps during qualifying or reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the race, drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car line after the pit exit and safety car line before the pit entry. The maximum time will be determined by the race director at each event prior to the first day of practice, but may be amended during the event if necessary.


The grid

Next year, the 107 per cent qualifying rule will reappear. Any car not setting a time within 107% of the fastest time in the final part of qualifying, will not be allowed to start the race. This was dropped when single lap qualifying was introduced in 2002. There are exceptions however, whereby if a team sets competitive lap times during practice session, they maybe allowed to race.

From 2011, any driver whose best qualifying lap exceeds 107% of the fastest Q1 qualifying time will not be allowed to take part in the race. Under exceptional circumstances, however, which may include setting a suitable lap time in a free practice session, the stewards may permit the car to start the race. Should there be more than one driver accepted in this manner, the grid order will be determined by the stewards.

An analysis by F1Fanatic: "Had the rule as proposed been in place this year it would have prevented both HRT drivers from starting in Bahrain and Malaysia. Lucas di Grassi would have been out of the Malaysian race as well, leaving just 21 cars on the grid.

"Bruno Senna would have missed out on racing at Barcelona ? by just one-hundredth of a second ? and Karun Chandhok wouldn?t have been on the grid at Canada last week."


Adjustable rear wings

The FIA has banned F-ducts for 2011 and approved the debut of the proximity rear wing. The adjustable rear wing can only be operated by the drivers to overtake the car in front.

McLaren?s engineering director Paddy Lowe said on Wednesday, "In the race, you can?t use it (the wing) for the first two laps at all, but after that if you?re within a second of the car in front then you will be able to deploy it,?

?So that will be very interesting. That?s a FOTA initiative to improve the show and I think it?s very exciting.?

From 2011, adjustable bodywork may be activated by the driver at any time prior to the start of the race and, for the sole purpose of improving overtaking opportunities during the race, after the driver has completed two laps. The driver may only activate the adjustable bodywork in the race when he has been notified via the control electronics that it is enabled. It will only be enabled if the driver is less than one second behind another at any of the pre-determined positions around each circuit. The system will be disabled the first time the driver uses the brakes after the system has been activated. The FIA may, after consulting all the competitors, adjust the time proximity in order to ensure the purpose of the adjustable bodywork is met.

Weight

For the return of KERS, the minimum car-plus-driver weight will increase from 620kg to 640kg.

From 2011, the minimum weight of the car must not be less than 640 kg at all times during the event.

Licences

A ?four-race probationary super license? has been approved for Renault?s official third driver Ho-Pin Tung.

Based on his career résumé and comparative F1 testing times, the World Council has approved the granting of a four-race probationary super license to Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung.


Credit : GMM, fia.com, F1Fanatic Images(C) Daylife, F1Fanatic, F1.com, F1 Aldia

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/LmOuHTM0ZSw/f1-2011-tyres-adjustable-rear-wings-640.html

Richmond Menards Ford Carl Edwards Copart Ford Aric Almirola