With the loss in downforce thanks to the aerodynamic changes to the 2009 package, the speeds of the 2009 cars would have reduced dramatically compared to their 2008 counterparts. To counter this sudden decrease in speed of the cars and to provide better mechanical grip, FIA decided to reintroduce Slick tyres to Formula One after 11 years.
Slick tyres provide much better road grip compared to the grooved tyres used in Formula One since 1998. The testing times of the cars in the winter tests proved that the slick tyres helped the cars regain the lost aerodynamic grip and more.
The FIA have started to backtrack over their decision to make changes to the points system for the 2009 Formula One season. The new rules have received a lot of criticism from drivers and teams alike.
The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) gave the FIA a statement explaining that changes as large as these could not be implemented without unanimous support of all the teams involved.
The FIA have responded with the following statement:
On 17 March, the FIA World Motor Sport Council unanimously rejected FOTA’s proposed amendment to the points system for the Formula One Drivers’ Championship. The ‘winner takes all’ proposal made by the commercial rights holder (who had been told that the teams were in favour) was then approved.
If, for any reason, the Formula One teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010.
So looks like the point system is going to remain the same as last year.
Personally I was looking forward to the change in the rules to spice up the racing a bit more. It now looks like we will have to wait and watch what will happen in 2010.
Jarno Trulli explains the aerodynamic changes to Formula One for the 2009 Season.
Toyota have looked strong in pre season testing. As Trulli says at the end of the video, they are hoping this season to pick up their first win in Formula One.
In a bid to improve overtaking and make the ‘show’ more entertaining, the FIA decided to introduce dramatic changes to the Aerodynamic regulations of Formula One cars. The idea was largely reduce the aerodynamic downforce and increase the Mechanical Grip of the cars.
The changes to the cars make them visibly less appealing than their earlier counterparts. The larger front wing and the narrower and taller rear wing were added to allow much more closer racing. The idea predominantly being to allow cars to follow each other much closer over the turns allowing them to produce more overtaking opportunities. The lack of winglets, barge boards, turning vanes, chimneys, Viking horns or dumbo ears meant that the cars had to be designed from scratch.
Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has approved the change prioritizing race wins over points for the Driver World Championship. According to the new rule the World Drivers Champion for 2009 (and later) will the be the driver with the maximum number of race wins. In case of a tie, the champion will be decided by the point system.
The FOTA proposal for the 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 point system was vetoed by the FIA at the motorsport council meeting earlier in the week. The medal system suggested by Bernie Eccelstone was very similar to the final decided system albeit without the medals.
Reb Bull Racing has come up with a beautiful video explaining the rule changes to effect Formula One in 09. The video is pretty old but a must watch for every F1 fan.
It is less that two weeks to go to the opening race of the 2009 season. As the teams prepare themselves to go racing, it is time for us fans to be prepared for the changes that we are going to see.
Towards the end of the 2007 season, in a view to make more dramatic racing and reduce the cost of running a Formula One team, FIA decided on major rule changes for the 2009 and later seasons. Already engines were expected to survive two race weekends in 07 but nobody was prepared for the changes to be brought about for the 09 season.
With less than two weeks remaining to the start of 2009 season of Formula One, it seems like a good time to start talking F1 again. F1Jam.com is back after an hiatus to report, discuss and argue all that is Formula One.
As sweeping changes are introduced to the cars, rules and teams… looks like the only thing remaining as it was, are the fans. In the next two weeks, F1Jam will give you all the details you need to know before the start of the 09 season.
Fernando Alonso won the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in frantastic style after a brilliant move on strategy. Rosberg finished behind the Spaniard and Lewis crossed the line 3rd. Kimi Raikonnen’s crash with 5 laps to go gave Ferrari a point-less race as Massa finished 13th after a pit lane incident ruined his amazing first stint.
Starting 15th on the grid it looked like points would have been impossible for the Spaniard but deciding to go light in the first stint worked perfectly. Alonso gained 3 places by the second corner and overtook a heavy Trulli before pitting. Then in a twist of fate, Nelson Piquet crashed dramatically into the wall forcing the safety car out.
Kubica and Rosberg pitted while the pitlane was closed and came out ahead of the Double World Champion. Fisichella and Trulli added to the confusion by staying on track and remaining P3 and P2 respectively. Kubica and Rosberg were given 10s stop go penalty causing them to lose the coveted chance of winning the race. With Fisichella and Trulli pitting, Alonso was left with a clear track to show the real potential of the R28.
Lapping within .2s of the fastest lap(which again went to Kimi Raikkonnen) Alonso put an amazing 23s towards the end of the race. Then Sutil crashed his Force India at the entrance of the tunnel bringing out the Safety car. The restart was faster than the previous safety car and saw Alonso pull away at over 2s a lap. The win was just a formality after this. Flavio wiping a tear as Alonso picked his 20th Race win of his career and first since Italy 2007.
Massa and Lewis controlled the race from the start running away from the others in fantastic fashion. Kimi’s late response saw him catching up the front pair towards the end of stint one. The fateful safety car ruined the race of the top 3 drivers forcing them to pit. Massa was further effected by the being released too early from the pit lane causing him to pull away the fuel rig with him. By the time Ferrari recovered, Kimi and Massa had lost too much time.
Lewis is now 7 points clear of Massa as the F1 championship reaches its home stretch. This win gives Renault breathing space from Toyota and Alonso 11 point lead over Vettel in the driver championship.
After a brief unexpected hiatus the F1Jam team is back to give you a different point of view of your favorite sport.
In a few months which saw the a lot changing… From the World Champions to the reordered backmarkers of the sport to the brutal sessions in the courtroom, the one thing we guarantee that has not changed is our drive to bring you the very best point of views of the sport.
