T HE
SPIN
Drew Gibson/LAT
Clear as cloudy The FIA approved F1
V6 turbo engines for 2014 running to a
15,000rpm rev limit with electrical power
only in pit lane...which was news to
teams, who have asked for “clarification.”
Andrew Ferraro/LAT
LEAVING IT ALL BEHIND
The resolution of the long-simmering dispute over F1 diffusers coincides with
the end of Red Bull domination. Are Ferrari and McLaren ready to make a run?
The FIA confirmed following the British Grand Prix
that it will allow Formula 1 teams to keep running their
blown diffusers off-throttle for the rest of the season.
The apparent end of that thorny political issue came as the
championship race that had seemed moribund took on new life.
After a controversial British Grand Prix in which the
arguments over off-throttle use of blown diffusers dominated
affairs, the FIA said it would be willing to ditch its attempts to
outlaw the practice if all teams were in agreement. The matter
had reached a head after World Championship leader Red Bull
Racing was left fuming when a concession was handed to the
Mercedes-Benz-powered teams on reliability grounds for them
to run with a four-cylinder over-run under braking.
Red Bull had initially been allowed to keep a 50 percent
throttle opening, which it claimed it needed for reliability
reasons, but that was taken away on Saturday morning at
Silverstone, prompting fury from the team. The governing body
then held a series of meetings with technical chiefs to try and
find an answer that all teams would be happy with. Ultimately,
it was agreed that the rules would revert back to how they were
in Valencia, where teams could keep using their blown diffuser
under all conditions but would not be allowed to change engine
mapping settings between qualifying and the race. (see page 40
for the full story).
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s supremacy fell
by the wayside as Fernando Alonso’s
decisive victory revitalized Ferrari’s title
hopes. When Lewis Hamilton won for
McLaren next time out in Germany,
Sebastian Vettel’s second straight World
Championship suddenly seemed less than
certain. Vettel, though, seemed unmoved
by the apparent change in momentum.
“[At Silverstone,] unfortunately, we
were talking more about rules and rule
changes rather than the racing,” he
commented, “but from here we focus on
racing again. I think it has been fairly
tight all year, especially the last three
races with three different teams winning.”
We need to be like six or
seven teammates against
Vettel, which is not easy...
Alonso pledged a more aggressive
approach in qualifying in a bid to make
up lost ground. “It means to be aggressive
on the strategy, and don’t be too safe in
terms of response to different strategies
compared to the others,” said the Ferrari
driver. “It means to look at the usage of
new tires in Q1 and Q2. In Q1, maybe we
need to save tires to try to be on pole
position in Q3 – to have more sets
available there.”
Alonso also relished the return to
form of McLaren, which he reckoned to
be as significant as the speed of his own
car for his title chances.
“To beat Vettel in the championship
we need a combination of things – it is
not only Ferrari or me that must beat
Vettel. We need the best possible
combination of results for ourselves; we
need a very strong McLaren car as well to
take points from Red Bull. We need to be
like six or seven teammates against
Vettel, which is not easy to achieve.”
