SEASON PREVIEW
HOT AIR STILL RISES
The exhaust debate wafted
on through the off-season
The FIA did not like the idea
of using the engine to directly
influence aerodynamics,
especially when it involved using
extra fuel. So with the intention of
outlawing exhaust-blown diffusers,
the 2012 regulations have tightly
defined the position and shape of the
exhaust outlets and imposed further
engine mapping restrictions.
But then came the usual paranoia.
It seems one engine manufacturer
suspected another of getting around
the intention of the mapping
restrictions while still meeting the
letter of the regulation. So the
suspicious manufacturer outlined the
theory to Charlie Whiting, head of
F1’s Technical Department. He has
since been working on re-wording the
rulebook to outlaw what is believed
to have been a use of the idle setting
to give an off-throttle blowing boost,
which would increase downforce
when trained upon, say, the rear
beam wing (as is still feasible under
the new regs).
As Mercedes-Benz team principal
Ross Brawn explained, there’s a fine
line between agreeing on regulations
and then taking advantage of them:
“Teams go through a period of
finding the best regulations they can
with good spirit and proper intent,”
he said, “and then you reach a stage
where those regulations are fixed
with the best intent. But if an
engineer then comes along with a
good idea, we have to consider it. You
cannot unlearn what you’ve learned
and so you’re trying to find new ways
to create a similar effect.”
It’s not believed that even with
the loophole still present the effect
would be anything like as powerful as
last year, when the exhausts could be
routed directly to the diffuser channels,
with an effect worth around one
second per lap. But if there’s an
advantage to be gained, no matter how
small, F1 engineers will sniff it out.
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well as reports after every session, on
Red Bull appears to have the quickest
car again but Hamilton’s McLaren (LEFT)
should be a threat. Rosberg (BELOW)
could become a winner at last. Petrov
(ABOVE) replaces Trulli at Caterham.
Glenn Dunbar/LAT
Andy Hone/LAT
“At the time of writing, the Ferrari
F2012 had shown no great turn of
speed, its handling appeared edgy
and its traction was poor”
Raikkonen’s former – legendary – pace
was still very much intact.
Mercedes waited until the Barcelona
tests to debut its new W03 which is
totally unrelated to the disappointing
short-wheelbase car of 2011, and it
immediately showed promising form,
being among the first to complete race
simulation runs. With the cars still in
their initial forms – before their Round 1
(Melbourne) update kits were ready – the
Benzes appeared to be nudging the
McLaren for ultimate pace, if not long-run consistency. At the
time of writing, the team was still endeavoring to gain a better
balance in the interests of tire conservation. There are several
interesting technical tricks on the car, most notably the “W duct”
in which airflow entering an aperture in the nose is fed through
hollows in the nose pillars to ducts on the underside of the
front wing to give a momentary boost in downforce to the more
heavily loaded side of the car during the transition into a corner.
