2023-09-13 15:15:00
We have already told you that the FIA has sent out to all Formula 1 teams a draft of a new technical directive, which is aimed at tightening control over the flexibility of wings. Now this technical directive TD018 will come into force in Singapore.
On the eve of the stage on the city circuit, FIA technical director Tim Goss explained the reasons for issuing the directive and added that it was not directed against any specific teams, but was intended to provide equal conditions for everyone.
Tim Goss: “There are a lot of smart engineers in Formula 1 who are looking for opportunities to get the most out of the regulations. In turn, we must be sure that everyone understands the boundaries of what is permitted. We must take a fair and balanced approach to working with teams.
Lately we have seen that too much freedom is taken with the design elements of aerodynamic components. For us, an important point in Paragraph 3.2.2 of the technical regulations is the phrase that “all aerodynamic components or body elements that affect the aerodynamic characteristics of the car must be rigidly fixed and motionless in relation to their reference frame, and they must rest on a homogeneous, durable, a hard and continuous surface under all circumstances.”
It has now become obvious that it is impossible to achieve absolute rigidity. That’s why we have a series of load bending tests that determine how much machine components can bend. We designed these tests to understand what teams are trying to achieve and to place reasonable limits on them.
We play by these rules, and teams strive to take every opportunity to make elements as flexible as possible within the rules. And that’s okay.
The purpose of the technical directive is simply to ensure that the FIA and the teams have a common understanding of where we draw the line that should not be crossed when designing car components.”
Tim Goss noted that, unlike most other technical directives, this time the need to take action was not caused by complaints from teams, but by the need to clarify the specifics of the regulation: “In technical directive TD018 we included various examples of designs that we consider unacceptable and exceptions which we consider to be permitted.”
As often happens in such cases, the FIA first consulted with the teams, collected feedback and only then released the final version of the technical directive.
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