As you’ve no doubt noticed while perusing Auto123.com’s pages, we’re at that time of year again when the new Formula 1 cars are being strutted out in preparation for the 2012 season.
Each new day brings its share of pictures showcasing the new machines in all their glory, or just about: some teams choose to conceal crucial details so the competition doesn’t know what’s coming.
What’s most striking about these images is that although they’re created by 12 distinct engineering teams, all the cars look surprisingly similar. In fact, other than a few minor details, such as the weird platypus face adorning some of the cars, they all look like the product of a feverish cut-and-paste operation!
But the fault lies with the Formula 1 technical regulations that are just too restrictive.
The FIA rule book dictates all the terms, from body size to mass distribution to the height of the engine’s centre of gravity, and it forbids a ton of stuff. And so, faced with ridiculous constraints, all the F1 teams end up designing pretty much the same thing…
Take away the decals and strip the paint off the 2012 cars, and you’ll see that they’re pretty much identical. Formula 1 could almost pass for the IndyCar or GP2 championship, which run a single type of car.
Thankfully, we still have the endurance races, where interesting mechanical evolutions are allowed, evolutions that fascinate the world’s automakers.
Audi will toss its conventional R18s into the fray at Le Mans, as well as its new LMP1 turbodiesel hybrids. Toyota will flex its competitive muscles at Le Mans as well, with a gas-hybrid LMP1.
Not to mention the revolutionary DeltaWing, seemingly plucked straight out of a sci-fi extravaganza. Will it perform adequately on the track? We’ll find out in June.
And let’s not forget the projects that are still in the works, such as hydrogen-powered prototypes and all-electric concepts.
The world endurance scene is evolving, and it’s a shame that Formula 1 isn’t taking the same path…
Each new day brings its share of pictures showcasing the new machines in all their glory, or just about: some teams choose to conceal crucial details so the competition doesn’t know what’s coming.
What’s most striking about these images is that although they’re created by 12 distinct engineering teams, all the cars look surprisingly similar. In fact, other than a few minor details, such as the weird platypus face adorning some of the cars, they all look like the product of a feverish cut-and-paste operation!
But the fault lies with the Formula 1 technical regulations that are just too restrictive.
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| Photo: DeltaWing Racing |
The FIA rule book dictates all the terms, from body size to mass distribution to the height of the engine’s centre of gravity, and it forbids a ton of stuff. And so, faced with ridiculous constraints, all the F1 teams end up designing pretty much the same thing…
Take away the decals and strip the paint off the 2012 cars, and you’ll see that they’re pretty much identical. Formula 1 could almost pass for the IndyCar or GP2 championship, which run a single type of car.
Thankfully, we still have the endurance races, where interesting mechanical evolutions are allowed, evolutions that fascinate the world’s automakers.
Audi will toss its conventional R18s into the fray at Le Mans, as well as its new LMP1 turbodiesel hybrids. Toyota will flex its competitive muscles at Le Mans as well, with a gas-hybrid LMP1.
Not to mention the revolutionary DeltaWing, seemingly plucked straight out of a sci-fi extravaganza. Will it perform adequately on the track? We’ll find out in June.
And let’s not forget the projects that are still in the works, such as hydrogen-powered prototypes and all-electric concepts.
The world endurance scene is evolving, and it’s a shame that Formula 1 isn’t taking the same path…