FoxHound wrote:I'm pretty cool with that. But do we know if it was a team that went to the FIA, or the FIA taking this on themselves to be the purveyors of racing Valhalla we know them to be?
Charlie 'I Don't Have an Engineering Degree' Whiting wrote:Having now seen and studied nearly every current design of front to rear linked suspension system we, the FIA, are formally of the view that the legality of all such systems could be called into question, particularly with respect to compliance with Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations.
Fair enough, Chuck. But, what exactly does that mean?
3.15 Aerodynamic influence :
With the exception of the driver adjustable bodywork described in Article 3.18 [DRS] (in addition to minimal parts solely associated with its actuation) and the ducts described in Article 11.4 ["brake ducts," wink wink], any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic performance :
a) Must comply with the rules relating to bodywork.
b) Must be rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car (rigidly secured means not having any degree of freedom).
c) Must remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car.
Any device or construction that is designed to bridge the gap between the sprung part of the car and the ground is prohibited under all circumstances.
No part having an aerodynamic influence and no part of the bodywork, with the exception of the skid block in 3.13 above, may under any circumstances be located below the reference plane.
With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited.
If taken with resolute severity, which the FIA appears to have done with its recent clarification, it means 3.15 bans suspensions
period. A stiff suspension has an aerodynamic purpose; anti-dive geometry has an aerodynamic purpose; anti-squat geometry has an aerodynamic purpose, and they all involve all sorts of movement. That the noble federation has even attempted to distinguish and question the legality of one suspension dynamic from amongst others with the exact same function is, to me, a sign of cognitive dissonance. (From what I saw, the active/passive debate missed the point in that regard.)
In a peripheral way, I understand the need to point a finger toward an ambitious team or two as progenitor(s) for the clarification. But, one has to understand that a rational body would scoff at any suggestion of FRIC's impropriety as currently defined within the rules, because it's very much like trying to claim that the gyroscopic effect of a turbine constitutes illegal stability control. It's patently absurd.