FIA plans further regulation tweaks for 2015
At today's WMSC meeting at Geneva, Switzerland, along with amendments to the 2014 regulations, a number of intentions were agreed beyond the coming Formula One season, including yet another tweak to the nose cone design regulations.
Even though the proposals are still subject to agreement of the F1 Commission, the most notable change includes the possibility for teams to take a supplier for suspension elements and brake ducts. The current regulations require each competing constructor to manufacture and design these elements by themselves. Only drivetrain elements can currently be bought from other suppliers.
The move comes as a first step to maintain constructor interest in Formula One at a moment where cost are dwindling out of control.
A few changes to the technical regulations were also agreed, including another increase of the minimum weight limit, up from 691kg in 2014 to 701kg the next year. The change indicates the weight increase for the new drive trains was considerably underestimated at the introduction of the 1.6l V6 engine regulations. Only yesterday, Force India technical director Andrew Green indicated that the new VJM07 was a little overweight although he was hopeful this could be resolved during the course of the season.
Another thing that the WMSC realised was not properly set out in the rules are the nose cone regulations, which more and more appear to have produced some very intricate designs that may not be all too pleasing for the eye. Under the guise of safety, a new regulation tweak must now make sure that steps in the nose are history by specifying a limit in the slope of the upper section of the nose. However subtle, this change will prevent teams from designing extreme monocoques at the maximum allowed height, attached with a nosecone that steeply slopes down to meet the nose height and size regulations.
Finally, and far from new is the intention to completely ban tyre heating devices as of 2015. Electrical blankets are currently the only allowed means to heat tyres before fitting them to cars, but their use has somewhat dwindled out of control as teams currently have a host of tyres simultaneously heated in the back of the garage during the entire race weekends. Banning them will make it trickier for drivers coming out of the pits while simplifying pit work and reducing transportation cost. Every little bit helps...
