Share

F1 teams to face wrath over regs

LONDON, England - The International Automobile Federation is pushing hard for its regulations to be fully respected by F1 teams for the rest of the 2015 season.

This the governing body has already clamped down on fuel-flow but now Auto Motor and Sport reports that the federation is to target engine upgrades introduced for, they say, 'reliability'.

READ: F1 fogies wake up: new rules for 2017

Amid the current engine 'freeze', F1's engine makers are able to modify their 'power units' for reliabilitywithout dipping into their allocation of upgrade tokens.

HONDA'S UNEXPLAINED POWER

Honda, for instance, appears to have taken big steps so far in 2015 - reportedly to the tune of 38kW - without using a performance token

The German media report said the federation issued a technical directive in Monaco warning that manufacturers would now have to lodge an application for "reliability" upgrades at least eight days before they were due to be deployed on track.

The application, the federation said, would have to include explanations, drawings, photos and test-bench data to prove the changes really were for reliability and not performance.

FERRARI WIND-TUNNEL PROBED

Another issue being freshly targeted is in the well-trodden area of flexiwings.

Spain's El Confidencial has reported that a new 50 Newtons load-test would be applied for front-wing flexibility compliance from June 2015's Canadian F1 GP and media reports in Italy suggest that Ferrari's wind-tunnel at Maranello would be inspected by federation representatives.

This follows rumours after the recent "strategy group" meeting that some rival teams, perhaps Mercedes, questioned Ferrari's activities when it came to helping the new American entrant Haas prepare for its 2016 debut.

Wind-tunnel use in F1 is now tightly controlled. It was suspected that Ferrari might be benefiting from the data being produced in the tunnel to develop the 2016 Haas car.

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2015 F1 season – fresh reports every day.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()