Formula 1 rule changes in the new millennium

Cars zooming in excess of 150 kmph around a twisty, turning path, breathtaking overtakes, lightning quick pit stops – the sport of Formula 1 is all about speed. What happens if you take the speed out of Formula 1? Will the sport fade into oblivion eventually? Since the turn of the century, Formula 1 has seen tremendous rules and regulation changes. Some from a technical point of view, others to enhance driver and spectator safety and a few to ensure cost limiting. To give a brief overview, I take a look at the major rule changes effected since the new millennium.

The end of the 1990’s saw a new era of racing. Cars were becoming faster, safety systems were being put into place and the sport was based on pure speed. Mercedes and Ferrari engines were dominating while BMW would pump out extraordinary amounts of horsepower on straights. Cars were still fitted with a 3.0l V10 engine during the 2000 F1 season.

The 2001 season saw traction control being introduced again. This effectively gave the drivers the freedom to monster corners and the following years saw lap times toppling one after another. Top speeds reached well in excess of 300 kmph on flat-out tracks like Monza. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher dominated the early years of the decade with 5 consecutive World Championships from 2000 to 2004. By the end of the 2005 season, critics and former drivers were beginning to question if the sport depended on machines and computers alone instead of testing the ability of the driver.

And thus began the major overhaul of rules from 2006. The engine capacity was reduced to 2.4l with V8’s instead of the V10’s. Teams were allowed only 14 sets of tyres, which included the dry and wet tyres, for an entire race weekend. The race pace slowed considerably due to the reduced engine power and limited available sets of tyres. However, the sport became more competitive with Renault breaking the dominance of Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes to win consecutive World Championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

Prior to the following season, Michelin announced it would be pulling out of Formula 1, thus giving Bridgestone the monopoly of tyre supply. The driver ability was further put to test with the rule that every driver must use both sets of dry tyres (hard and soft) during the course of the race. In 2008, the FIA announced that traction control would be banned for the second and final time. This meant that drivers would now have to assess their speed at every corner to avoid understeer and wheelspin at the corner exit. It is no coincidence that since then we have seen a big bunch of young drivers coming up due to sheer talent by showing some outstanding performances in mid-table cars (for proof, see Sebastian Vettel at Monza, 2008).

2009 saw the banning of almost all aerodynamic devices with only the front and the rear wings allowed to aid the driver. The KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) was introduced which stored some of the energy generated during braking and convert it to temporary horsepower to give the car an increase of around 80bhp.

Coming to the end of the decade, we see cost cutting influencing the sport. For the 2010 season, refuelling during the race was banned. The top 10 drivers had to start with the same tyres with which they set their fastest qualifying times. In-season testing was banned for all teams as well while all a unanimous decision was made to not use KERS, to allow every team time to develop and perfect their own system.

The new decade brought in environmental and economic considerations. This was done to ensure the future of the sport during times of dwindling fossil fuels as well as to attract more sponsors. The double diffuser was banned and teams required to use only a single diffuser for the 2011 season. To make the sport more competitive, DRS (Drag Reduction System) was introduced. While these rules have stayed put till date, the only major change during the 2012 season was to allow in-season testing at a pre-defined track as decided by the FIA. The FIA has announced that the 2014 season will see 1.6l, V6 turbo-charged engines replacing the current 2.4l, V8’s.

There is no doubt that the rule changes have visibly affected the sport. Since the latter part of the decade, Formula 1 has definitely given importance to driver ability and skill. Lap times are not as quick as they used to be and cars are barely crossing the 300 kmph barrier. However, it is evident that the sport has become much more competitive. But with more rule changes applied in the foreseeable future, it remains to be seen if the sport of speed is becoming slower or not.