Open letter to the FIA with respect to the rule changes for 2014

Dear FIA,

The rule changes for the 2014 season with respect to Engine, Energy Recovery Systems (ERS), Fuel, front wing etc. is really encouraging and a step in the right direction. Especially the engine change, where the current 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 engines will be replaced with 1.6-litre V6 turbo charged engines and the modified and enhanced KERS, which is now called ERS (Energy Recovery Systems).

Regarding the Engine change

The 2014 V6 turbo unit

The introduction of 1.6-litre V6 turbo charged engines in place of the current 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 engines is good, as the turbo charged engines are more powerful and efficient when compared to the current 2.4-litre V8 engines. Turbo charged engines can significantly improve the power-to-weight ratio for the engine and most importantly is more fuel efficient. This goes a long way in telling the world that Formula 1 is indeed doing its bit to address the concerns regarding global warming and climate change.

ERS (Energy Recovery Systems)

ERS together with the engine is going to form the powertrain or power unit. ERS is not only performing the basic function of KERS which is to capture the energy generated during braking and converting it to extra horse power for the engine, but it is also performing the additional function of generating power using the waste heat from the engine’s turbocharger, which could generate around 160 extra break horse power. This to an extent might help in increasing the overtaking maneuvers.

But on the flip side, these two changes relating to engine and ERS will favor the manufacturing teams like Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault as these teams alone have the necessary technology and resources to make effective use of such advanced technology. But these concerns can somehow be managed. But there is one more worrying factor in the rule changes, it is regarding the Minimum weight limit of the car.

Concerns regarding the Minimum Weight rule in 2014

As the the rules prescribed by you, minimum weight of the Formula 1 car includes all the components of the car including like engine, ERS etc. and the weight of the driver. The weight limit of a Formula 1 car is 642 kg as per the current regulations. This is limit is already proving as a disadvantage to certain drivers like Jenson Button, Paul Di Resta, Nico Hulkenberg and Mark Webber who are all over 6ft tall (as a result they proportionally weigh more).

Especially after the introduction of KERS (the KERS unit weighs around 20 kilos), drivers are already on the edge. In the British Grand Prix this year, Paul Di Resta was disqualified from qualifying after his car was found to be 1.5kg under the minimum weight limit, forcing him to start at the back of the grid.

Formula 1 drivers already have to go through grueling fitness regimes to stay fit, and in addition to this, if such stringent norms on the weight of the Formula 1 car are imposed, it is extremely unfair for the drivers. Although the weight limit for the 2014 Formula 1 car has been raised to 690 kilos from 642 kilos, this increase of a mere 42 kilos accounts for nothing as the turbo charged engines and the ERS is going to take up majority the of this increased weight limit.

As a result, this has led to teams ideally designing the cars around a lighter, shorter driver giving them more leeway to fit things around. As a result of this, the “ideal” weight of a Formula 1 driver is somewhere between 60-65 kg. But the drivers in question, Paul Di Resta (74kg), Nico Hulkenberg (74kg), Jenson Button (70kg) and Mark Webber (75Kg) are all 10 kilos “overweight”. It is widely speculated that this “weighty issue” is what is preventing Hulkenberg from grabbing a seat at McLaren.

Mark Webber and Jenson Button

This leaves no option for the taller and slightly heavier drivers, but to curb their eating habits. Former World champion Jenson Button had to say this, “I couldn’t be heavier than I am, so I fast. I don’t eat carbohydrates at all”. Button is not only one miffed with this rule, Mark Webber too is not happy with the way things are. Webber had this to say, “Haven’t eaten for the last 5 years!

Paul Di Resta

A Formula 1 driver looses close to 3 kg after every race and doesn’t deserve to be put through such stringent diet regimes. The body can only take so much; the drivers shouldn’t be pushed to a limit which could prove detrimental to their health. Paul Di Resta reflects on this point by saying, “For me I would rather be a kilo heavier and be fit. Your body is always on the edge.”

To add salt on the wound, every additional 10kg of weight on an F1 car is worth on average 3/10ths of a second per lap over a season. A car being overweight also affects the data gathering. Formula 1 engineers like to run instruments and measuring equipment on the car, to study air flows and other parameters. If the car is overweight they can’t do this and miss out on the data gathering. Mclaren Team Principle Martin Whitmarsh has no encouraging words to say either, “We have to find a solution, but I doubt we will find one in the next few weeks or months. But sadly, the way it has worked out means the heavier drivers will be less attractive. It has happened by accident. We have raised the minimum weight but the new powertrains are heavier than people expected and now have a situation where heavier drivers could be a disadvantage.”

Any driver who wants to enter Formula 1 must do so based on his skill and talent, and not on the criteria of how much he weighs. This move of yours regarding the minimum weight limit a the Formula 1 car is highly discouraging to the prospective Formula 1 drivers who are tall and as a result weigh more. So, we the ardent fans of Formula 1 urge you to have a look into this rule and redraft it in a way which is not discriminatory to any driver.