The rumour mill seems to be starting to firm up the direction that F1 will go under the new regs for the 2013 season when the agreed major changes in the formula will happen.
So far it is looking as if the move will be to 1.6ltr, turbocharged 4cyl with a 10,000rpm limit. A fuel flow limmitation and an extended engine life rule will be used to keep power output under control at around 650bhp while making the formula more road car relevant.
That's a big drop in revs from the 20,000rpm they were getting out of the Cosworths a few years ago, and even these days the rev limits.
The 10k rev limit will make it a lot easier to make the engines run for longer.
There will be the option of recovering up to 150bhp from waste energy (read KERS, Heat exchange or transmission linked exhaust turbos) to encourage the development of green technology.
Hopefully it won't be as restricted as it was back in the 2009 KERS days, as that's what dulled the effect and therefore development of KERS packages.
These are the sort of things that make F1 road relevant, and should help bring back F1 to the pinnacle of development.
There will be limits on wing aero, but a freeing up of undercar shaping and exrended side pod lengths to give some ground effects advantage, Wheel rim diameter will be increased to bring tyres, and thus suspension design, closer to road car use.
Will we see the return of 'skirts' to F1 ? I'm tending to think no, as the ground effects in the early days of ground effects gave maximum grip, then pretty much nothing if a skirt lifted up, as that was when cars went off the track big time.
Expect a lot of "we'll all be rooned" comment from some, but I think it could be a huge step forward for F1, certainly in attracting engine manufacturers back to the sport.
Renault are already talking about buying back control of the F1 team if this goes ahead, and you can bet it will be attractive to VAG, BMW and the Korean and Japanese manufacturers.
It can certainly bring back some interesting times with great ideas coming forward, and that's what I liked about F1, the technology.
It is the road relevance that will bring back the manufacturers, where they can see any great tech achievements going back to their road going cars, and therefore increasing their sales.
KERS could've done that last year, but sadly it was too restricted... perhaps this time things will change.
The Concorde is also up for review and Martin Whitmarsh has made a few comments that indicate that FOTA would like to deal CVC out of the loop, and has made some pretty pointed remarks about a "succession" polict to replace Bernie.
Now that could be a very good idea.
What has CVC done to actually benefit F1 this century ? ... and where does the majority of the money go to rather than the teams ?
Giving the 'Viagra Dwarf' the flick could only improve things if you ask me.
Topic: F1 2013 Regs and Concorde (Read 365 times)
