At the same time, a reduction in downforce means lower cornering speeds and therefore theoretically slower lap times. To avoid this, the new aerodynamic rules should also reduce the air resistance on the cars by 55 percent. This should make the cars faster, especially on the straights, and compensate for the time lost due to the lower downforce.
Another aerodynamic innovation awaits the teams in the area of active overtaking aids. Until now, the drivers had the so-called “Drag Reduction System”, or DRS for short, at their disposal. This is a system that allows drivers to fold up the rear wing at the push of a button, thereby reducing air resistance and thus achieving higher top speeds. The previous rules only allowed drivers to use DRS on certain sections of the route if they were within one second of another vehicle. This should make overtaking maneuvers easier.
In the future, DRS will be replaced by more comprehensive active aerodynamics. Drivers will be able to change their wing settings while driving without being tied to a specific distance from the vehicle in front. Both the rear and front wings should be able to be adjusted at fixed points on a route. In the future, a distinction will be made between the so-called
At the engines In its efforts to become climate neutral, Formula 1 is relying on hybrid drives, which have replaced pure combustion engines since the 2014 season. After the racing series had previously steadily reduced the size of the combustion engines from twelve cylinders to ten cylinders and finally to eight cylinders, since 2014 the “power units” have consisted of a six-cylinder combustion engine and an electrically powered part. The combustion engine made up around 80 percent of the output, the electric share was around 20 percent.
The battery for the electric motor was constantly recharged while driving. The so-called MGU-H and MGU-K were responsible for this. These were systems that generate electrical energy from the exhaust heat (MGU-H) and the heat generated by friction during braking (MGU-K) and store it in the engine battery.