F1 Technical Specification Discussion Centre

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Dash roll structure point maximum height

With the cockpit opening fixed at 550mm, teams have often raised the front of the chassis around the dash bulkhead to create a raised nose. In the first of several limits for both 2011 and 2013, with even more stringent plans for 2013, the height of the front of the chassis is now being controlled. The limit for this point is now 670mm, still some 120mm above the cockpit opening.

“15.2.3 The highest point of the second structure may not be more than 670mm above the reference plane and must pass a static load test details of which may be found in Article 17.3.”

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Limit on front chassis height

As already explained teams raise the position of the front (AA) and dash (BB) bulkheads to create space under the nose for airflow to pass in between the front wheels and reach the rear of the car. The trend for “V” sections noses, introduced on the Red Bull RB5 in 2009, makes the front of the chassis even higher, often being visible above the height of the front tyres (~660mm). Now both these bulkheads need to be at 625mm, some 75mm above the cockpit opening.

“15.4.4 The maximum height of the survival cell between the lines A-A and B-B is 625mm above the reference plane.”

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Limit on shaped Rear Impact Structures

Since the 2009 aero rules, teams have been shaping the rear impact structures into ever more curved shapes to lift it clear of the diffuser and pass it underneath the beam wing. The tail of this structure must be centred at 300mm high, to prevent extreme banana shaped structures, this rule forces the structure to vary by no more 275mm.

“Furthermore, when viewed from the side, the lowest and highest points of the impact absorbing structure between its rear face and 50mm aft of the rear wheel centre line may not be separated vertically by more than 275 mm.”

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In Turkey, both Ferrari drivers have been using the new front wing tested only briefly
by Fernando Alonso in Shangai. It's different from the previous one in all areas. Totally
new is the endplate, with the lower part (1) cut as it was on last year's F10. The main profile
is shaped differently in the area beside the endplate (2) and the endplate itself is now thinner
and more curved towards the outside (3).  The flap is divided into two sections which have
different profiles (4 & 5), while the central pillars (6) now converge towards the rear of the nose.
Finally there is a new adjustment mechanism (7) for the flap's incidence angle, similar to
that used by most other teams.

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Toro Rosso STR6 - integrated brake solution

This is a totally new solution introduced by Toro Rosso in Turkey, with the suspension

upright and the fixing bell for the brake disc integrated as a single unit. Usually the bell is

separate and then attached to the carbon disc to fix it to the upright (inset). This clever

solution saves a little weight and is also stiffer.

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For the next round in Spain there will be a lot of changes on the Mercedes, with
a new cooling system and exhausts.  In Istanbul, however, they have again been
taking advantage of this front wing, as used in China, with a slot in the main plane
(highlighted in yellow). Together with a different aero and mechanical set-up, this has
significantly improved the handling of the car.

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Red Bull brought to Istanbul a more sophisticated version of their exhaust, which
better integrates with the car's side diffuser. But the new solution was destroyed when
Sebastian Vettel slid off the track and into the barriers during Friday practice. So both
Vettel and Mark Webber ran the team's more conventional solution (seen here) during qualifying
and the race. It features a small horizontal flap (highlighted in yellow), originally introduced by
Toro Rosso at the launch of their car (and subsequently tested by Ferrari on Friday), designed
to improve cohesion between the air flowing from the exhausts (red arrows) and from the
rear diffuser (blue arrows).

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Renault came to Istanbul with a front-wing solution similar to Ferrari's in that it has
much longer central pillars, with the cameras mounted on the inside. The rest of the wing
is largely similar to the team's previous solution.

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Ferrari ran this rear wing in Friday's practice sessions in Spain, but had to revert back to their Turkey-spec design from Saturday onwards after the FIA deemed it illegal. The area of controversy was the additional Gurney flaps on the top (in yellow), which took the wing 30mm over the normal maximum height limit. That limit is 950mm above the reference plane (the lowest part of the car, excepting the plank), the same as for the engine cover and roll-over structure. Ferrari claimed the flaps were not actually not part of the wing, but were actually part of the slot-gap separator, or rear wing supports, which are exempt from the height requirement. The FIA disagreed and decided that the configuration breached article 3.10.3 of the technical regulations. Charlie Whiting conceded that it was a clever interpretation, but felt it was not within the spirit of the rules.

FIA Technical Regulations, Article 3.10.3:
In order to ensure that the individual profiles and the relationship between these two sections can only change whilst the car is in motion in accordance with Article 3.18, they must be bridged by means of pairs of rigid impervious supports arranged such that no part of the trailing edge of the forward section may be more than 200mm laterally from a pair of supports. These pairs of supports must :
- be located no more than 355mm from the car centre line ;
- fully enclose each complete sections such that their inner profiles match that of each section. With the exception of minimal local changes where the two sections are adjacent to each other, their outer profiles must be offset from the inner profiles by between 8mm and 30mm and may not incorporate any radius smaller than 10mm ('gurney' type trim tabs may however be fitted between the supports) ;
- be aligned as a pair so as to provide a bearing across their full thickness and along a profile length of at least 10mm when the distance between the two sections is at its closest position ;
- not be recessed into the wing profiles (where a recess is defined as a reduction in section at a rate greater than 45° with respect to a lateral axis) ;
- be arranged so that any curvature occurs only in a horizontal plane ;- be between 2mm and 5mm thick ;
- be rigidly fixed to their respective sections ;
- be constructed from a material with modulus greater than 50GPa.
These supports will be ignored when assessing whether the car is in compliance with Articles 3.6, 3.9.2, 3.10.1, 3.10.2, 3.10.4 and 3.10.6.

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Force India VJM04 - revised nose and front wing



Force India have brought to Spain the new nose and front wing they introduced at
the last round in Istanbul (main picture). Very different to the bulkier one used previously
(right-hand inset), the new solution has a Red Bull-inspired nose section and features aero
devices on its underside similar to those introduced by Williams two years ago and used
by McLaren in 2010 and this year (left-hand inset). Other new components to look out for
are the revised endplates and the three wing elements. In the end, however, the team opted
to use the previous standard wing configuration for qualifying and the race. They also tested
Red Bull-style exhausts on Friday, but again decided not to run the solution on Saturday
and Sunday.

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Mercedes have brought new bodywork to Spain, including slightly different deformable
side structures (red arrow), necessitating a further FIA side crash test. There is also a revised
radiator installation (black arrows), although the double floor layout (currently unique in
Formula One), has been retained. The team have also modified the car's rear
suspension geometry.

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McLaren have brought a massive upgrade to Spain. There's a new gearbox and rear
suspension, a new front wing design, plus new sidepods and a modified exhaust/diffuser
layout. Here is seen the longer version of the sidepods, which the team tested on Friday.
They opted to remove the final section of the sidepods for qualifying and the race.

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With just a week between the Spanish and Monaco rounds, it was a surprise to see
a new engine cover on the Ferrari in Monte Carlo (main picture), but a closer inspection
reveals it isn't an entirely new solution. The Italian team developed it for the Malaysian
event back in April, but didn't run it in the Sepang race because the cooler-than-expected
weather conditions rendered it unnecessary. The large hole at the back (left-hand inset)
through which hot air is evacuated allows a glimpse of the car's rear suspension. The solution
is very similar, though perhaps not quite as clean, as the one seen on the Red Bull. The
change means that the base of the engine cover and upper 'shark fin' now converge,
unlike on the previous version (right-hand inset).

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Ferrari introduced a new front wing at the Turkish round and updated it for
last weekend's Spanish race. In Monaco another revision has been made to the wing
(main picture), with a single flap replacing the two-section version (inset). This is
designed to boost downforce at slow speeds around the narrow and tricky Monte
Carlo streets. The 150° Italia's rear wing, meanwhile, features no updates, with the
team using the same version seen at the car's launch and during pre-season
testing.

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Toro Rosso are the only team to bring a completely new rear wing with them
to Monaco. The wing has quite a complex shape and features a curved section on
its main plane and flap (1). The adjustment (2) of the car's Drag Reduction System
(DRS) is activated at two points. Also important to note is the small lower wing placed
on top of the beam wing. This is only 15cm wide, so fits within the regulations.

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Mercedes MGP W02 - revised cooling solution



To improve their car's cooling in Monaco, Mercedes have simply adopted the 'ears'
solution on the side of the airbox (uppermost purple arrow), as seen from launch
on the McLaren MP4-26. It sends air to the oil radiators (black arrow) for the gearbox
and KERS in a dedicated channel, separate to the one for the engine manifold.

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For Monaco, McLaren have kept the all-new front wing assembly (lower drawing)
introduced in Spain. All the components are different to the team's previous solution
(upper drawing). The outer-front edge of the endplate (1) is slightly shorter and lower,
while the inside-rear section (3) has been extended. New upper flaps (2) are more curved
than before and the rear part of the main plane (4) has been modified beside the
endplate. The faring for the adjustment mechanism (5) has been moved inwards to
increase its aerodynamic influence and help channel airflow to the sidepods. The new wing
pillars (6) are now angled forward, converging slightly, and are attached differently
to the main plane.

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Mercedes MGP W02 - revised rear suspension



In Montreal Mercedes are evaluating a revised rear suspension set-up. The
pick-up point (red arrow) between the top wishbone and the upright is higher
and further inboard than before, in order to give a lower roll centre and better
camber change. The team ran a comparative test during Friday practice and, if
the data compares well, they plan to run the revision in the next few races.

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Montreal is one of the hardest tracks on the calendar for brakes. All the teams
have brought special ducts to improve cooling and have used more durable carbon
discs. Ferrari have followed McLaren's solution and also cut back the aerodynamic
drum around the brake. They ran something similar in Monaco (see inset), but here
the disc (a Montreal-specific one made by Brembo at Ferrari's suggestion) is
almost completely exposed (main image).

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The Montreal circuit is so demanding on brakes that all of the teams bring more
hard-wearing discs and special ducts to improve cooling. Although McLaren are using
the same discs they used in Monaco, they feature very different, cross-shaped openings
to better dissipate the huge amount of heat that is generated on the Canadian circuit.