F1 Bans F-Duct
Formula One teams have agreed to ban from 2011 the so-called ‘F-duct’ pioneered controversially by McLaren this season to give Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button a straight-line speed advantage.
Other teams, notably Ferrari in Spain this weekend, have rushed out their own versions of the system triggering fears for safety as well as an expensive new ‘arms race’ just when the sport is trying to slash costs.
The controversy has echoed last season’s furore over the use of double-diffusers, now adopted by all teams but also outlawed for 2011.
The systems appear to be operated by drivers temporarily diverting the airflow to stiffen the rear wing and reduce drag by blocking a vent in the cockpit with their hands or knees.
Ferrari’s double world champion Fernando Alonso could be seen taking a hand off the steering wheel while accelerating at around 300kph down the Barcelona straight.
“It’s a clever piece of engineering and hats off to the guys who invented it but some of the solutions this weekend look a little bit marginal when I see drivers driving with fingertips and no hands basically,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
“I think there is a safety issue and a cost issue to take into account,” he said.
The ban decision came at a meeting of the Formula One Teams Association on Sunday. Horner said: “The majority voted through not to have it next year.”
Mercedes team chief executive Nick Fry said the systems had to be “nipped in the bud” because developments could prove even riskier and they also had no applications to the kind of cars driven by ordinary people.
“By the end of this year I know that we, and I’m sure most of the other teams, will have an F-duct on their car and I’m sure that just neutralises the advantage of having it,” he told said.
“I think on F-duct in particular there are other ideas which one can come up with and the engineers have already come up with which are even zanier than that.
“When I look at some of the things our engineers have come up with and which on the face of it apply the same principles, they are zany in the extreme,” added Fry, who has seven times world champion Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg as his drivers.
“I know its disappointing for those that invent these ideas but I think what people have got to get used to is that, like the double-diffuser, they may be fairly short-lived.”
Brawn GP, the team Mercedes bought last year, won both titles last year thanks in large part to the double-diffuser that they pioneered and that helped Button win six of the first seven races.
By mid-season, the other teams had caught up but by then it was too late.
“If it isn’t a useful technology then it comes off,” declared Fry. “What we should be encouraging is stuff we can use elsewhere and I am personally a big proponent of KERS (the kinetic energy recovery system) because of that.”
Courtesy of The Bleacher Report
Schumi Looks Fresh As A Daisy
Mercedes managing director Nick Fry believes Michael Schumacher “looks as fresh as a daisy” after the seven-times champion had “a lot of fun” on his F1 comeback.
After three and a half years in retirement and all the hype surrounding his return to the sport, Schumacher’s debut for the team in Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix culminated with the 41-year-old finishing sixth.
The legend was forced to hold off a late charge from Jenson Button, albeit on a track where overtaking was virtually impossible as the new regulations failed to improve the show.
It was not what many people expected of Schumacher who for once, on a level playing field with a team-mate, now Nico Rosberg, finished four seconds behind his fellow German.
Despite that, Fry was unsurprisingly upbeat about Schumacher as he said: “Michael is in great spirits.
“He’s obviously enjoyed himself and I think that’s the main thing.
“He came back because he knew he enjoyed racing in the past, and I think he’s confirmed he’s going to enjoy racing in the future.
“For us that’s the most encouraging thing. He looks as fresh as a daisy, as he did in the past.”
For his part, Schumacher is adamant he could have done no more, not with the new rules – no refuelling and just one change of tyres – which appear to be a step backwards for the sport.
“It was as good as it could have been, but it was a lot of fun and everything worked well,” assessed Schumacher.
“I had some concerns before, but the race was not very exhausting for me.
“After the start, which was exciting, it was what we expected from the new rules.
“There were some fights at the beginning, and then it stopped. The one stop brings a little bit of movement, but not much.
“Overtaking here is impossible, and that is what we are going to have with this environment of race strategy.
“We are also slower now than when I was previously driving, and I also want the car to move around the corner the way I think it should.
“But that is hard with the new front tyres. With my driving style I have to get used to it.”
With thanks to Sky Sports
Laureus Awards Highlights
World Surfing Champion Stephanie Gilmore with her award for 'Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year'.
A sneak peak at the glamour of the Laureus Awards.
The Laureus World Sports Awards for 2010 were held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Winners included Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Jenson Button, Kim Clijsters, Natalie du Toit, Stephanie Gilmore and Nawal El Moutawakel.
Jenson Button, who received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year' award,and Tony Hawk.
Kenny Belaey performs on stage during the Laureus World Sports Awards 2010.
South African Natalie du Toit also walked away with an award.
Nick Fry with Mika Hakkinen and Franz Beckenbauer.
The Laureus Sports Awards
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