A change of rules for 2012

Each year the F1 season sees a number of changes as the FIA attempt to improve Formula 1. This year is no different, with a number of changes being tested to see how they will affect the sport.

(c) Octane Photographic

From dipped noses, to Safety Car un-lapping, the season has some completely new elements as well as some familiar ones, which have simply been adjusted and tweaked to help improve spectacle and safety. In this article, part 3 of my F1 2012 season preview, I take you through the changes to the sport.

Crash Testing is an extremely important safety feature for F1 cars. Cars must undergo all pass their mandatory crash tests before being driven. They also must go through more severe side impact testing as well as toughening all the other tests. In the past cars had to pass crash tests before the first race of the season. We saw Marussia and HRT struggle to pass these crash tests, meaning their winter programme was delayed. These crash tests are important to keep the sport safe as it evolves.

Testing has been a talking point for the years after the ban in 2009, but 2012 will see in season testing make a return with a test scheduled on the 1st May 2012 at the Mugello circuit. Testing is limited still to 15 days, so the winter testing has been stripped back. The sole test at Mugello will last 3 days due to the 12 days of winter testing, with it still being restricted to 15 days. This means the teams have had just 12 days of testing to prepare for the season.

Race Suspension will limit the time of a race. The races will now have a maximum limit of 4 hours to be completed unless a red flag comes out the race is aborted. This rule is to avoid lengthily races which last up to 8 hours long because of a long suspension; an example of this is Canada 2011 which lasted over 4 hours. Also with this rule is that drivers who are in the pit lane when the race is suspended can re-join if there is a restart.

Safety Car rules have changed so now, all lapped car's will be allowed to un lap themselves and re-join to the back of the field, this is so leading cars are not impeded by slower drivers, like we have seen many times in 2011. The unlapping under safety car rule was last seen in 2009

Air Guns in 2011 contained helium to speed up the rotation speed. However for 2012 it will now be banned as it was found to be too expensive, with little competitive advantage.

Flags have changed for the 2012 season.  A double waved yellow flag will now mean a Marshall is on the track, or working beside the track. Double waved yellow flags will now have an adjusted meaning

Leaving the track can sometimes give the driver an advantage. Now drivers will be questioned if they cut or leave the track on reconnaissance and in-laps. They will not be allowed to do this to save fuel or tyre wear unless they have a valid reason.

Weaving and blocking regulations have now been tightened again. Drivers are now not allowed to weave on a straight or move to the racing line when defending a position into a corner, avoiding possible incidents and collisions.

Tyres were a big talking point in 2011 when Pirelli were drafted in to replace Bridgestone. In 2011 tyres were limited to the allocated 11 sets of dries and only 3 of those were allowed to be used in FP1 and FP2, Drivers will now be able to use whatever tyres they want on the first day of driving.

Blown Diffusers were one of the most controversial design elements of the 2011 cars. Blown Diffusers, off throttle blowing of air under the diffuser which creates more down force when cornering, will be strictly regulated for 2012. It was originally scheduled to be banned from the British Grand Prix onwards in 2011 after the FIA saw what a big difference it made, but that was pushed back to 2012. It is also restricting engine mapping for 2012. Blown diffusers will be heavily regulated

Nose cones have always been so smooth and beautiful, but the 2012 technical regulation changes mean that the 2012 cars will all have lower, re-profiled noses. The 2011 regulations meant that noses could be at a maximum height of 24.6 inches but 2012 See's them being restricted to 22 inches. This has caused the “platypus” nose or “dipped/stepped” nose that so many people hate. The 2013 regulations could see them lowered even more as the FIA try and make the sport safer.

The 2011 rules were quite extreme and 2012 has basically tweaked and adjusted a number of the rules. No real rule changes have been added but the banning of the blown diffuser will surely bring the whole field closer together. We will also see more innovative and aggressive design features being tested throughout the season.