There have been a lot of changes this season from moveable rear wings, a new tyre supplier, a 107 percent qualifying rule and more. these are the main regulation changes that have impacted formula one in 2011.
Adjustable rear wings
Under new moveable bodywork regulations, drivers of suitably equipped cars can adjust the rear wing from the cockpit, altering its angle of incidence through a set range. (The moveable front wing, used in 2010, has been dropped.) The system’s availability is electronically governed – it can be used at any time in practice and qualifying (unless a driver is on wet-weather tyres) but during the race can only be aactivated when a driver is less than one second behind another car at pre-determined points on the track. The high-tech system is then deactivated once the driver uses the brakes.
No F-ducts
Any system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited from 2011 – that means no F-ducts.
KERS
A badge of honour for some, a bugbear for others on its debut in 2009, KERS – or Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems – have been reintroduced in 2011 after the teams mutually agreed to suspend their use in 2010. KERS takes the waste energy generated under braking and turns it into additional power. This is then made available to the driver in fixed quantities per lap via a steering wheel-mounted ‘boost button’.
Wheel tethers
In response to several stray wheels over the course of the 2010 season, teams must now place a second tether on every wheel to improve safety.
Tyres
Following Bridgestone’s decision to withdraw at the end of 2010 after 13 years in Formula 1™, Pirelli has taken over as the sport’s sole tyre supplier. The Italian company, last partnered with F1™ in 1991, will provide teams with all the rubber they’ll need for the next three years.
107% qualifying rule
It has been decided that during the first phase of qualifying, any driver who fails to set a lap within 107 per cent of the fastest Q1 time will not be allowed to start the race. However, in exceptional circumstances, which could include a driver setting a suitable time during practice, the stewards may then permit the car to start.
Gearboxes
As part of the sport’s cost-saving and environmental initiatives, gearboxes now need to last for five race weekends, instead of the previous four that everyone got used to.
Team curfew
A clampdown on long working hours has been introduced this season, with a curfew on team personnel involved with the operation of the cars. They will not be allowed on to the circuit between midnight and 6am when practice is scheduled to start at 10am the following day, or between 1am and 7am when practice starts at 11am. Each team is permitted only four individual exceptions to this rule during the season.
Penalties
Stewards now have the power to impose a wider range of penalties for driving and other rule transgressions this F1™ season. This includes time penalties, the right to exclude drivers from race results, or even suspend them from subsequent events.
