Red Bull has stepped up the technical row with Mercedes by accusing the German team of breaching a gentlemen’s agreement.
Red Bull and Lotus last weekend threatened to protest the results in Australia, due to Mercedes’ innovative new ‘F-duct’-like solution.

“They are not complying with the agreement of the technical working group,” said Christian Horner.

Adrian Newey also told Auto Bild Motorsport: “The FIA has allowed the system, but Mercedes has gone against the gentlemen’s agreement of the teams.”

He is apparently referring to a meeting last year in which teams informally agreed not to pursue certain technical directions.

 Dan Wheldon’s death could have sped up efforts to end the long era of open-cockpit racing.
F1′s governing body earlier this year, in response to the F1 and F2 incidents in 2009 involving Felipe Massa and Henry Surtees, tested screens and fighter jet-style canopies for possible use in the future.

Now, days after Briton Wheldon was killed when his Indycar overturned and struck catch-fencing in Las Vegas, former FIA president Max Mosley said of the canopy idea: “I think it could work.

“You’re always in danger, in an open cockpit, of objects striking the driver. It (the canopy) might also help if it’s reinforced with another roll bar, in things like the Dan Wheldon accident,” he told CNN.

“But that’s something that needs careful investigation.”

Mosley admitted that an unwanted side-effect of a cockpit canopy would be its aerodynamic effect.

“One of the troubles is that it would probably make the car quicker, which is just what we don’t want. But there are other means of slowing them down,” he said.

Yet more problems are that dirty canopies will affect driver visibility, while in severe accidents the cover might prevent marshals and doctors from extricating injured drivers.

“All of that will be looked at by a technical working group if it turns out the thing would protect the driver better,” insisted Mosley.

“What I do know is we’ve got some very clever people, looking full-time at these problems.”

F1 figures have admitted they are not keen on proposals to put a roof above the heads of the sport’s drivers.

After the incidents involving Felipe Massa and the late Henry Surtees in 2009, technical chiefs started looking into the possibility of jet fighter-style canopies or polycarbonate screens for the cars’ cockpits.

The FIA has released a video (http://vimeo.com/26098946) showing a F1 wheel being fired at 225kph at a jet-fighter canopy and a proposed cockpit screen.

“Full scientific results of the firings … have now been presented to the formula one technical working group,” the video revealed.

1992 world champion and occasional F1 steward Nigel Mansell admitted: “I don’t know if I’d like to see that. It wouldn’t really be formula one,” he is quoted by ennstal-classic.at.

Another former driver Marc Surer agrees: “It would be very warm in there, and then the next problem is needing an air conditioner. And imagine if KERS fails and the vapours get into the cockpit.”

Christian Danner said: “The visibility of the drivers will be affected by the reflection.”

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “We are always interested in the advancement of safety. It’s an interesting experiment but I feel that a single seater cockpit needs to be open.”

Nico Rosberg added: “It sounds good. Anything that increases safety is a step forward.”

The FIA is pressing ahead with its clampdown on blown exhaust technology following a meeting in London.
The technical working group met with Charlie Whiting on Thursday where, despite some controversy, the FIA delegate told teams they will have to severely limit their off-throttle diffuser exhaust blowing from next month’s British grand prix.

It is suggested pioneer Red Bull will be the team most affected by the ban, but Mercedes and Renault are also leaders in the field.

“The degree that a team will be affected is dependent on how much they’re exploiting that technology,” Red Bull chief designer Rob Marshall told The Sun newspaper.

“There are certainly some teams that are exploiting it very vigorously and some that aren’t exploiting it at all. Some will suffer more than others.”

And Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali is quoted by Italy’s Tuttosport: “After Silverstone it will be possible to express an opinion about our season.

“All I can say is that I hope it (the clampdown) affects us less than others.”

HRT is apparently no longer pushing so hard to have exhaust blown diffusers banned in 2011.
At recent races, the Spanish team has been threatening to protest the results after the FIA vowed to crack down on the technology that has moved into the realm of outlawed ‘moveable aerodynamic devices’.

But ahead of this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, Hispania announced that one of their developments is a “new exhaust system”.

It emerged during morning practice in Montreal that, in collaboration with engine supplier Cosworth, the system is indeed a blown exhaust.

That means that the only team not running a blown exhaust of any type at present is HRT’s nearest competitor, Virgin, who according to Auto Motor und Sport will not be ready to re-introduce a similar layout until Silverstone.

The FIA still intends to push on with the ban, however, with talks scheduled for the technical working group meeting next Thursday.

Asked on Friday about speculation of a ban, HRT’s technical director Geoff Willis told the BBC: “It’s going to be very tricky.

“There may be a solution for 2012, but what we do for 2011 is going to be very difficult in terms of what’s fair for everybody.”

The existing regulations about off-throttle exhaust blowing will be in place for at least the next three races, according to German reports.
Auto Motor und Sport and Speed Week reveal that the technical working group will not meet to discuss the FIA’s clampdown until the middle of June — after the forthcoming Spanish, Monaco and Canadian grands prix.

The magazine said the meeting will involve Charlie Whiting and the teams on June 16.

Red Bull and Ferrari hit back at McLaren on Friday as the flexible wing saga continued to run.

It is the British team that has been the most vocal about the wings on the Red Bull and Ferrari cars this year.

But technical bosses Adrian Newey and Aldo Costa told reporters at Monza that they were ready to agree to an even more stringent flexibility test — and it was McLaren that turned it down.

“We are happy to further increase the stiffness if we want a front wing that is double the stiffness,” Ferrari’s Costa said.

Currently, when weights are placed on the front wings during pre-race FIA scrutineering, the permissible deflection is 10mm.

“It was discussed in the technical working group to have a 5mm deflection, but also engineers who are at this table didn’t accept,” said the Italian.

Also with McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe at the table, the discussion was taking place during the FIA press conference.

“I think it was Paddy who suggested (the test stay at) 10mm,” said Red Bull’s Newey.

Costa admitted he has been frustrated by the entire saga.

“I don’t know why this saga has been created,” he said.

Newey agreed: “The test has been as it has been for several years and suddenly there is a load of excitement.”

F1 is moving to reduce the risk posed by flying wheels.

Last year, GP2 driver Henry Surtees died when a stray wheel from a crashed car struck him on the head.

There was a similar incident during the final practice session at Hockenheim last weekend, with Timo Glock narrowly avoiding a bouncing wheel after Vitantonio Liuzzi’s crash.

“I was lucky that I left a bit of room behind Liuzzi in the Motodrom to warm up my brakes.  Otherwise I would have been right behind him,” the German told Auto Motor und Sport.

A tether on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari broke in his Monaco crash this year.

F1 introduced wheel tethers in 1998, connecting the wheels to the chassis.  They are made of a special polymer called polybenzoaoxide or Zylon.

But flying wheels continue to pose a risk to drivers as well as to spectators, as seen in Melbourne in 2001 with the death of a marshal behind the spectator fencing, and in 2000 when a marshal was killed at Monza.

“Tethers are of great concern to us,” said McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe.

“We discussed the issue at the Technical Working Group and we have agreed for next year to introduce a second tether on every corner,” he revealed to reporters during a teleconference.

Lotus will not run a KERS system in 2011, despite the expected return to the grid of the energy-recovery technology for next year.

Multiple sources are reporting that KERS will be back in formula one in 2011, but the new team Lotus has begun designing its next car with no plans to incorporate the boost-button concept.

“We will not use KERS next year and we have good reasons for this decision,” team boss Tony Fernandes is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

“This year we had to buy nearly all the (car) parts from other suppliers but now we are in a position to build the entire car in our factory,” he explained.

“So we are trying to take advantage of the experience we have collected with the current car and to make the project more effective.

“If we were to have KERS, in accordance with the technical working group (decision), we would have to start everything again from zero in terms of weight distribution.

“The big teams are in a different boat, already with solid experience of KERS from recent years.

“What we saw last season is that it is not easy to get KERS to operate effectively and reliably; it took a lot of time, money and resources. At Lotus we are fully confident that we are going to cope without it (KERS),” added Fernandes.

Currently, FOTA’s technical group is finalising the details of the KERS return, with Ferrari and Renault pushing for a 150 horse power boost for 10 seconds each lap.

In 2009, the boost was about 80 horse power for less than 7 seconds.

It is likely that KERS will remain voluntary in 2011 and 2012 until a new engine formula debuts in 2013.

It is expected the return of KERS will be approved formally by the teams this weekend in Turkey, before the matter is referred to the FIA for inclusion in the technical regulations.
(GMM)

A meeting of the Technical Working Group did not result in a decision about F1′s tyre supplier for 2011.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, however, reports that Pirelli has moved into pole position for the contract, even though recent rumours suggested both the Italian marque and Michelin were offering to supply tyres for 1.5m euros per team.

Earlier this week, representatives of Pirelli met with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the technical directors’ meeting, it emerges that the new tyre supplier and the ban on double diffusers will not be the only technical changes for 2011.

The magazine said the main area of attention, apart from the return of KERS, is aerodynamics. Pending the approval of the FIA, the bodywork ahead of the sidepods, and the flow aids under the chassis, are to disappear.

It is also expected that the front wings will be smaller, while the front wing adjustors could be replaced by adjustable rear wings.