Formula One news
'Regular rule changes necessary' - FIA's Purnell
17 August 2009FIA technical consultant Tony Purnell admits that 2009 technical regulation changes, imposed to create more overtaking opportunities in races, have failed to achieve this to the levels wished for by the governing body before the start of the season. Purnell believes that aerodynamics must again be revised in order to rectify the situation.
Former Jaguar boss Purnell oversaw pre-season regulation changes for 2009 which were perhaps the greatest between two seasons in the 60-year history of the sport. A large reduction in downforce was one change to accompany the return of non-grooved, slick tyres, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and driver-adjustable front wing flaps.
 |
| The radically new season kicked off in Australia on 29 March |
Does Purnell believe that the changes have produced the added amounts of overtaking that were expected pre-season? "No, not really," he told F1 Racing magazine. "If we're going to give the fans what they want, we've got to take another step; it happens again and again that you make rules to rid the cars of downforce and, nine months later, it pops back up again.
 |
| The introduction of KERS has been met with mixed opinion |
The Overtaking Working Group (OWG) was the main influence behind the changes as the likes of former Ferrari designer Rory Byrne, McLaren engineering director Paddy Lowe and Renault executive director of engineering Pat Symonds worked together on the project.
"The new rules have been a worthwhile step in improving these things," Purnell continued. "The F1 community is desperately conservative, and with good cause, because they feel the cars are very popular so don't want to mess things up. The way to tackle the problem is step-by-step - what's good is that, over the past year, more thought has gone into this problem than before."
 |
| Bridgestone's grooves disappeared in 2009 |
F1 fans and insiders alike have criticised the sport in recent times due to the amount of rule changes with each new season although Purnell believes that this is simply part and parcel of motor racing. "If you don't change the rules, the people with the most money should always win," he explained. "If you throw in a big rules change, then people with sufficient finance and the really clever engineers come up with the best car for a while - stability isn't cheap, it's less risky."
more news
- 27 Nov.
- 26 Nov.
- 25 Nov.
- 24 Nov.
- 23 Nov.
Homepage
Jerez