Apr.30 (GMM) Former Ferrari engineer Ernest Knoors says Formula 1’s new rules are fundamentally flawed because they prevent drivers from pushing flat-out.
“The rules now dictate that you never push the limit. That is so wrong,” he told Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
Knoors, who also worked for BMW, says the core issue is energy.
“The only point of criticism is unfortunately also the dominant part – those cars have too little energy.”
He warned the impact will be most visible at classic high-speed tracks.
“Monza is The Temple of Speed, isn’t it? And so it shouldn’t become The Temple of No Speed.”
“I think you would probably go faster at the end of the Parabolica than on the straight. They really must do something about that.”
The Dutchman says the current philosophy reverses the essence of racing.
“If you make a package with less grip, less aero, and less weight, you do want a driver to be able to move at the limit in fast corners and show his talent and guts.”
“But to be fast over a whole lap, you actually have to drive below the limit in that corner where you can make the difference, to have enough energy left for the straight.”
He added that this strips away what makes Formula 1 special.
“Being fast on the straight, you and I can do that too. Just push the gas.”
“But the fact that the rules now limit what you can do with the car precisely where good drivers make the difference – that makes the sport a lot less interesting.”
While the tweaks that will debut this weekend in Miami may help, Knoors is not expecting a quick fix.
“I don’t think so. You would effectively have to build new cars,” he said.
“So you can only get started with the question ‘How do we use what we have now?’ So you start turning existing knobs.”
For now, he says, the core problem remains.
“Currently, the rules still dictate that you never push the limit, because then you are too slow over the entire lap. And that is the inherent flaw in it.”
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