The new rules come with a significant degree of risk even if they have succeeded already in their primary aim.
When F1 was conceiving the new engines, the idea was to attract more car manufacturers into the sport, and particularly the Volkswagen Group.
So the engines were simplified in their architecture, and the electrical part of the engine was made more important.
As a consequence, Audi came into the sport, taking over the Sauber team. Its official debut this season marks the first time the VW Group has ever taken part in F1. Porsche, another VW brand which was also planning an entry, did not, after its talks with Red Bull collapsed.
But Ford has chosen to return, taking Porsche’s place as Red Bull’s partner, and its US rival General Motors has also entered, with an entirely new team bearing the name of its Cadillac brand.
So far, so good.
However, the engine rules, creating a near 50-50 split between the internal combustion and electrical parts of the engine, come with compromises.
The combination of an electrical system with three times as much power as last year but a battery more or less the same size means the cars are energy starved.
Attempts to make it easier to recover energy have led to moveable front and rear wings to reduce drag on the straights, and a complex series of rules and strategies, which definitely risk confusing the audience.
And the need for so much energy management has annoyed the drivers, who are complaining about unusual driving techniques.
There are various ways of recovering the energy and deploying it. Drivers have access to a “boost” mode for brief bursts of maximum power, and an “overtake” mode, which allows a driver within a second of a car in front to recover more energy and gives maximum power for longer.
As the electrical motor can now supply 350kw (470bhp), and the cars will be depleting and replenishing their batteries several times a lap, a car with a full charge will have nearly twice as much power as one with an empty battery.
The risk is that overtaking will be both more difficult, between cars with similar energy levels, and also ridiculously easy, between those with a large energy disparity.
How this will affect the racing, and how false it looks, is an unknown.
Leave a Reply