Formula 1 2011 Season - Official Thread

Following on from 2010, which was one of the most exciting seasons in recent years, 2011 is set to top it, with some key rule changes to shake things up, the first round in Melbourne is highly anticipated!

2011 Regulation Changes:

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, but during the race can only be activated when a driver is less than one second behind another car at pre-determined points on the track. The system is then deactivated once the driver brakes. In combination with KERS, it is designed to boost overtaking. Also like KERS, it isn’t compulsory.

No F-ducts or double diffusers

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. Tightening of the regulations on stepped floors means double diffusers in their original sense are also banned.

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 take 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’. The systems are essentially the same as those seen in ’09, with no increase in the maximum permitted power (though that could change in subsequent seasons). The challenge for the engineers this time round is packaging. Last time KERS was run, refuelling was legal. Now, with it banned, fuel tanks are larger and finding room to accommodate battery packs etc is not as easy. Hence don’t be surprised if bodywork has grown in places, relative to 2010. On the plus side, minimum car weight has been upped by 20kg to 640kg, meaning larger drivers don’t pay the weight-distribution penalty they once did in a KERS-equipped car.

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. The two tethers must be contained in separate suspension members.

Tyres

Following Bridgestone’s decision to withdraw at the end of 2010 after 13 years in Formula One, Pirelli take over as the sport’s sole tyre supplier. The Italian company, last part of F1 in 1991, will provide all teams with rubber for the next three years.

Tyre allocation has been reduced for 2011, with 11 rather than 14 sets of dry-weather tyres available to each driver per race weekend. Drivers will receive three sets (two prime, one option) to use in P1 and P2 and must return one set after each session. A further eight sets will then be at their disposal for the rest of the weekend, although one set of each specification must be handed back before qualifying. (At certain events, teams may be given an extra set of primes for use in P1 and P2, or an additional specification of dry-weather tyre - again for P1 and P2 only - for evaluation purposes. Teams will be given at least a week’s notice when either of these scenarios is to occur.)

If a driver fails to use both specifications of dry-weather tyres during a (dry) race, they will be excluded from the results. If a (dry) race is suspended and can’t be restarted, and a driver has failed to use both specifications, 30 seconds will be added to the driver’s race time.

There is new system for visually differentiating tyre types, using various colours for the sidewall lettering: wet - orange; intermediate - light blue; super soft - red; soft - yellow; medium - white; hard - silver.

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.

107% qualifying rule

During the first phase of qualifying, any driver who fails to set a lap within 107 percent 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 permit the car to start.

Team curfew

A clampdown on long working hours has been introduced, with a curfew on team personnel connected with the operation of the cars. They will not be allowed into 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 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. Added to their armoury are time penalties, the right to exclude drivers from race results, or suspend them from subsequent events.

Team orders

The clause in the sporting regulations banning team orders has been removed.

The first round -

AUSTRALIA
Albert Park

Friday 25 March

First practice: 0125-0305, BBC Red Button/online
Second practice: 0525-0705, BBC Red Button/online

Saturday 26 March

Third practice: 0255-0405, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online
Qualifying: 0500-0730, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live/online
Qualifying repeat: 1300-1415, BBC One

Sunday 27 March

Grand Prix live: 0600-0900, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live/online
F1 forum: 0900-1000, BBC Red Button/online
Grand Prix repeat: 1300-1500, BBC One
Highlights: 1900-2000 and 0255-0355, BBC Three

bloody enviromental shite in F1, come on mannnnnn!

boring hell

Love it, can't wait

I love F1 and I can't wait, who's gettin up for the practice session ??

seeing as i slept since i got in from college i'll probably be awake for it haha.

its on at 1pm on saturday, already got the season sky+ planned, watched all last season so this one is going to be great ( i hope) lol, apparantley lewis is going to leave McLaren if he dont get a good result this season

1pm !! Re-runs for loosers, real fans will be up at 5am watchin it live

EM1_Yo wrote:

1pm !! Re-runs for loosers, real fans will be up at 5am watchin it live

i remmember watching a repeat before and i was actually disapointed when i found out it wasnt live, 'its just not the same is it uno!'

watching the two practice session's from this morning.

Schumacher is on it!!!

half an hour into practice session 2 and he's at the top of the timesheets.

seems like some drivers are experiencing problems with these adjustable wings. re-activating the wing's too late, and spinning/going off under braking.

^^ couldnt pull it off, knocked out in Q2 - 11th. out qualified yet again by Rosberg

kobayashi sideways on the curb's, amazing

vettel, in another league in qualifying -

its going to be an interesting start

watching the chinese grand prix for the first time, 7am on a sunday is too early!

best first few laps of a GP this year by far.

if you dont usually follow F1, you HAVE to watch a re-run of this race.....

outstanding, what a race.
amazing drive from hamilton,well deserved win - and it has to say an even better drive from webber. 18th on the grid - to finishing 3rd - 7 seconds behind the leader. there was so much overtaking the BBC couldnt cover all of the action!

McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and Renault all in the mix. Turkey is going to get NASTY

just watched the re run of it, webber did really well to get from 18th to third, man of the drive.

maclarens strategy really worked out well for hamilton, he drove spot on aswell!

Good race today, was definatly at the edge of my seat, shame about button having tyres that were 3 laps older than webbers, but webber had an amazing race, hats off to him. Well done lewis

Canadian GP BBC1 now - should be a good race

terrible, heavy rain and F1 dont go, sometimes it can be interesting though!

lewis....

you might wanna watch the highlights, BEST RACE IN YEARS!!!
button drove the race of his life, AMAZING

have to agree, fairplay to him, would of loved to of seen him take vettel with the DRS though would of been more entertaining, about time he span off or somethin though.

best race of the season though by far!

well worth the watch, even tho it got rained off in stages.

Button ftw.

5 hours of f1 and I still wanted to watch the highlights at midnight

i watched them too lol.