Renault finally protests Racing Point

Racing Point does not lose any tokens

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There are many new rules in Formula 1. You quickly lose track of things. We talked to FIA Technical Director Nikolas Tombazis about the restriction to one motor mode, the copyright measures and the controversial token regulation for Racing Point.


F IA chief technology officer Nikolas Tombazis and his team are not to be envied. You're choking on work. After the death of Charlie Whiting in March 2019, responsibilities had to be redistributed, the new technology regulations planned for 2021 and now postponed to 2022 had to be written, suspicions such as Ferrari's engine trickery investigated, rules rewritten as a reaction to the corona crisis, Renault's protest against Racing Point will be dealt with and the rules for the protection of copies and better monitoring of the engines adapted



Ever more complex technology is forcing the FIA to close loopholes, banish gray areas, track down tricksters and give those involved and fans the feeling that everything is happening fairly and within the framework of the regulations. FIA Technical Director Nikolas Tombazis does not necessarily see the fact that you are not always able to do so as a surrender: "If our task were limited to checking the length and width of the car, my job would be a lot easier, but it would be I wouldn't like it that much anymore. With the complexity comes the challenge. "

With the multitude of rules that have been rewritten or modified since the outbreak of the Corona crisis, it is difficult for fans to keep track. We therefore asked Nikolas Tombazis to gain an insight into some areas.

Hardware legal, operation illegal
One of the most emotional topics of the last few weeks was the restriction of the engine settings to one power mode from qualification to the end of the race. Various teams had been calling for this step for a long time, hoping to slow down Mercedes, only to find that little or nothing has changed. The FIA finally took the step to protect itself. With the large number of settings previously used, it had become almost impossible to guarantee that the drive units would operate in accordance with the rules at all times.


Tombazis explains the problems the FIA examiners are facing. "Unfortunately, it is no longer as simple as it was in the days of the V8 engines. Back then, you just had to ensure that the maximum speed was adhered to, the dimensions of the engine were correct or the fuel specification complied with the rules. The problem with the current drive units is that the hardware may be perfectly legal, but it is still possible to operate it illegally. "

"To do this, we have to continuously monitor innumerable parameters via the software, signals and sensor messages while driving. If a driver changes the engine settings every lap, it becomes difficult to check the operation of the engine regularly every lap for compliance with the rules. Especially in special ones Moments of a race, for example the lap before or after a pit stop, or when overtaking. "



The 52-year-old native of Greece gives an example. "We have limited oil consumption to 0.3 liters per 100 kilometers in order to prevent oil from being used in the combustion process. We do not measure this consumption over the entire distance, but after each lap. It is forbidden to exceed it for a short time and You can save that again later. If you now switch between different engine settings, it is extremely difficult to track the oil consumption at all times. That was one of the reasons why we issued this technical directive. "


Overtaking is not much more difficult
The FIA examiners had already carried out extensive tests of the ERS systems from Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes and Renault in advance. Seemingly out of the blue. Tombazis explains how such raids come about: "We carry out regular checks of all kinds, and we would like to do that more often. These cars are very complex. Unfortunately, we don't always have the time to check every single system."



"Teams often come to us and ask whether this or that is allowed. Or they warn us that a certain measure could outsmart the rules. They then say to us: We don't do it, but others could do it. We look at that, and if we think there is a possibility of playing foul, we conduct an investigation, sometimes, as I said, on the basis of a specific suspicion, sometimes because we think there is there is indeed potential to outsmart the rules. "

The criticism from some drivers that the new engine rule makes overtaking more difficult can only partly be understood by the engineer hired by the FIA in 2018. "Overtaking can be a bit more difficult than before because the drivers no longer have the full excess power as they used to. However, they can still use the full electrical power. In our brainstorming on the 2022 regulations, we also have a lot about overtaking One idea was to give the driver more power in the short term. But if you rely solely on the engine power, you would need a very large delta. What the driver now lose by restricting them to one engine mode is comparative low."


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New engine rules from 2026
The theoretical possibilities of tricking the engine regulations are partly homemade. If you forgot the flow rate restrictions and the restrictions on the delivery of electrical energy and limited yourself to a maximum amount of fuel for the race and fixed sizes and weights for batteries, the engines would still be efficient and the FIA would not have to measure every second, whether all parameters are adhered to.

Tombazis can make friends with this idea with some reservations: "There are such considerations. If we were to do something like that, we would not limit the amount of fuel to one race distance, but to one lap. We cannot treat Monte Carlo like spa."

This approach would make life a lot easier for the sports authority. The problem is that such a scheme is not applicable to the current engines. They were built according to rules that were written in 2012. "Such a reform would be tantamount to a complete rule change in which everyone would have to build new engines. But we're already thinking about the engine rules from 2026, when we want to take another big step towards green technology and sustainability. We want to go with the new one The regulations also simplify the monitoring process and make our lives easier. "

Engine manufacturers save 25 million
The FIA initiated many austerity measures in the Corona crisis. For example, limited test bench hours and development for the engines. It would be easier, however, to impose a cost cap on the engine manufacturer. The world association is also toying with it. But it's not as easy as it sounds, Tombazis says.

"We'd like to have that, and it may come to that in the end. The reason it hasn't happened yet is that it's more difficult to introduce with engine manufacturers than with teams. This has to do with other activities of the manufacturers and also with different legal requirements in the individual countries. It is difficult to make a clear distinction between what has to do with Formula 1 and what does not. "

FIA President Jean Todt still considers Formula 1 to be far too expensive. The association has already saved engine manufacturers and teams a lot of money with the measures adopted in May. His technology expert lists: "We are assuming savings of 25 million euros per year on the engine. That will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. It's a lot of money, but not as much as we would like."

In terms of teams, too, you have to differentiate between those who are above the budget cap and those who have not even reached it. "With the budget cap we will probably save the big teams over 100 million," believes Tombazis. "The smaller teams will save next year through the homologation of many parts. I estimate around 20 million. But they also save indirectly through the budget cap. Because they have a better chance of achieving good results in the future. And they can increase their income with them increase."

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