Faced with growing concerns among drivers about the potential safety implications of excessive bouncing, the FIA ​​felt it had no choice but to intervene in order to prevent the vertical movements that were commonplace at the start of the race. season.

The federation has mainly focused on introducing an « Aerodynamic Oscillation Measurement » (AOM), to limit the amount of bouncing and bouncing that riders have to endure.

However, the scope of this tool has been widened to include stricter measures on floors and flex boards, as the FIA ​​believes teams should be on equal footing in how they handle this. phenomenon.

The governing body measures, which were set out in a revamped Technical Directive issued to teams at the British Grand Prix, will be introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix upon the return from the truce, having originally been scheduled for the French Grand Prix.

While builders will have to be careful to stay within the AOM limits, it’s the new flexible floor that could pose bigger problems in the paddock. The intrigue around the flex floor has mostly focused on how some structures have exploited gray areas in the regulations to get more flex in the board that sits under their car.

For those who don’t know, the board sits below the center surface of the floor and governs the height of the car, based on its thickness. It must not be worn by more than 1 mm, its conformity being checked on the periphery of six precisely placed 50 mm holes.

A maximum deflection of 1mm at the two holes located 1080mm behind the front axle centreline is permitted when the car is leaned, and 2mm at the rearmost hole when it is support on 70 mm pads on the FIA ​​test bench.

It is believed that some teams took advantage of the way the measurements were made, with the car leaning on weights, to introduce some degree of movement into the way the board was mounted.

When checked, with the weight of the car pressing down on them, the board bindings were fully compressed and therefore stiff enough to comply with the rules. But on the track, and without the pressure of almost 800 kg, these materials expanded to allow the board to gain a few millimeters of flexibility, which is enough to improve performance.

F1 teams are also permitted to use machined titanium pads in and around the plank holes to limit wear. There are many auxiliary regulations governing their size, shape and attachments. These pads are usually the reason we see sparks coming from underneath the car as it comes into contact with the track surface. However, the board itself will also be burned by the friction this creates, making studying wear patterns an interesting game of observation in itself.

The previous generation of F1 saw most teams design single-seaters with a steep lean angle, with the nose down emphasizing the front of the board in terms of wear. This has led, on several occasions, to the FIA ​​creating new criteria in order to combat any trickery that might have given a performance advantage by flexing the board in that area so that the front of the car was even more low to the ground.

Similarly, the FIA ​​is now fighting against a change in approach to the new generation of F1. Rather than having a high lean angle, the ground effect cars of 2022 are to have stiffer suspensions and sit low and flat on the ground. As a result, they behave differently than their predecessors.

The board under the cars, with the six holes visible

It appears that some teams have created skate sections around the edge of the regulation holes (in the inset above). Some of these sections are more flexible than others and move up and down when a load is applied to them. Thus, when this portion comes into contact with the surface of the track, it retracts upwards, reducing wear compared to more rigid areas. So, at the end of a race, this « moving » section is not worn out, ensuring that the car is fully compliant with the rules.

The teams were able to exploit these different sections because the pads which measure the static bending in the FIA ​​technical control area have a diameter 20 mm greater than that of the holes. Therefore, any disparity in flex between different sections of the board is masked by the buffer.

In order to counter this phenomenon, the new technical directive of the FIA ​​provides that « the local stiffness around the periphery of these three holes for a radial distance of 15 mm outside the periphery must be uniform, with a variance not exceeding +/- 10% ». In addition, section 3.5.9.e regarding board wear is also extended, with compliance now required around 75% of the hole periphery.

These two measures will effectively make it illegal to practice mobile skating, so any team that used this technique will now have to act differently.

It may seem unfair for the governing body to make mid-season changes, but in accordance with Article 3.15.1 of the Technical Regulations, the FIA ​​reserves the right to introduce additional load/deflection tests on any part that appears (or is suspected) to move when the car is in motion.

It remains to be seen whether these changes will have a dramatic effect on the hierarchy, but there are undoubtedly some teams that will need to make changes to comply with them, which could harm the development path they have taken and force them to take new directions. This exercise could prove costly, not only from a financial point of view, but also because they will have to make a U-turn in terms of development.

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