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Diffuser cars not allowing overtaking – Massa

Mon, 22 Jun 16:53:10 2009

F1's new-look cars of 2009 are travelling more closely together, but it seems they are no easier than before to overtake with.

After the British Grand Prix, it was the double diffuser in the spotlight for spoiling the efforts of the Technical Working Group to radically amend this year's cars for the benefit of the spectacle.

"Just as was planned by the FIA, the cars did produce less downforce," said Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

"But with the decision to allow the double diffusers, this plan was turned upside down," the Brazilian told Auto Motor und Sport.

Toyota's Timo Glock adds that even the moveable front flaps this year are not providing a benefit to aid overtaking.

"When you're in the turbulence of the cars ahead, all your grip is lost. You're sliding on all four wheels," the German said.

 

Comment 1 - 13 of 13

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  1. have a happy hamster slapping tuesday.

    From Burt, on Tue 23 Jun 10:47AM
  2. I remember clearly that early on the season, the teams­ protested against the double decker diffuser because it­ is not in the spirit of the rule change. They knew the­ loop holes by then and technically, the car will pass.­ They are saying that in the spirit of the rule change,­ the double decker diffuser should not be­ allowed.

    What's the spirit of the rule change,­ none other than less reliance on the aerodynamic and­ more relianance on the machanical grip so as to­ encourage close racing and more overtaking on­ track.

    Now the broken spirit of the rule change has­ been revealed. All the effort put in to encourage­ overtaking is gone with all the teams now working and­ implementing the controversial rear diffuser.

    From ferraribeng, on Tue 23 Jun 8:42AM
  3. The cars are too different in designs thats why there­ is no smoothness when they race close to each other,­ take for example the worst McLaren race car ever­ designed managed to hold off Reubens's Brawn car­ for a good number of laps during the Turkish GP due to­ the fact that in a straight line it had KERS and so got­ 80BHP extra just to pull away for a short time only to­ be caught again time and time again. Lewis has great­ overtaking skills and still does his best to overtake­ with the help of KERS but it doesnt stick because once­ the KERS charge is used the car become a different car,­ rubbish. TheN there is the Brawn GP car which has been­ designed with an emphasis on hugging the surface, and­ cant operate properly when running behind other cars. I­ wouldn't blame Jensen for not being able to­ overtake Nico in the last 4 laps of the British GP, he­ is just a passenger in that car. This is exactly the­ opposite of what the FIA claim to want to promote in­ F1

    From stenalo, on Mon 22 Jun 11:37PM
  4. The double diffuser is definitely the problem. At the­ first race in Australia when only three teams had the­ diffusers the only cars that you couldn't follow­ close behind were diffuser cars. The drivers said so­ themselves and you could see for yourself. There was­ some very close racing, Vettel was all over Kubica not­ having to fall back to get downforce.

    Ross did warn­ about the diffusers and the FIA ignored him. So you­ can't blame him, he did everything legal. He­ didn't try to hide anything and got approval for it­ by the FIA. Yet they the FIA told other teams they­ couldn't do use it which lead to the diffuser row.­ Once again the FIA screwed things with inconsistency­ and lack of transparency in the rules. @#$%, they­ can't even at least enforce them fairly which is­ all they should do. In their current state they are­ obviously unfit to make and manage the rules.

    From chris_s, on Mon 22 Jun 9:57PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    the hamster is the only one who cant overtake and will­ continue to be slapped.

    From Burt, on Mon 22 Jun 9:17PM
  6. mozzermodels
    The limitations of the KERS systems (as­ per the regs.) does not provide for much benefit at­ Silverstone. The only reason Ferrari did not remove the­ KERS system is that doing so would severely upset the­ weight balance of their vehicle.

    From Lawrence, on Mon 22 Jun 8:35PM
  7. Bror Jace.Damon Hill advocated the same in 1996.From a­ visual point I liked active suspension as a puncture­ meant a return to the pits and back out to race but Max­ banned that.In 1999?I recall one race where a puncture­ meant the remnants of a rear tire destroyed the­ bodywork when they went "grooved tyres narrow­ width" and retirement.Some rule changes were­ definitely worse.As for Max banning refuelling it was­ him who reintroduced it for the beginning of 1994(my­ father remarked "thats it pit lane fires again)to­ make Formula One a "chess match".

    From Rick Moth, on Mon 22 Jun 8:29PM
  8. It certainly makes it difficult but it doesn't stop­ the finest drivers from overtaking. Truth is­ Button's smooth driving style does not encourage­ overtaking so he wouldn't have overtaken Roseberg­ even if they extended the race by 10 more laps. Jenson­ is a very stress-free, easy going driver more suited­ for "pole position to chequered flag" kind of­ races.

    From nasimlaw, on Mon 22 Jun 8:13PM
  9. I say no wings no ground effects [back to the good old­ days].

    From RON, on Mon 22 Jun 8:05PM
  10. eseptiyanto, the FIA weren't thinking. That's­ why FOTA was formed. To contain costs years ago they­ said no tire changes. Great, so after spending­ hundreds of millions on the carm they can't spend­ several hundred for an extra set of tires. The result?­ Kimi's exploding suspension that couldn't cope­ with a severely flat-spotted tire. Brilliant.

    The FIA­ did not write the rules correctly. Ross Brawn warned­ them of this and after they refused to listen, he (and­ a few others) exploited the loophole to the­ limit.

    FOTA should clean up the rules for the series­ next year. Less reliance on aero grip, more reliance­ on mechanical grip. Cars will be easier to drive­ (which is bad) but also safer and should provide more­ overtaking.

    From Bror Jace, on Mon 22 Jun 6:27PM
  11. Great example of this was Jensen catching up Nico­ Rosberg a second per lap at the end. The rate overtake­ was sufficient to suggest a move would/should have been­ easy but Jensen could not stay on his tail. It looked­ like he lost all grip and so he backed off and could­ not make an effective challenge despite having a­ quicker car on a fresher set of the option tires.

    From Bror Jace, on Mon 22 Jun 6:14PM
  12. Yeah I think Massa have point there you see the­ regulation that was implemented for this year it­ supposed to decreased the downforce and to allow more­ slipsstream to the car so the car is easily over take.­ With the doubledecker diffuser that install behind the­ floor its increased the downforce due to the effect of­ bernouldi. So I curious what did FIA thinking ??

    From Iceman jr, on Mon 22 Jun 5:43PM
  13. say a lot for his kerrs then as at the last race he was­ one of the three cars with it

    From brian, on Mon 22 Jun 5:15PM
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