This is not a race review but a preview of the future based on the analysis of the races. FIA have finalised the decision, which will come into action from the Italian Grand Prix in Monza during the 4th – 7th September weekend, which puts a ban on changing engine modes during the weekend. The teams will have to keep the engine mode exactly the same from Saturday qualifying till the completion of the race on Sunday, with the exception of in and out laps. This will have several effects on the races and may even make somethings a little bit less interesting.
The engine mode basically in simple terms are different setups of the whole engine setup which includes the internal combustion engine, turbocharger and other technical components. Changes in the engine mode either allow more speed or allow more energy harvesting(reduces the maximum speed approachable). The teams would approach the “party mode” as it was known which was the engine setup which provided the highest maximum speed and all the energy was put into maximising the speed and energy harvesting was completely turned down but this wasn’t followed in the race as fuel consumption and tyre wear were also priorities in the race.
FIA say that they want to do this because this is a step towards the moving towards drivers driving “unaided” by the pitwall and moving to a “level” playing – field or possible a level – racing – track as engine mode advantages are limited.
FIA does have a point in case that in the qualifying teams such as Mercedes who ran something close to like a double party mode in the Belgian GP 2020 Qualifying but this would not exactly level the playing field as there are 3 different engine suppliers on the grid and each have a different capacity. This would also not allow the different customers of the same engine to exploit it a lot in their ways as they now just need to have a compromise and the other factors such as aerodynamics will become too prevalent.
This does not mean that the drivers will not be able to take advantage of a “Scenario 7” and of the “Overtaking” button. There would even be effects such as if a lot of time gets wasted in the Pit Stop, that extra energy can’t now be used to overtake the extra cars, but the ERS still can be used and the Overtake button will give the drivers the momentum and that extra bit of speed, at the cost of using extra power, they might require to perform the overtake, the driver may have to. Teams will need to find a sweet spot for every weekend but if a team decided to go for a setup offering them the good speed that they feel will help them get some points, and there issues during the race and new discoveries are made which are possible due to several events such as a crash, or a Safety Car, then they can’t still change to a new engine mode and “Scenario 7” will be nowhere to be seen.
EXPLANATIONS – OVERTAKING AND SCENARIO 7
As probably witnessed by you, on the team radio and on the onboard cameras, drivers are often told to switch engine scenarios or ‘Strat’ modes and even told to press ‘Overtake’. This changes the power that they get. The ‘Overtake’ button allows them to use that little bit more engine power to get a little more speed and overtake the car in front. It is like DRS but not related to aerodynamics but the engine, and can be used anywhere. If this gets lost then it may be disadvantageous to many. In the Austrian Grand Prix, Lando Norris was seen overtaking 2 cars and in the Belgian Grand Prix Ocon overtook Albon in the final lap(unsure if overtale button was used in the Ocon case). These overtakes, especially the Norris one, might just be completely lost and hence the excitement may reduce.
Everyone will limit their performance but yes, it will have negative impacts on even some of the already slower cars which do not have so good battery management.
EXPLANATION – MAJOR ENGINE MODES
What was explained before is mostly used for short periods of time but ‘Strat’ modes, which was mentioned but not explained is used majorly as it normally also changes as per the Plan a team is following and may be used for linger times. Engine mode changes might not only be to provide extra power for overtakes but even to manage the car and the tyres. If such things are not allowed then teams may even face issues with their plans and management of their car if there are some sudden problems detected.
These decisions may have effects on Mercedes, and even Ferrari. The proper implications will only be understood as the season progresses. But, this doesn’t seem like a very wise decision.
|ALL THE BEST TO ALL THE CONSTRUCTORS AND THE DRIVERS|
spielens 