Newey says F1 cars heading in 'wrong direction' now
May 20 - Formula 1 has headed in the "wrong direction" with the basic philosophy of the technical rules going forward.
That is the view of Adrian Newey, the Red Bull technical boss who is widely regarded as one of the greatest designers in the history of the sport.
"I think the principle of helping cars to overtake by reducing the sensitivity of the following car to the one in front is fine," he told motorsport-magazin.com.
"I don't think it's a significant change, but it will help a little."
The big problem, he warns, is the ever-increasing weight of the cars - up from the low-600 kilogram range "just a few years ago" to the 800-plus kg cars of today.
"We're all working like crazy to meet the current minimum weight requirement," said Newey. "In short, the cars have gotten bigger and heavier not particularly aerodynamically efficient because they have a lot of drag.
"Obviously this wrong direction is the same as the one the general automotive industry has been going in lately," he explained. "Bigger and heavier cars and people's obsession with whether they drive on batteries or with fuel."
Newey would therefore like to see "smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient cars" in the future, and argues that it would compromise safety.
"On the contrary," he argues, "it is a self-reinforcing problem because the heavier the car, the stronger it needs to be."
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Should try Chapman's brilliant double chassis car... The Lotus T88.
Light and fast!
800kg (1764lbs) is not really a race car. Dump batteries and hybrid carp and lets race!
We are all agreed!
The feat of engineering in current F1 cars is amazing - 800 kg and they can still manage 200+ miles per hour.
Stripping out the KERS, battery, motors and conductors would save _____Kg?? Reduce weight by making the package smaller, not bigger. Go to six wheels like the Tyrell P-34 to reduce drag - plus, they looked bad-ass as well.
The safety aspect must remain - but surely there are ways to keep the power, and loose the weight. Smaller, tighter body aero, better lines of sight, maybe put those blinky-lights in the mirrors when a car is in the blind-spot. Hell, my wife's Escape has those.
Pare down the odious telephone-book of regulations and let F1 really show the world what engineers are capable of.
As it stands now, the cars are practically spec-chassis like NASCAR or Indy cars. Snore.
1.6 hybrid engine sucks
They'll be racing round in SUVs next.