Clinton
Rookie
This season's new Dallara IndyCar model features, as a safety measure, enclosed rear wheels. This is supposed to prevent the cars from being propelled into the air whenever one crashes into the back of another at high speed, which is a particular concern in oval races.
When this modification to the design was proposed, there was some concern that it would be an adulteration of open wheel racing; however, the front wheels are completely uncovered and the rear wheels are still visible at the top, so the appearance of the cars remains quite acceptable in this regard. In my opinion, the new IndyCars also look pleasingly graceful when in motion.
Although high speed front-wing-to-rear-wheel shunts are a relatively rare occurence in road courses, there are occasions - for example, Mark Webber's spectacular collision with Kovalainen's Lotus in 2010 - where such a design would improve the safety of Formula 1 cars. However, what is particularly striking about the new IndyCars is that this feature also facilitates close racing because, in conjunction with the fact that the Dallara appears to be built like a brick outhouse, the enhanced protection from race-scuppering damage to both front wings and rear tyres allows the drivers to take risks in their use of slipstreaming, outbraking and block-passing manoeuvres. Furthermore, since the rear wheels are now incapable of interlocking the drivers are able to race side-by-side in very close proximity without putting themselves at risk of being spun around by the slightest contact.
At least, that is the impression that I formed from watching this evening's superb Indy race at Barber Motorsports Park, which was devoid of any racing-induced failures despite there being an abundance of uncompromising duels and truels being fought throughout the field. I hope I'm not extrapolating too keenly from one race (there were signs of this improvement in last week's season opener, too, but that circuit is sufficiently inconducive to passing that there wasn't much in any case), but it seems that despite being open wheel these cars are to some extent capable of rubbin' and racin' like stock cars or go-karts.
The question I would therefore like to pose is, would F1 benefit from stipulating at some reasonable point in the future that the cars' rear wheels be enclosed in this manner? Are F1 wings too brittle to survive contact in any case? And might such a radical design transformation, following a long period of relatively little change in the basic form of the cars, provide a desirable infusion of unpredictability into the formula apart from whatever other benefits it affords?
When this modification to the design was proposed, there was some concern that it would be an adulteration of open wheel racing; however, the front wheels are completely uncovered and the rear wheels are still visible at the top, so the appearance of the cars remains quite acceptable in this regard. In my opinion, the new IndyCars also look pleasingly graceful when in motion.
Although high speed front-wing-to-rear-wheel shunts are a relatively rare occurence in road courses, there are occasions - for example, Mark Webber's spectacular collision with Kovalainen's Lotus in 2010 - where such a design would improve the safety of Formula 1 cars. However, what is particularly striking about the new IndyCars is that this feature also facilitates close racing because, in conjunction with the fact that the Dallara appears to be built like a brick outhouse, the enhanced protection from race-scuppering damage to both front wings and rear tyres allows the drivers to take risks in their use of slipstreaming, outbraking and block-passing manoeuvres. Furthermore, since the rear wheels are now incapable of interlocking the drivers are able to race side-by-side in very close proximity without putting themselves at risk of being spun around by the slightest contact.
At least, that is the impression that I formed from watching this evening's superb Indy race at Barber Motorsports Park, which was devoid of any racing-induced failures despite there being an abundance of uncompromising duels and truels being fought throughout the field. I hope I'm not extrapolating too keenly from one race (there were signs of this improvement in last week's season opener, too, but that circuit is sufficiently inconducive to passing that there wasn't much in any case), but it seems that despite being open wheel these cars are to some extent capable of rubbin' and racin' like stock cars or go-karts.
The question I would therefore like to pose is, would F1 benefit from stipulating at some reasonable point in the future that the cars' rear wheels be enclosed in this manner? Are F1 wings too brittle to survive contact in any case? And might such a radical design transformation, following a long period of relatively little change in the basic form of the cars, provide a desirable infusion of unpredictability into the formula apart from whatever other benefits it affords?
