In case you’ve been on another planet for the past few months and haven’t heard about it – the Formula One season in prospect will be more different from the previous one than perhaps it has even been.
That’s because the new technical requirements for the cars are the most sweeping for a very long time – and possibly ever.
There are various changes aimed at making the cars “greener” than ever before – with smaller hybrid engines and other technical requirements – as well as the possibility of double points for the last three grands prix of the season in an effort to keep the drivers’ championship open for longer,
This, of course, is testament to the Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel dominance of the sport in recent years.
But when you put these two factors together – i.e. the technical changes and the points system changes (the last race will definitely carry double points) then it makes life very interesting for those of us who enjoy a wager on the drivers’ championship. That’s because Vettel remains a hotter favourite based on the dominance of the last four years – than he perhaps deserves to be under the new regulations.
Frankly; anything seems possible given the new cars’ designs, yet with Betfair, the world’s foremost gambling exchange, the reigning German champion is as short as 2-1 or less to retain his crown. These seem crazily low odds for a season in which anything is possible and it may be worth picking out a lively outsider if you fancy a season bet. McLaren’s Jensen Button, for example, looks a good prospect at around 10/1 with Betfair.
But if you aren’t the gambling sort, but love the sport anyway – then it will be fascinating to see how it all plays out.
Specifically, the previous 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8s are now out – replaced by 1.6-litre V6 turbos. There’s now a fuel limit of 100kg, around 130 litres. This was previously not stipulated but most cars carried around 150kg – and the cars now have to use fuel at a maximum rate of 100kg per hour.
The new engines will all be hybrids, using energy braking recovery to harness kinetic energy from the back axle, the cars’ noses will all be radically lowered and there must now be a single, centralised exhaust pipe which exits over the gearbox. This precludes the previous use of exhaust gases to give greater down-force.
Put all this together and the new F1 season will be completely different.
