2006 F1 Regulation Changes Part 1

The 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship season will see a number of alterations being implemented.

The purpose is mainly to make the sport safer, make it less expensive for teams to participate and finally, make the race more enjoyable for track and telly viewers.


These three main aims undertaken by FIA are important, but in which order of priority they are still remains unclear.

To cap the development cost, last year saw FIA instructing teams to use only one engine for two consecutive races and instituted the one-tire per race ruling, with the aims of reducing the team’s running cost. To promote safety, FIA also introduced measures to reduce the downforce by restricting aerodynamics of an F1 car.

Come 2006, FIA reinforced its safety concerns by shrinking the engines to a 2.4 litre V8 from a 3.0 litre V10. By reducing speed, the safety motivated move is also seen as a measure to cap the rising development cost of the teams in the long run, albeit the high initial investment.

“For the first time in ten years, a drop in performance was recorded - and this was fundamental,” said Paolo Martinelli, engine director of Ferrari’s new 2.4 V8 engine. “The change in power meant some greater investment but, in the long run, it will be more economical. The overall output of the engine remains unchanged and, so, some factors were the same as on the V10.”

Not only does the latest rule affect the speed of the car, it also provides a major technical challenge for teams and drivers to develop a chassis around a smaller engine, and for drivers to drive a significantly less powerful car. So significant, insiders expect as much as 300 horsepowers are lost, down from 850 – 900 hp in 2005 to around 550 – 600 hp for 2006.

“It has been a big change,” MF1 driver Tiago Monteiro agrees. “People don't realise how big the changes are when you take only two cylinders off. It is not just the engine, it is the driving style of the car, the way you set-up the car and the way you work with the electronics.”

For teams that cannot afford to acquire the new V8, FIA have allowed for them to race using the old V10 engines equipped with an air restrictor. Although the restricted V10 is expected to perform on par with the V8 under FIA’s control, the V10s would have still a lot more torque compared to the V8 due to its bigger displacement.

Only one team is opting for that exemption – the Scuderia Torro Rosso using the Cosworth 3.0 V10 engine; while its senior team the Red Bull Racing will switch to Ferrari-powered 2.4 V8. In fact, it will be very interesting to see how this would play out in the end – two teams with one common aim and owner, whose cars are using two different engine suppliers, two entirely different engine configurations and two different tyre suppliers (Bridgestone and Michelin).

By Kamarul Aznam