Formula for excitement

It’s Formula One season once again and with it comes a raft of rule changes introduced by the FIA with the aim of lowering costs and improving safety (by reducing speeds) while improving the overall spectacle for the viewing public.

The first two races of the 2006 F1 season in Bahrain and Malaysia saw these rule changes in effect. The biggest news are the 2.4-liter V8 powerplants that take the place of the previous years’ 3.0-liter V10s, resulting in a drop in horsepower from roughly 950 hp to approximately 750 hp this year. No surprise, of course (considering the aerodynamics geniuses that design these cars), is that lap times this year did not slow as much as was expected with the power deficit — despite the first two races being held at high-horsepower circuits.

A loophole in the new rules, however, allows power-restricted V10s from last year to be used by the small, budget-restricted teams (like Scuderia Toro Rosso) to reduce their development costs for a new engine.

As in last year, engines are required to last two Grand Prix weekends. But with completely new and relatively unproven engines, blowups and failures are occurring at a dramatically higher rate. In Sepang, almost a quarter of the field had to take grid penalties due to engine changes and there were several blowups in the race.

The second major rule change concerns tire changes. After a year of making tires last for qualifying and the whole race, drivers are again allowed to make pitstops for fresh rubber. This was expected to boost the fortunes of Bridgestone and Ferrari, eclipsed by Michelin last year but dominant in 2004 when races were sprints between tire changes. True enough, the Maranello-based team has proven much more of a force to be reckoned with in the last two races compared to their performance in the whole of last year.

Williams and Toyota have joined Ferrari on Bridgestone tires after switching from Michelin while Toro Rosso have gone in the other direction. This will be Michelin’s farewell season before leaving Bridgestone as sole supplier in 2007.

The third major rule change happens before each race and is dubbed "Knockout Qualifying." This year, qualifying has become a three-part knockout affair. All cars will be on the track together at first, with three separate sessions in a one-hour period instead of last year’s boring single-lap time-trial format with just one car out at a time.

The slowest six cars in the first 15 minute session drop out and take positions 17-22 on the starting grid. Six more are eliminated after a second similar session, taking places 11-16.

The final 10 drivers then fight for pole position in the decisive 20-minute session.

Those cars which go out before the final session can be fully refuelled before the race starts whereas those in the top 10 can only replace what they used in qualifying.

An interesting sidelight here is that with the 12 slowest cars running on absolute minimum fuel loads for quickest qualifying laptimes, they may actually post faster times than the final pole position time set by the fastest 10 cars that would be required to carry race fuel loads for their final knockout qualifying run. This has made for very interesting lead changes for the first two stints of the race, particularly in Bahrain.

Now if you’re wondering why there are now 22 cars on the grid from the previous years’ 20, that’s because Japan’s Super Aguri team were given the go-ahead only last January, becoming the first completely new entrants in Formula One since Toyota’s debut in 2002.

Formula One last had 11 teams that same season, when Arrows folded. Speaking of changes, four other teams are now under new ownership or have changed their names since 2005: BAR has become Honda Racing F1, Sauber is now BMW-Sauber, Jordan is renamed Midland and Minardi has been renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso.

There are new drivers as well. Germany’s Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 World champion Keke and winner of the inaugural GP2 feeder series last year, is the highest-profile new driver. He joins Williams.

Scott Speed, making his debut with Toro Rosso, becomes the first American Formula One race driver since Michael Andretti left McLaren in 1993. Super Aguri, with Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide, who first drove a Formula One car only last month, have the first all Japanese line-up.

Ferrari, with Brazilian Felipe Massa joining from Sauber, have a new driver for the first time since 2000. He takes the place of compatriot Rubens Barrichello, who has switched to Honda.

Germany’s Nick Heidfeld has gone from Williams to the new BMW-Sauber team while Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will compete for Toro Rosso after four races with Red Bull. Dutchman Christijan Albers has joined Midland from Minardi while Sato goes from BAR to Super Aguri.

An interesting merry-go-round of seats — and a harbinger of things to come, if the first two races are anything to go by. Still betting on Raikkonen or Alonso? Don’t be too sure, what with a resurgent Ferrari and a hopefully luckier Fisichella (or a more consistent Button or even a precocious Rosberg) waiting in the wings. One thing’s for sure, though. We’ll have one heck of an exciting F1 season ahead of us. Bravo!

Here are some of your comments. Reactions and questions from last week…

I own a car with the new CRDi technology. Do I need to bring my car to the gas station to clean the muffler? Can I use biodiesel fuel additives? — 09177212222 (As far as we know, despite your car’s advanced diesel technology, your muffler — so long as you don’t actually flush it — needs no special attention. Whether it will run okay using biodiesel, however, is something that only your car manufacturer can answer at this point. Try giving them a call.)

Daily traffic at Mabalacat, Pampanga caused by public utility jeeps loading and unloading in the middle of MacArthur Highway. — 09178065733

Regarding the March 22 Backseat Driver article, the sixth paragraph, fourth sentence reads, "If you can’t pronounce they’re name…" They’re is short for "they are". The correct pronoun should be "their". — 09189234718 (You are absolutely right! That slipped past both the writer and the editor. We stand corrected and we apologize for the oversight.)

What’s the difference between Isuzu’s Crosswind and Alterra? — 09166463486 (They are two very different vehicles. The Crosswind is a 4x2 AUV which is quite versatile but not as streamlined and refined as the even more versatile Alterra SUV — which is sold in both 4x2 and 4x4 variants. The Alterra is thus about P500,000 more expensive than the Crosswind.)

Why do we allow funeral marches even on one way streets? — 09176051987

Traffic had worsened ever since stoplights were put at the BF Resort-Alabang Zapote Junction extending up to Makro even as late as 11 p.m. — 09228243389

What are the MMDA and other traffic enforcers doing regarding jeepneys that turn off their headlamps at night? Please do something before people are killed. — 09178531454

The reason some drivers don’t turn on their headlamps is because they have this notion that their batteries will last longer. — 09175667682 (It’s probably a right notion but certainly a misguided one because if you don’t turn on your headlamps at night, when else do you intend to use them? We stand by our columnist Butch Gamboa in his assessment of this nagging problem.)

Was driving at Daang Hari one night when a big stone thrown from the dark hit my car, causing a dent. Hope the police would patrol the area. — 09178015325

Why has Honda failed to bring in their other cars like the Element, the Pilot and the Sol? — 09178531454 (That is a direct result of free enterprise abuse. The official, tax-paying Honda Philippines entity cannot realistically compete with free trade used vehicle importation schemes in effect right now. The variants of their model line-ups are dictated by economies of scale. Only models that sell in bulk will be beneficial to their business, hence the existence of only the more affordable and sellable variants in legitimate showrooms.)

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