F1: cars heading in 'wrong direction'

(GMM) 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.”