In late January, Caterham released images of their long awaited
2012 challenger: the CT01. However, it wasn't the glorious sight
that many fans had hoped for following two months in which they had
been deprived of seeing an F1 car. The very noticeable "stepped
nose" was born.
Ferrari had dropped various hints over the winter that
regulation changes would make the car fairly unpleasant to look at
it, but few were expecting the extremity of the hump seen on the
green-and-yellow CT01.
Internet forums erupted in a frenzy of repulsion and comparisons
were made with the ungainly machines of seasons past.
So which regulation gremlin caused this mess? Article 3.7.9 in the
FIA's 2012 Technical Regulations reveals all:
"No bodywork situated more than 1950mm forward of rear
face of the cockpit entry template may be more than 550mm above the
reference plane."
In other words, low noses all round.
As ever, the reasoning is safety. Although Formula One has come on
in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, the governing body
is still trying to tackle areas of concern - and "launching" (a car
becoming airborne after making contact with the rear of another) is
a top priority. Mark Webber and Heikki
Kovalainen's collision at the 2010 European Grand Prix was a
terrifying example of what can go wrong, whilst Michael
Schumacher's lucky escape from Vitantonio Liuzzi in Abu Dhabi
that same year could arguably have been prevented. James Allison
from Lotus explains that the decision was made between all the
teams and the FIA.
"We agreed that the tips of the noses all had to be
lowered by a considerable amount. But the rule itself doesn't
require the front of the car to be lower, it only requires the tip
of the nose to be lowered."
On both occasions, the relatively high nosecone slotted over
another driver's bodywork and caused the car to climb into the air,
subsequently losing almost all control. A lower nose certainly
limits the risk a little.
However, all is not lost, aesthetics-wise. McLaren have taken an
interesting approach to interpreting the rule change, and instead
of opting for a "hump" have instead adopted a gentle slope from
cockpit to wing, with smaller visible effect in comparison to last
year's machines. The rules state that as soon as the nose meets the
front axis, the former must fall below the maximum height of
550mm.
At the time of writing, Caterham, Ferrari, Force India and Lotus
have chosen a more radical route, retaining the monocoque height at
conventional levels and then crudely sticking on a lower nose via a
startling drop. This change from 625mm to 550mm has to occur in the
space of 150mm, making the it very obvious to the observer
Time will tell which method is the better, although there are so
many other factors linked to overall performance that it would be
essentially impossible to tell where the advantage lies. But don't
count out the possibility of a few more teams switching sides
before Melbourne - it's going to be very interesting to see how
each outfit reacts to this radical swing. With McLaren and Ferrari
sporting such contrasting looks, it is apparent that there are
alternative ways of satisfying the rulebook. One thing is certain:
with eight cars still yet to appear, eyebrows have certainly been
raised.