2010 Rule changesWhilst the changes for2010 are not nearly as wide ranging as they were for 2009 they arestill significant. Most of the major changes are to be found in theSporting regulations rather than in the technical regulations.
Tyres
A 245/55R13 front rubber will replace the 270/55R13 used in 2009. "This will help to bring a better grip balance between
the front and the rear grip of the cars" explains Hirohide Hamashima. "When we changed back to slick tyres the grooved tyre size
was retained, meaning that the front gained proportionally more grip than the rear. This is
addressed by making the front tyre narrower." It could have significant implications
on chassis design with wheelbase and weight distribution key factors.
The 2010 sporting regulations place new restrictions on teams usingrigs to build better tyre models. Clause 25.5 states: Tyres supplied toany competitor at any time may not be used on any rig or vehicle (otherthan an F1
car on an F1 approved track, at the exclusion of any kind of road simulator), either Team owned or
rented, providing measurements of forces and/or moments produced by a rotating full size F1 tyre,
other than uniquely vertical forces, tyre rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag.
Wheel manufacturers like BBS can however conduct any testing required to develop rims.
Refuelling
Therewon't be any. Clause 29 of the 2010 Sporting Regulations outlaws any inrace fuelling. This is one of the FIA's cost cutting measures savingthe teams the cost of maintaining and shipping the large and cumbersomefuel rigs. Fuel cells will now have to be substantially enlarged up to250 litres, which means the rear of the monocoque will in turn be muchbigger. This will have significant influence on the overall car design,with weight distribution and wheelbase impacted. There will be extraslosh in the tank creating something of a modelling issue for thedesigners, teams have been fitting video cameras inside fuel tanks tovisualise the motion of the fuel.
At the start of the race thecars will have much heavier fuel loads, putting extra pressure on thebrakes and tyres. In 2009 the brakes were marginal at some tracks(notably Singapore) this situation will only be worse in 2010, expectto see drivers nursing brakes at the end of some races, with the telltale coulds of black dust a sure sign of a worn set of discs.
Weight
Therewon't be as much at least by the end of the race once the fuel has beenused up. Vehicle minimum weight is now 20kg lighter at 605kg. All thecars will be under this easily and use ballast to control the weightdistribution, usually built into the car as low as possible. Weghtdistribution will be a critical factor as will wheelbase (expected tobe around 100mm longer than in 2009). At least one team has relocatedthe oil tank from the head of the engine to behind it a symptom ofusing a larger fuel cell. Narrow front tyres will also have a majorimpact on the layout of the cars.
At the start of the race carswill weigh significantly more and this could lead to heavy brake wear,as some cars were marginal at Singapore last year expect this to be amajor factor, espcially at the aforementioned street circuit as well asat Montreal.
Aerodynamic development
There will be a reductionin straight line aerodynamic testing, teams are only allowed to havesix days of testing, however they can trade a days straight linetesting for four hours in a full scale windtunnel such as Windshear,although at a maximum speed of 50m/s (112mph) . Scale model testing isnot restricted on number of days, but models are limited to 60% scaleand the airspeed is again limited to 50m/s. USF1 however has beengranted a special dispensation for two extra days in the windshear fullscale wind tunnel
