(Motorsport-Total.com) – Complaints have been simmering since before the start of the season. From time to time, they intensify – especially on so-called “low-energy” tracks, where the ratio of corners to straights and the type of corners prevent the new generation Formula 1 cars from sufficiently recharging their batteries over the course of a lap.
Read more Why Mercedes is better now than in the Ground-Effect era
A rule adjustment ahead of the Miami Grand Prix reduced the much-criticized “Jo-Jo Racing,” which arose because drivers were in different charge states.
Recently, however, speed differences caused by the self-learning algorithms of the power units, which reacted to minimal changes in track conditions and driving style, caused significant unrest. At Spa, Oscar Piastri described this as a “pretty shitty way to race.”
But the situation will not change in the near future, even though there are voices calling for a complete ban on these machine-learning tools – usually citing an unassailable argument from a line in the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations. Article B1.9.1 states: “The driver must drive the car alone and without outside assistance.”
Thinking processes instead of pure speed
Nevertheless, it can be argued that the best drivers can also handle these new challenges, no matter how absurd and disruptive they may be. That was at least the view of Neil Houldey, Technical Director of Engineering at McLaren, in a media round during the summer break.
“Ultimately, it is the drivers who understand what they need to do, who are wide awake and among the best F1 drivers in the world, who will still be the fastest,” he says when asked whether it is currently even possible to accurately assess driver performance.
Formula 1 fails: These rule changes were a flop
“The criteria may have shifted. It’s no longer just about pure top speed. It’s about the thinking processes that run in the background and produce this lap time. But if we say – and there are examples of this, with Spa being a good example where Oscar was actually assigned a slightly different energy strategy, costing him a few tenths, but he was still on a level with Lando …”
“…then I think these things balance out,” says Houldey. “You still see the difference between the good and the less good drivers in the overall lap time and then also in the race.”
“My answer would be that in the end everything balances out,” he says. “There may be a race or a qualifying here or there where this disadvantages one driver or another, but I still believe that at the end of the season the best drivers will be at the top.”
Read more Ocon’s «most difficult first half of the season»: Will it get better for him again?
Software must intervene for safety reasons
The fundamental bottleneck of the current regulations with its almost 50:50 distribution between electric and combustion engine is the amount of energy the car can store.
Since the battery must be charged throughout the lap, software intervention is required for both safety and performance reasons to gradually throttle the delivery of electrical energy instead of cutting it off abruptly.
The machine-learning software also has a performance function: it assists engineers in trying to determine the “optimal lap” – that is, the combination of recuperation and energy output that enables the fastest lap time.
The effect of the rule adjustments from Miami, which gave the FIA more leeway to lower the recuperation limits, was to trade peak top speeds for a more sustainable (albeit slightly lower) final speed.
All this, however, assumes that the driver acts absolutely consistently with their control inputs – such as throttle position. For example, if a driver approaches a corner too aggressively and loses more momentum there than their teammate, accelerating out again costs valuable electrical energy. The bill comes later in the lap, where this energy is missing.
More mental exercise than before
Houldey sees this as a different risk-reward ratio than what drivers are used to: aggressiveness is less rewarded today than a thoughtful and disciplined approach. “It has definitely become much more of a mental exercise,” he says.
Interim reports: The best Formula 1 drivers at the summer break
“And for the drivers, definitely much more happens in the cockpit than before. Even in the years 2022 to 2025, the drivers had their hands full, but now there is an extra layer on top: you not only have to hit the cornering speeds perfectly, but also the way you deliver energy, the throttle position, and whatever else is involved absolutely perfectly.”
“It is certainly more technically demanding for the engineering team to get the maximum out of these cars, and it is more technically demanding for the drivers to get the best out of the cars,” says Houldey. “In the end, as always, the best combination of car, driver, and engineering team delivers the best result.”
Read more Cadillac with new F1 team principal: Marcin Budkowski replaces Graeme Lowdon