By Marvyn H

The FIA (the governing body of motorsport) has made quite a few changes to the technical regulations of F1 cars. Some of these will be in effect as early as the start of the 2006 season and the rest will only come into play in 2008.

Here are some of the more interesting specs that have changed:
It was decided last night (Monday 24th Ocober) at a meeting of the Formula One Commission in London that the qualifying format for Formula One is changing for next season and the changing of tyres during races will be allowed again. They are also considering a radical change in the rear-wing design which might be brought in as early as 2007.

The new qualifying is going to work as follows:

A 3 phase qualifying knockout with the 5 slowest cars after 15 minutes dropping out. 5 more cars will drop out in the next 15 minutes and the remaining cars will compete in a 20 minute session for the top positions on the grid.

Qualifying has been changed a lot in recent years to try and get better exposure for smaller teams and at the same time mix the grid up to allow for more overtaking during a race.

The new split rear wing (called the Centre Downwash Generating Wing) has been designed to allow closer following and therefore more passing opportunities as well. A step in the right direction as recent changes to the cars and especially aerodynamics have been mostly to slow the cars down instead of increase entertainment.

The weight of the entire vehicle, including the driver, must now not be less than 550kg. This has been decreased from 605kg.

The engines have been down-sized to 2.4 litre V8 motors with 4 valves per cylinder. The minimum number of gears for these cars is 4 and the maximum is 7. The wheel width at the front of all cars must be between 390mm and 450mm with the width at the rear being between 490mm and 505mm. The overall weight of the engine must be at least 95kg.

The FIA have given a concession to manufacturers and teams not ready with their new engines saying they will allow them to use other engines (such as the V10 engines currently being used) with the performance decreased; obviously this will be controlled by the FIA and no-one else.

All cars must now be fitted with a starter which the driver must be capable of using to start the engine from his seated position. This should cut out some of those embarrasing failed starts to GP's for some drivers.

From 2008 the FIA will choose 1 tyre manufacturer to supply all the teams. This is a dramatic change and should increase the excitement value by levelling the playing field a bit; it's a real pity they could only get this in from 2008.

Pit to car telemetry will be prohibited so the team will not be able to fix any gremlins from the pit-wall and all voice radio communication must be open and accessible to both the FIA and the broadcasters.

No competitor can carry out more than 30,000km of testing during a year.

Some interesting changes here, I sincerely hope it increases the competitiveness and excitement of this sport because it needs it.

By Lyle Tarman

Formula One racing began in Europe in the late 1890's. It has long since become a favorite sport across the world. Many countries including Japan, Australia, and Canada all participate in this favorite pastime. The United States is not considered to have a large fan base for this sport though the popularity is rising among the states.

Formula one is considered the highest class of open wheeled racing. The term "Formula" is in reference to the set of regulations that is placed on the participants and the cars conformity. The series of races that help determine the championships are called Grand Prix. They are usually held on circuits intentionally built for the kind of specific racing though in some cases the races are performed on street circuits. One of the most famous street races is the Monaco Grand Prix held in Monte Carlo. The results of all the races are combined to determine two annual World Championships. One is held for the drivers and the other is for the constructors.

Formula One racing has seen many changes over the years. This is to create better racing results along with better safety standards for the drivers. The cars performance is very dependent on aerodynamics, tires, suspension, and electronics. These cars can travel at speeds of 360km/h equivalent to 225mph.

Europe has long been the center for this sport. Over half of the races take place there and most teams are located there as well. Many of the Driver's Champions have been from the United Kingdom as well as many of the Constructors Champions. Though this sport is more popular in Europe races takes place all over the world. Since the fan base is spreading to all parts of the world, about half of all future races have been scheduled outside of Europe. Many races scheduled for the Americas have been dropped and moved to places such as China, Turkey, and, Singapore. One of the first night races is scheduled to take place in Singapore this year. India will be added to the racing list in the year 2010.

The sport has millions of fans watching worldwide for every race. This is the world's most expensive sport and it has a significant effect on the economy. This being the case high investments by sponsors allow for the constructors to work with a very large budget. Formula One is a large merchandising environment, additionally high profile companies and individuals are often offered corporate hospitality packages by the organizers that can cost upwards of ten's of thousands of dollars.