F1 2010 Season Preview – Rules & Regulations

In the third part of our season preview we look at the new rules we will have to get to grips with.

The most prominent being the banning of in race refuelling.  This will mean that cars have to start the race on the fuel needed to get them to the end making them heavier and more challenging to manage throughout the race. The skill for the driver will be in managing the weight of the car early on in the race which will be some 50% heavier than last year.  Drivers will have to manage their driving styles so not to destroy their tyres early on in the race. It is thought that drivers with a smooth style like Jenson Button will benefit from this rule change.

KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) which was used by just a handful of teams last year to provide extra power will not be used in 2010 after an agreement from all the team not to use it. A new points system means that drivers winning a race this season will earn 25 points as opposed to just 10 last year.  Points will now go down to 10th place instead of 8th place.

Because of the banning of refuelling mid race, the rule which required a driver to qualify for the grid with the fuel load they were going to use in the race is not needed any more so Qualifying will now be carried out on low fuel loads, meaning for the first time in years, will be actually be able to tell who is the out right fastest driver in the battle for pole position.  The only slight confusing element they have added is that the top 10 drivers in Saturday’s qualifying will have to start the race on the tyres they qualified on.  The idea here trying slightly disadvantage the drivers at the front so their tyres are slight worn at the start of the race. I personally don’t think we need this rule as it adds needless complexity and I hope this is omitted from the regulations as soon as possible.

This year sees the season expanded to 19 races which will put extra demands on the teams with the addition of a Korean Grand Prix in late October.  The significance of taking the F1 show to Korea has political connotations, and we have to hope and wonder if the Korean fans will embrace F1 better than China or Turkey, as there are some important countries that do not have a F1 race, most noticeably USA and France. The Circuit is currently being build and is on target to be finished on time.

British F1 fans will be delighted that Silverstone was given a new contract, and that improvements to the track and facilities will be in ready by the time this years race comes round.  The layout of the circuit will change slightly, incorporating a new “Arena” section instead of where Bridge Bend was.