“The foundations are evolving,” insists the FIA’s Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis in response to drivers claims.
Following preliminary runs within the simulator, plenty of drivers, most notably Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, have expressed concern at subsequent 12 months’s laws overhaul, the largest in residing reminiscence.
One of many essential issues raised is that the brand new regs would require extra concentrate on power administration and the like, versus out and out racing.
“Clearly when you might have a a lot greater proportion {of electrical} energy and a smaller proportion of ICE energy, and you do not have batteries which might be discharging over the whole race distance, then power administration turns into a bit extra of a problem,” admits Tombazis to Motorsport.com.
“Now the chance of those new vehicles for the taking part producers is to develop the batteries, {the electrical} methods, and so forth,” he provides. “I believe we’ll see some innovation on {the electrical} facet of the engine subsequent 12 months, which I believe might be good. However clearly there are some challenges with the power administration, and the noises that we hear are normally associated to that.
“We have not completed the foundations but in that respect,” he insists. “The foundations are evolving and we knew of those points from day one. The second you cut back one energy, and also you improve the opposite one, we knew that there have been points to handle.
“Now we have to undergo an approval course of with the PU producers,” he explains by way of the potential want for modifications, “so we will not simply unilaterally make a change tomorrow. However by and enormous, after we tackle particular issues, the groups and PU producers are usually comparatively useful.
“I believe what now we have now and what we’ll have at the start of subsequent 12 months isn’t precisely the identical factor,” he admits. “I am not saying it is going to be fully completely different, however there will certainly be quite a lot of evolution between now and the beginning.
“Clearly, one of many difficulties is that it’s not all the time straightforward to get everybody to agree,” he admits. “When groups and producers talk about these issues, they consider a mixture of the nice of the game and their very own aggressive place.
“In fact, one bit influences the opposite, so unavoidably, there might be completely different opinions. In the mean time, the technical specification of the engines, {the electrical} half, and all of that’s set in stone. That is not altering.”
Confirming that the FIA continues to be engaged on the power restoration facet of issues, he says: “I believe there is a basic feeling that every one of those matters could have very sturdy levers on which to react. These issues should do with the utmost energy, how rapidly it should cut back on the straights, the power that you may get well, and many others. There are all types of levers that we are able to play on, and that we’re taking part in on.”
Requested about claims that drivers might want to carry and coast on the straights, one thing of which Verstappen has been extremely vocal, Tombazis says: “There might be numerous new provisions with a view to handle the power higher and to be sure that vehicles aren’t decelerating on the straights, doing humorous issues, or, as an instance, doing unnatural issues.
“What we do not need, is a state of affairs the place they should carry off, for instance, on the straights or something like that. We are going to completely, categorically, be sure that they do not should carry off in a specific space with a view to do one thing with the power or no matter. When they should go sooner, drivers will hold the pedal to the steel, as they are saying.”
Returning to the theme of producers focussing on themselves, Tombazis admits that some are proving reluctant to share their preliminary information.
“Some are very secretive about what they’re doing, whereas some others are very open and really useful in proposing issues,” he admits. “We’re taking quite a lot of these concepts on board.”
As for the drivers issues, he believes that a lot of this might stem from the truth that they do not but have the total image.
“I believe it is essential to convey that, as a result of some folks, together with the drivers testing within the simulator, do not comply with the evolution of our discussions with the groups intimately. Possibly they solely get a snapshot. However the cause they’re driving the simulator is exactly to determine these issues, so we are able to resolve them.
“If we did not have drivers within the simulator, we would not have all this suggestions. We are able to do rather a lot with simulations ourselves, however you really need a driver in a automotive and get quite a lot of suggestions. That is what’s going on these months.”
