Former Formula One driver and current Formula E competitor Bruno Senna believes giving Formula One cars more downforce will make the racing even worse.
Proposed regulation changes for the 2017 season centre around making the cars up to five seconds a lap faster by increasing the amount of aerodynamic grip. To achieve this, regulations will be relaxed to offer teams the opportunity to have larger wings, a wider body and a bigger diffuser.
These regulation changes are yet to be confirmed as both Mercedes and Pirelli submitted concerns on how the tyres would react with the extra downforce and grip load. In response to these proposed changes Bruno Senna told Motorsport.com the regulations should move away from the Aero side and concentrate more on creating a more durable and grippy tyre to increase the speed at which the cars can go.
“They should never give the cars more aerodynamic grip, because that’s why the racing in Formula 1 is so poor right now – too much aero,”
“The only way to make the racing any good then is using artificial aids like DRS. You see other series without any of that but still with overtaking.
“But then again, you want F1 to have the fastest cars, so I would give them grippier tyres while taking some of the aero off.
“The key is to exchange aerodynamic grip for mechanical grip.”
Senna has a very valid point regarding the issues faced when increasing the downforce but it would be a big surprise to see the FIA and strategy abandon these ideas in favour of a more durable and grippy tyre. Only time will tell what the next big changes will be.
