Nico Hulkenberg has become the latest driver to criticise 2017’s new regulations, on the basis that overtaking is now ‘almost impossible’
Hulkenberg finished 11th in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, only a mere second adrift of Force India’s Esteban Ocon and what would have been a point on his Renault debut.
Despite having a significant tyre advantage in the closing stages, Hulkenberg was unable to even attempt an overtake on his rival.
“I was hoping he would have a little bit of a problem on the soft and I was obviously on the ultra-soft,” he stated in an interview featured on Motorsport.com. “But quickly I understood that it wasn’t going to happen.
“And these cars, the dirty air is huge, so overtaking – almost impossible. I probably could have gone more than a second quicker, but it’s just not in there.”
With bigger wings and more detailed bargeboards featuring on 2017 cars as a result of the desire to make F1 faster, downforce has been increased by 30 percent compared with 2016 levels.
While some lap time improvement is prompted by increased mechanical grip from the wider tyres this year, downforce is the significant factor affecting performance.
As such, the new generation of cars are affected to an even greater extent by turbulence than their predecessors. Turbulent air has always been a deterrent to close racing, but the suspicion is that this has been exacerbated this season.
With wider cars and shorter braking distances contributing to the overall challenge, close racing could be in short supply this season.
However, with Albert Park being a venue notoriously short on overtaking, the jury is still out on whether Hulkenberg’s theory will permeate the season.
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