The FIA has confirmed that a new feature on this year’s Formula 1 cars will have adapability, in response to conerns on energy harvesting on certain tracks.
One big element of the new technical regulations has been the replacement of DRS with ‘active aero’, in which front and rear wings can be opened-up in specific activation zones.
This has been paired up with ‘Overtake Mode’, which will allow drivers to recharge an +0.5MJ [megajoules] to generate extra power to overtake a car, similarly to DRS, within a second in-front.
Overtake Mode will have a similar activation point, of which there will be one at the Albert Park Circuit for the opening round in Melbourne next week.
There is still a sense of uncertainty about this, given the fact that during pre-season testing in Bahrain, teams acted on their own strategies and therefore the use of the feature was not given particularly close attention.
Concerns have been that certain circuits on the F1 calendar will see a rise and fall in energy harvesting, which could naturally impact the style of racing, given the 50-50 hybrid PUs mean drivers will be conserving battery power every single laps.
Tombazis has confirmed that the FIA is still somewhat in the dark on the reality of its usage, too, given teams acted on their own in Bahrain, but stated that the energy charged for Overtake Mode is likely to face tweaks and alterations depending on the track.
“It is circuit dependent,” he said. “And at the moment, we haven’t had much opportunity to evaluate it here, because clearly people are all doing their programs, and we don’t want to take any risks also doing testing.
“So I think it’s a bit early to say on overtaking. But I think Overtake Mode can also be, you know, if we feel it’s too weak then we can strengthen it and if we feel it’s too powerful, we can also reduce it, if necessary.”
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