2007 Rule Changes

[Wizzo]

The 2007 season of Formula 1 is almost upon us.  The teams have almost finished showing their cars to the press and testing has been going on for some time on their completed cars. With the first race just over a month away I thought it time we looked at some of the rule changes.

Tyres
The tyre manufacturers had a little shake up this year with Michelin leaving and now all teams are racing on Bridgestone tyres. This means a slight disadvantage for those teams that were running Michelin last year as they have to get to know the Bridgestones without the previous years running that the other teams had. However it's not a great setback, and any tyre issues are now likely to affect the entire paddock.

Third Car
Teams that finished between 5th and 11th last year inclusive, will not be running a third car on Friday sessions from this year. Previously they were allowed to do so in order to try and give them an edge over the top four teams who usually carry with them a much larger budget.

Friday Practice
The two Friday practice session are now extended from sixty to ninety minutes, that means more track testing time for the teams and more for those with weekend passes to watch.

Safety Car
One of the most interesting rule changes this year is when a safety car pulls out. No car is allowed to enter the pits until all the cars are lined up behind the safety car. What this means is that we won't see cars racing into the pits to fill up with fuel and change tyres when a safety car is announced and pulls onto the track. Everyone will wait until all the cars are lined up behind the safety car.

There's another safety car rule change that is quite interesting and will definitely have an affect on the race. When the safety car is deployed and the cars all line up behind it, all those lapped cars that are out of position will be required to drive right past the safety car and rejoin at the back of the grid.

Engine Changes
Previously the engine change penalty applied to the entire race weekend, change an engine and you're docked ten grid places. Now though if you change an engine on the first day of the weekend you'll be fine, it's only thereafter does it incur a penalty.

Track Status Lights
In a much needed move, each car will now have flag indicator lights on the inside of the car to tell the driver what the track status is. Finally this is a much needed addition, now if the FIA can just make sure that they actually use them as all too often with the flags we'd see them appear late and sometimes not at all.

Now, that's not all the rule changes of course, but they are the ones that I think will have an impact on the audience and the fan, rightly or wrongly.

[CrazyHorse]

yeah rules pretty much the same as last year, they get a overhaul for the 2008 season tho 

[cosworth151]

The "Fan Friendly Friday" rules will add spectator value to the week-end passes and might help the track recoup some of the 10% per year hike that Bernie charges.
The line-up behind the Safety Car is a mixed bag. It will make for a cleaner re-start but will eliminate even more passing (overtaking). There's little enough of that as it is.

[davewilson]

Yes ,got to agree cosworth151:

The rolling road is the safe option to get things on track again.You do not think a team would deploy one for their own ends in given situations do you?..........Tactics would take over as dare suggests....The solution to bunching would surely be to calculate the times between each driver prior to an incident,then let them fly by a green light on the safety car?

The Stig