Dangers awaiting in Baku
CITY’S ANCIENT STONE WALLS ARE UNFORGIVING FOR THE OVERAMBITIOUS
This weekend Baku will host the fourth round of the 2018 F1 season. The capital city of Azerbaijan lies 28m below sea level on the coast of the Caspian Sea, with the race taking place around the streets of both the old and new city.
The challenges will be similar to those of the Monaco race. A mistake can be costly as those ancient stone walls are unforgiving and waiting for the overambitious.
Moved from its end of June slot, the race will be one that Lewis Hamilton will want to win as the Mercedes driver has yet to reach the top step of the podium and will be keen to kickstart his bid for a fifth world title.
Likewise Ferrari will be fighting to take the lead in the Constructors’ championship, currently trailing Mercedes by a single point.
Azerbaijan was Daniel Ricciardo’s sole victory last year and it was a strange set of circumstances that led to it.
I am sure both Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wish to forget the antics that transformed the race into a Red Bull benefit day.
You can bet the ebullient Aussie will be out to repeat his performance of last year and his win in China two weeks ago.
Last week, the Strategy Group and the Formula 1 Commission met to discuss rule changes for 2019, plus the new engine proposals for 2021.
One of the items from the agenda was weight, an issue that has concerned many as some drivers were struggling to reduce and maintain a minimal weight.
From next season this will no longer be such a problem as the all up mass of a car will no longer be a combination of car and driver, but will be based on a car weight of 734kg.
It is suggested that there will be a minimum weight for a driver, and apparently 80kg is the figure doing the rounds at present.
If the driver weighs less, ballast will be added to the car adjacent to the driver. So, no more drastic calorie counting for the larger drivers.
The fuel allowance for a race is to be increased from 105 kg to 110 kg. Apparently the extra 5kg will allow the cars to run at full power without the need for the nonsensical fuel savings we have witnessed too often, turning what should be racing into an economy run.
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Edited by André de Kock andrédk@citizen.co.za
of driver safety are to introduce biometric gloves, which will be mandatory.
These gloves will transmit data to the circuit medical team and will monitor the oxygen content of the blood and the pulse rate before and after an accident.
This will allow the medics to assess the driver’s condition immediately rather than requiring physical contact to ascertain the situation.
Regarding the new engine, decisions are still being made, so more on that subject later.
One positive point was the removal of the very unreliable and expensive MGU-H which should reduce the number of power plant failures.