The changes to the technical regulations are not the only news for Miami. The pre-event notes also show an evolution in the FIA’s approach to rules specific to individual tracks. In particular, the Federation has extended the possibility of not using electric power to almost all corners, also increasing the minimum threshold for cutting hybrid power in some areas. Finally, the FIA has defined the zones where electric power will be limited to 250 kW, but only for races.
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The notes for Miami
One of the problems encountered in the early rounds concerned the rules for using the electric part. The regulations, in fact, require that when the driver returns to the accelerator, pressing it fully, the control unit must deliver no less than 200 kW of electric power for at least one second, a constraint that links throttle management to energy management, preventing pushing to the limit. However, the same regulation contemplates the possibility of defining some zones for each circuit that are exceptions to this rule. At Suzuka, for example, teams had no obligation to use the electric motor in the first sector’s chicane, a section where Lewis Hamilton later said it was possible to push.
The Federation now seems to want to extend this approach. In Miami, except for the first three, almost all actual corners will be exempt from the obligation to deliver at least 200 kW of electric power when returning to the throttle. Specifically, these are the zones from turn 4 to turn 8, from turn 11 to turn 16, and from turn 17 to turn 19, the latter stretch where the exemption applies only for qualifying. Furthermore, between turns 1 and 3 and between turns 5 and 8, the FIA has raised from 210 to 240 km/h the speed below which the control unit can abruptly cut all electric power, without having to follow the mandatory progressive reduction of 100 kW/s. The hope is that this will help better preserve battery charge, avoiding drivers having to lift off the accelerator to save energy.
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Reduced power in the corners
Regarding the recoverable energy per lap, the FIA confirms the values from Suzuka. In qualifying, up to 8 MJ can be recharged per lap, which becomes 8.5 MJ in the race and 9 MJ with the overtaking mode. Furthermore, as anticipated in recent weeks, the power of the electric part in the race will be limited from 350 kW to 250 kW in the zones to be tackled with closed wings. Specifically, the pre-event notes reveal that these coincide with the most cornered sections, namely from turn 1 to turn 8 and from turn 11 to turn 16.
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