Quote:
Originally Posted by Tourer
Having new regulations and then limiting development is likely to result (again) in 1 or 2 teams getting it completely right and the others going with a different concept that ends up not delivering but being unable to close the gap due to the development restriction.
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To continue this line of thinking.
I think teams exist on a scale that ranges from "Full understanding" to "Completely Puzzled". I am talking here about understanding that making change X results in Y performance. I am also focusing here on chassis design and setup and not power unit.
So I think you have someone like Williams who are closer to the bad side of that scale. While having the money to product development parts may be a problem, if they truly understood the problem they should be able to create a solution, or at least make a big jump forward in pace even if they don't move up the grid. But yet they continue to struggle. Now there may be a core defect in the car they can't resolve until next year, but I suspect that can't account for all of their issues. I suspect Williams is lost in the wilderness. They may be throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. And they don't have the funds to create many things to try. Haas is probably similar to Williams right now, but just better funded.
Now, not to pick on someone like Williams or Haas as few teams probably really fully understand how to make the current regulations work. Some show up at the start of the season fast out of the gate. They are on the other end of the scale. This is a Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull (in that order). McLaren seems to be getting it together as well.
Drop these teams into a new set of technical regulations and it is much more likely that the teams that both product quick cars AND understand "why" they are quick will produce a good solution out of the gate next year. Those that are still unable to unlock the current regulations are very likely to be just as lost in the new regulations. Some might stumble into a good solution (in hindsight that might be Haas in their first year), but as development continues they can't replicate the success as they never really understood "why" in the first place.
Will the new cars be simpler in the sense that the solutions may be less complex and easier for those that are lost to find their way out of the woods?
Richard