The 2017 Formula One season is shaping up to be a watershed moment for the entire sport as sweeping changes are in order to make the races more competitive. Sure, we won’t be seeing the controversial halo protective device anymore, but the overall makeup of the actual race cars that will be competing next season will be dramatically different from the versions being used in the current season.
Sky Sports recently took a close look at the major changes for the 2017 Formula One cars and their respective tires. Basically, the cars have been designed to look faster and more aggressive and so, rules have put in place to extend the track width of the cars from the current requirement of 1.8 meters (almost 6 feet) to 2.0 meters (a little over 6.5 feet). F1 teams achieved that by having wider front and rear tires to reduce understeer and improve mechanical grip that will be needed to cope with the increased cornering speeds. The front wing for the 2017 F1 cars will also be wider by 0.50 feet and will feature in a swept back profile to make it less sensitive to the difficult racing conditions that lie ahead. Likewise, the rear wing will also look markedly different as they will be lower and wider. The new size of the wing will be able to better complement the larger diffuser and the bigger barge boards to increase downforce throughout the car.
With these changes, the 2017 F1 race cars are expected to be faster around corners than they have been since the mid 2000s. The changes do come at a cost of adding almost 50 pounds to the weight of the car, making them more than a handful to drive. But since we’re talking about some of the best racers in the world competing in the pinnacle of motor sports, I don’t think that’s going to be too much of an adjustment for these guys. At the very least, we should see some more entertaining races next season, especially around those corners where speeds are likely to pick up, allowing for more of those breathtaking overtaking opportunities that have become rare in recent reasons.