New regulations will not close the field - Head

Former F1 design expert Patrick Head has spoken out about the 2017 regulations and thinks that the increased aerodynamics will make the field much more spread out. 

Teams have been working on their 2017 designs for a long time now in order to make the most of the massive change, and pull out of the garage next season with a superior car to their rivals.

While fans have been hoping that the change will mean there will be closer fighting for wins, podiums, and points, Head has squashed those expectations, stating that the complete opposite will happen.

"If anybody was thinking of these rules with the aim of closing the field up then they’ve got rocks in their head. Any time you make significant changes the advantage will always go to the bigger teams. Because they have more resources, they have more capability to parallel develop their existing car and work on the design of their new car."

"When you have 750 employees or more against, say, Force India's 300, of course the bigger teams can do more. Any idea it will close the field up is nonsense."

Head, who co-founded the Williams team, said the regulations are not designed to pull the cars closer together, but instead to give them more visual appeal and fiercer racing throughout the pack. He suggested if cars had less aerodynamic grip and more mechanical grip, there would be closer racing. 

"I don’t think anyone ever said that was the target. I think the target was to make it more attractive to create a bit more excitement. If they wanted a formula that allowed for more overtaking without using artificial aids like DRS then they needed to go for a formula that reduced downforce levels but they have gone in the opposite direction." 

Fergal Walsh