Marko says 2012 rules made to end Red Bull dominance
18 April, 2012
Helmut Marko with Sebastian Vettel
Apr.18 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has aimed fire at F1′s new rules for 2012, claiming they were devised deliberately to end the era of Red Bull dominance.
“We no longer have the superiority that we had last year,” the energy drink owned team’s Austrian consultant acknowledged on Servus TV this week.
“This is due to several technical changes that were introduced deliberately against Red Bull,” said Marko.
He conceded that the new rules apply to every team, but is clearly suggesting that the exhaust blown diffuser clampdown, and the tougher rigidity tests for the front wings, were devised with Sebastian Vettel’s utter dominance of the 2011 season in mind.
“But that is not an excuse for our car not being at the level it should be at,” Marko insisted.
Subbed by AJN.
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thats like saying the reason Ferrari is having trouble is because they were dominant for decades and the FIA didnt like that. Oh but that has nothing to do with Alonso nor Ferrari on why they are slower then the top teams. smh
While the rules changes affect all, some are obviously affected more than others, while still others are obviously set back significantly, as the rules hit their core more than the rest. Ferrari never got a handle on the blown diffuser, and failed at the torsional front wing, while McLaren caught on later in the season, which is why the gap to RBR closed. The current exhaust uses are interesting, in that RBR did not anticipate what Sauber and McLaren were doing would be allowed by the rules as written, so have had to make adjustments according to the Whiting interpretation. Same for the double DRS Merc has deployed, while the Lotus ride height adjuster was not. There are no “intended” rules, as has now been stated, so these approaches are being allowed, just like all the diffuser, weight distribution, throttle mapping, and wing features were allowed in prior seasons – they all met the the letter of the rules, which is all that counts – as has been repeated now many times. This “rules intention” argument cannot be used against one team, and for another teams actions, that’s why the letter of the rule, and related inspection are all that matter. It’s now up to RBR to redress their won approach – so don’t be shocked if they develop something that cause interpretations to be revisited for their own advantage, as others have already.
The off throttle blowing was against all the teams.
The reason we had the ban don’t ban was for the cooling / reliability factor that Renault said with such short notice they couldn’t change the way there systems ran.
red bull wings were always questioned but the final nail in them was brought about by the flutter wing Ferrari used.
The way the gasses are being used this year is already being checked and double checked and Charlie says that may change again with the turbo era coming so is it all against the Bull or is it against the whole pack!
To me it seems to be against concepts that go against the spirit of green and flouting rules that were in place to stop ground affect aerodynamics “wings that bend”.
RBR utilized a forward weight bias with aero rear loading other teams never figured out – so the standard weight distribution rule was made. Ross B. innovated the double diffuser that Newey mastered and RBR led with in 2010, end of that by rule. RBR innovated the blown, then off-throttle map augmentation, and dominated with it in 2011, end of that by rule. RBR innovated the torsion stressed front wing, augmenting the rear aero grip – ended by stiffer rules in 2012. The high keel innovated by RBR, and made to good use to feed rear aero, now limited and being phased out by rule. No, there is no effort at all to target RBR at all… nope, not here. As far as this all proving SV is inferior as a driver? Sure, if you figure that the dominant Renault (read innovative) under Alonso, excellent Ferraris under MSC, and innovative aero behind Button, etc… all shored up the clowns in the seats… yeah, I guess SV is in fine company…
thanks to charlie whiting.
The changes have affected Ferrarri more than Red Bull.
I think its good that the changes to the rules have uncovered Vettel’s true driving ability. He’s good, but not that good. This season he might not even win a race, but on the up side he will learn a lot about real wheel to wheel driving – experience that his team mate Mark Webber has gained over his long career in this sport and uses to his advantage.
The rules are the same for everyone.
I don’t think the rule changes were aimed specifically at hampering Red Bull but rather to bring the field closer together with the aim of races being a lot closer and more exciting.
The FIA have got it exactly right this year.
With the sport going greener, a technology that effectively burns fuel for aerodynamic gain was never going to be allowed to persist.
You win some & loose some.The rules are there for all the teams and everytime the rules change, a new team dominate that particular season or seasons to come.
With Turbo cars, we will have a completely new team running at the front.History repeats it’s self, even in motor sport we get that often.
How high you can fall, look Ferrari..and Mclaren before Ron Dennis took over…Williams recently…
of course rule changes are meant to be that way. it was to prevent a boring f1 like when ferrari had their dominance.
New rules for all teams… not to destroy a teams dominance. With new regulations and technical changes, Teams are challenged every now and then as to how capable they are in terms of developing new aeros and adapting to technology. How bitter this red bull is to accuse FIA that they’re being sabotaged.