| FIA Formula 1 World Championship Technical Rules and
Regulations
Dimensions and bodywork
The overall width of the car, including wheels and tyres,
must not exceed 1800mm while the length of the car must not
exceed more than 4200mm. The maximum height of the car should
be no more than 950mm and the width of the bodywork ahead
of the rear wheels must not exceed 1400mm. In order to prevent
tyre damage to other cars the extremities of any bodywork
forward of the front wheels must be a least 10mm thick with
a radius of at least 5mm. There must be a 50mm radius (+/-2mm)
on each front corner when viewed from directly beneath the
car; this being applied after the surface has been defined.
The overall width of the car, including complete wheels must
not exceed 1800mm with the steered wheels in the straight-ahead
position.
Wings and aerodynamics
The rear wing must not exceed 100cm in width and the depth
of the wing chords must not exceed 30cm.
Engines Specification
Engine capacity must not exceed 3000cc and only 4-stroke
engines with reciprocating pistons are permitted. Supercharging
is forbidden. All engines must not have more than 5 valves
per cylinder and all engines must have 10 cylinders.
Engine materials
The basic structure of the crankshaft and camshafts must
be made out of steel or cast iron. Pistons, cylinders heads
and cylinder blocks may not be composite materials which use
carbon or aramid fibre reinforcing materials.
Exhaust system
Variable geometric length exhaust systems are forbidden.
Starting the engine
A supplementary device can be temporarily connected to the
car to start the car from the pits or from the grid.
Weight
The weight of the car must not be less than 600kg including
the driver. Ballast can be used to bring the car up to the
minimum weight but this cannot be added during a race.
Brakes
All cars must be equipped with only one braking system which
must comprise of two hydraulic circuits, one circuit operating
on the front wheels, and the other on the rear wheels. Any
power braking system or anti-lock system is forbidden. No
more than one brake calibre, with a maximum of six pistons
is permitted on each wheel and no more than one brake disc
per wheel can be used. These discs must have a maximum of
thickness of 28mm and a maximum outside diameter of 278mm.
Speed limiter
The purpose of the speed limiter is to improve safety by
ensuring a driver is less likely to exceed the pit lane speed
limit. Car speed limiters may only operate in first, second
and third gears and may only be activated in the pit lane.
Wheels and Tyres
The number of wheels is fixed at four. All wheels must be
made from metallic materials. Rear wheel width must be between
365-380mm. Front wheel width must be between 305-355mm. Complete
wheel diameter must not exceed 660mm with dry weather tyres
and 670mm with wet weather tyres.
Suspension and Steering
Cars must be fitted with sprung suspension and there must
be movement of the wheels to give sufficient travel in excess
of any flexibility in the attachments. Suspension geometry
must remain fixed at all times. Any powered device which is
capable of altering the configuration or affecting the performance
of any part of the suspension system is forbidden. No adjustment
can be made to the suspension system while the car is in motion.
The suspension cables and their attachments must be designed
in order to help prevent a wheel making contact with the driver's
head during an accident. Power assisted steering systems may
be electronically controlled or electrically powered. No such
system may carry out any function other than reduce the physical
effort required to steer the car.
Transmission
Only two wheels may be driven and automatic gearboxes are
banned. The driver must initiate each individual gear change
and the minimum number of forward gear ratios is 4 and the
maximum is 7. All cars must have a reverse gear operable any
time during the race when the car's engine is running.
Fuel tank
The tank must be a single rubber blade conforming to FIA
regulations. The fuel tank must be located between the driver
and the engine and no fuel can be stored more than 300mm forward
at the highest point where the driver's back makes contact
with the seat.
Refuelling
All the refuelling during the race must be conducted with
the FIA approved refuelling rig; any modification to this
rig must be made following written consent from the FIA.
Clutch Control
All cars must be fitted with a means of disengaging the clutch
for a minimum of 15 minutes in the event of the car coming
to rest with the engine stopped.
Steering wheel
The steering wheel must be fitted with a quick release mechanism
operated by pulling a concentric flange installed on the steering
column behind the wheel.
Safety Belts
It is mandatory to wear two shoulder straps, one abdominal
strap and two straps between the legs.
What's new on the technical regulation front for the 2002
season
The rear "rain" light, used in poor visibility
is 50% larger than last year.
Rear viewmirrors are bigger: up from 120 x 50 mm to 150 x
50 mm.
There is a new lateral static test for the rear of the car:
a force of 4 tons is applied to a 100 x 300 mm area for 30
seconds and no deformation must result from this force.
Tethers designed to prevent wheels flying off the cars in
the event of an accident now have to withstand a load of 6
tons, up from 5 and each wheel now requires two tethers. |