In motorsport, it’s a well-worn adage that if you’re not cheating, then you’re not winning – and if you’re not ‘winning’ then somebody else definitely is.
Of course everything is legal until you get caught, as was the case in 1995 when Toyota were handed an ‘enforced sabbatical’ from the World Rally Championship (WRC) by designing an illegal air restrictor. But what if you’re bending the ‘spirit’ of regulations without violating the letter of the law?
Well with standard items attempting to cater for on-the-limit bespoke technology, it’s quite possible that Formula E teams might be pushing the boundaries of technical regulations.
With manufacturers keen to maximise the efficiency and stretch the capacity of their respective powertrains in season two of the Formula E championship, a ‘one size fits all’ battery application was always going to be problematic, regardless of the spin put forward by promoters.
Regardless, a number of battery failures this season (primarily races with high ambient temperatures) has highlighted that a search for reliability needs to be found and those that can achieve that will have an exponential strategic advantage.
Williams’s Advanced Engineering programme leader Gary Ekerold has been pragmatic in his defence of his company’s batteries, saying that under the 2016 rules, their batteries are being asked to do more than their initial design brief intended.
“It wasn’t designed to run at 170kW, it was designed to run at 133kW. So we’re already past that operating window” Ekerold told Autosport.
“Racing is about being on the limit and sometimes teams trip over the limit. That can affect any number of things… We can’t share the ultimate level of data with teams because they need to learn this process and understand it themselves.”
It appears that some teams may have already explored solutions to this dilemma, if tech wiz Craig Scarborough latest assertion is on the money.
Scarborough believes that tams may have found a way to reduce battery temperature by transferring energy to the powertrain by appropriating larger capacitors that can store supplementary energy that can be used during qualifying and races. The capacitor was previously a spec-item supplied by McLaren Technologies, but is now open, with no rules on design parameters and how long they can store energy.
As such, there is no way the FIA can obtain accurate energy usage readings given their sensors are positioned between the battery and inverter. A team could reasonably then store and deploy a set amount of energy at key moments to gain an advantage on the opposition. The possibility alone could prove embarrassing to officials and render the popular FanBoost concept null and void.
When Red Bull Racing chose to use their own fuel flow sensor (claiming the FIA’s versions were faulty) at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, the FIA reacted swiftly by disqualifying the team from the results. In this instance however, there are no precedents in Formula E to discipline teams who have found a way to exploit the energy storage loophole; with any potential ‘infraction’ most likely having to go to a tribunal.
In 2005 BAR-Honda were excluded for two races after their car was found to be utilising two hidden fuel tanks within the main tank; with the intention of concealing fuel used as ballast during the race. The FIA argued such a configuration would allow the car to run lighter than its rivals – and drop below the minimum weight limit in the laps immediately preceding its fuel stop.
Additionally, the FIA argued the tank could also be used to allow the team to do more laps before a stop, giving them a strategic advantage in the race. The team however agued – unsuccessfully – that the extra tanks were used to pressurise fuel before it is injected into the engine.
With Formula E at the front of new technology, regulatory bodies will have to have all their ducks in a row in framing and policing rules as the series grows bigger and bigger. The racing won’t just be on track, but to stay ahead of the intellectual curve.
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