12/12/2004
NEWS STORY
In our review of testing at Jerez on Thursday and Friday, we reported that WilliamsF1 had been carrying out practice starts in preparation for the "new regulations" in 2005.
As part of its drive to put the cars back in the hands of the drivers and thereby (hopefully) spice up the show, the Technical Working Group is changing the way that drivers start their cars.
In 2005, the driver will have to control his clutch at the start of the race, manually varying the pressure. Those of a certain age will remember the pre-electronic age when drivers appeared to throw all their hard work away when making a bodged start.
A race can be won or lost on the starting grid, and though drivers now have a lot more 'say' in how quickly their cars get away, some teams, most notably Renault, appear to have perfected a technical solution.
The new rule will put the car totally back in the hands of the drivers.