A few days after reiterating his thoughts on F1 – which practically state that the premier motor racing series is not just a sport, but an entire business – Alonso addressed the new technical challenges implemented by the FIA to the 2011 championship.
Needless to say, one thing that was thought to produce more overtaking in the series is the adjustable rear wing. However, with the latest developments on its use – it is believed the FIA has ruled that all drivers should only activate the wing in a 600-metre zone at the end of a track's main straight and only if within a second from the car it trails, a mark set at the exit of the corner leading into the straight line – it is believed overtaking will continue to be a pain in the you-know-where when referring to rival cars.
“If the car ahead of you runs only one tenth slower than you, then the moveable wing is not enough,” Alonso is quoted as saying by Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport, adding that the new element could only help you is the gap between cars is considerable.
“It can be useful to overtake a car that is one or two seconds slower. Maybe the rule's objective is to favor an overtaking move when a race gets ruined by the impossibility of passing a much slower car, as happened to me with [Vitaly] Petrov in Abu Dhabi. Overtaking between front runners will be difficult in 2011 too.”
The 600-metre rule has been decided upon by the FIA (with support from the Formula One Teams Association) amid fears that the Great Circus will turn into an overtaking-free series.
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