With the second round of testing delayed until May 2024, Nikolas Tombazis has explained the reasons behind the delay of the Spray Guards.
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Spray Guards
The FIA has been trying to find a solution regarding the spray from Formula 1 cars when driving in the rain. The initial idea was to add Spray Guards to the rear wheels of the cars, creating a barrier and stopping the spray from causing visibility issues for the cars following.
With the help of Mercedes, the FIA carried out a test to gather data on this idea, however it would seem that this test failed, with the guards no producing the desired results.
The Head of Single Seaters for the FIA, Nikolas Tombazis explains further:
The test done in July with the help of Mercedes and also a bit of support from McLaren was… the covers were too small, they didn’t really cover enough of the wheels, We felt that they therefore didn’t really answer the question whether that’s a cure or not.
The issue around spray is a complex one, as with most things in Formula 1, it is not just a single issue that needs to be analysed, the FIA are still trying to understand what proportion of the spray is attributed to the diffuser and sucking water from the track, an issue that the spray guards would not effect.
What we still have a doubt about is what proportion of the problem is due to the overall diffuser and sucking the water from the track – which is something clearly this thing won’t fix – and how much of it is because of the wheels. We know both factors are quite significant
The implementation of the Spray Guards will not completely eliminate the issues around visibility, however the goal will be to reduce it to help with safety while racing in wet weather.
We’re not aiming to solve everything, we know there will still be visibility issues, but we want to see what percentage we can cure by a very complete cover of the wheels. And then, if we see that’s actually a tangible step forward, then we’ll optimise that.”
Delayed Second Test
The FIA had planned for a second test in November, however this was delayed until May 2024. This was to help with cost saving, as the teams are developing the components themselves.
Due to the time of the second test and the cost/lead times associated with designing the parts the sport would have had to look externally thus increasing the cost. The FIA agreed with the teams that they should delay the test until the spring.
That would have been really expensive, [The teams] asked whether they could delay the test to Spring in order to cut the cost down a bit, which is why we thought that’s sensible. From a technical point of view, [we] would have preferred to have done it already, of course, but that was too expensive. When running does resume, it will be centred on information gathering more than testing a final solution. It’s sort of information gathering to see if that is actually the right path,”
The outcome of the tests will determine if Spray Guards will be adopted in Formula 1, if they are successful then they will likely form part of the new rules from 2026