F1 News: Tests Fail As FIA Looks For Solution After Saddening Passing of Driver

The FIA is working on a solution for making motorsports safer in rainy conditions. This comes after the tragic passing of Dilano van 't Hoff recently during a Formula Regional European Championship race in Belgium.

A significant challenge in Formula 1 is that rain can drastically reduce visibility for drivers and increase the risk of accidents. This issue became more pronounced with the introduction of wider tyres in 2017 and the recent ground effect cars which direct water upwards. To tackle this, F1 engineers are exploring potential solutions, including adding fenders over the rear wheels to prevent displaced water from splashing upwards and backwards.

A preliminary test with these "Spray Guards" was carried out at Silverstone with Mercedes and McLaren. The result, however, wasn't as expected; the fenders did not significantly reduce the spray and raised concerns. An attempt with partial fenders didn't yield satisfactory results either. As reported by Auto Motor und Sport, insiders have said, "We are not yet where we want to be."

Given that wider fenders could negatively impact aerodynamics, a vital aspect of F1 where even millimetres matter, many in the paddock are sceptical about the future of wet racing on high-speed tracks. Nevertheless, FIA remains hopeful. As stated in their recent announcement:

"The first phase of field testing for the wet weather package was completed with a version of the mudguard fitted to a Mercedes. A McLaren was used as a reference vehicle to evaluate the concept and provide information for future development of the project.

"This on-track test provided valuable CFD correlation data as well as good driver feedback. Both will be used to refine both the methodology and the design for phase 2 of this project."

They plan to use the data and feedback collected during this test to refine the methodology and design for the next phase.