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Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes that the new aerodynamic regulations in 2019 will only increase the gap between the top three and the rest of the field. The new rules are in place to allow the cars to get closer together on the circuit following the recent increase of dirty air.
The new regulations include simplified front wings, lowered bargeboards, steeper and higher rear wings, and a ban on brake duct winglets. However, some teams have reported that there will be little difference compared to 2018, as they have found new ways to produce the downforce.
The gap between the top three (Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) and the remainder of the field has increased in recent years, with midfield teams now fighting for the 'best of the rest' spot in fourth place.
And Steiner doesn't think the new rules will aid the push for more competitive racing: "With the gap this big, it should (be), and couldn’t be any different,” the Italian said.
“Because this is good people working at a high level and if they’ve got this more resources they should be doing better than the other ones, otherwise they’re doing something wrong.
“So I think in the beginning the gap should be bigger between the big ones and the smaller ones because there’s just so many more resources to get there. And they have more resources, they get even quicker.”
Haas had an improved 2018 season, battling Renault for fourth in the constructor's standings. However, it had to settle for fifth place, but driver Kevin Magnussen says that things just didn't fall into place for the American team last season.
"This year has felt like a lot of things that could go wrong did go wrong,” the former McLaren and Renault racer said. "It’s one of those where the wind is always a headwind, you know. I’m hoping for a bit of tailwind next year. That’s the thing, you have to take the blame for those things. Because you can always, no matter what the situation, have done something different.”
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calle.itw
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The way I've understood it is that the aim is to reduce dirty air by having a simplified front wing at the cost of said wing generating less downforce. The allegedly lower downforce isnt a feature but a side effect. The problem is: will they reduce the dirty air? Several teams, with Mercedes bein... [Read more]