Reactive ride height outlawed for 2012 23 Jan 2012
The FIA has banned the much-talked-about reactive ride-height systems that were understand to be under development for 2012 by teams including Lotus, Mercedes and Ferrari. Formula One’s governing body informed all teams last week that it considered the technology in breach of regulations.
Lotus’s solution, first spotted at last November’s young driver test, utilised brake torque to prevent the car diving under braking, thus providing a more constant ride height and hence improved stability and aerodynamics (click here for more).
"The FIA has just banned that particular type of system," confirmed Williams’ chief operations engineer Mark Gillan, speaking on the Flying Lap webcast. "We have been investigating that type of system for a while. It obviously has an impact on the aero platform of the car - anything that gets the front ride height lower is beneficial from an aerodynamic perspective."
Lotus’s system had earlier received initial approval from the FIA and was thought to be legal as it was reactive rather than active, and used no direct input from the driver to influence the aerodynamics of the car.
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