Another year, another beer F1 – in Ferrari red, of course.

Around this time of year Formula One fans start emerging from their winter hibernation in preparation for the upcoming season. And that upcoming season is just two weeks away! Indeed, on March 24-26 the engines will be roaring, the tires will be burning, and the sleek polished bodies of the racing cars will be sparkling in the bright sun down in Melbourne. Get ready for much flag-waving, much honking of sirens, colossal crowds, and millions of fans all around the world glued to their TVs…

It’s harder than ever to say who will do well this season and who won’t. For those who might not be budding F1 fanatics, let me tell you that this is because the FIA (governing body for world motor sport, which among other things sets the rules for racing) every year makes adjustments to F1 rules to make the sport more entertaining and competitive, and to be able to show off the very latest super F1 tech. Well this year the FIA has gone one further and changed the regulations to such an extent that making predictions as to results has turned into a thanklessly futile pursuit: there’ve been just soooo many changes; and how they will affect the different teams is anyone’s guess.

For the low down on just how they’ve stirred the soup this year I’ll hand over the reins here to D.M., editor of Kaspersky Motorsport. She’s much more knowledgeable of all things F1, and as a result also much better able to explain all its intricacies…

“In recent years F1 has become rather unpredictable, and therefore less entertaining. In order to bring back some of the intrigue, the FIA has overhauled both the sporting and technical regulations. 

What stands out most of all regarding the changes made are the wider tires – boosting both downforce and grip. Also, a wider front wing span and a return to a wider and higher diffuser, which create better aerodynamics. Ok – now for the details…

So what’s been changed as regards the technical regulations?

1) The front wing has a new shape, giving the car more of a combative look. It’s now further from the chassis: the length of the nose cone has grown from 850 to 1050mm, while the front wing span has grown from 1650 to 1800mm. One of the reasons for this is to improve air flow around the new, wider tires.

2) The diffuser has increased in size: to 175mm in height from 125mm, and to 1050mm in width from 1000mm. It’s also longer, now extending ahead of the rear axle line.

3) The chassis is now 200mm wider – maximum: 1600mm; minimum: 1400 (the height has remained the same – 950mm.

Ferrari SF70H vs Ferrari SF16H

4) The side-pod flow deflectors have increased in size.

Ferrari SF70H vs Ferrari SF16H

5) The maximum weight has been increased from 702 to 722kg (without fuel).

6) The width of the brake disks has been increased from 28 to 32mm. 

7) Thanks to the new construction parameters, the cars should be doing laps around three or four seconds faster this season, so the downforce has been increased by 15-20%: to maintain sufficient grip with the track surface at higher speeds, wider tires were needed, thus introduced.

Pirelli will be fitting front tires that are 25% wider than last season (305mm up from 245), and rear ones that are 30% wider (405mm up from 325mm). All this, as mentioned, improves traction; also acceleration and braking. The diameter of the tires has increased a little (from 660mm to 670), while wheel size stays the same (13 inches).

8) The effect of the drag reduction system (DRS) has increased. That is, it will generate more downforce and have higher drag. As a result cars will be able to open a special wing and gain as much as six or seven miles per hour. 

Other Changes

1) Helmets:

Drivers must continue to use essentially the same helmet design at all races for easy recognition of the driver in the car. However, each driver is now allowed to use a special livery at one event of his choosing, such as a home race for example. Drivers will also be allowed to change their helmet liveries if changing teams during the season.

2) Power Units:

A rule change has been made to prevent drivers stockpiling spare power unit elements. During any single event, if a driver introduces more than one power unit element that is subject to a grid penalty, only the last element fitted may be used at subsequent events without further penalty.

A number of changes have also been introduced aimed at reducing power unit costs, guaranteeing supply for customer teams, and closing the performance gap between engines:

– the power unit price for customer teams has been reduced by €1m per season compared to 2016.

– the previous ‘token’ system for in-season engine development has been removed.

– Additionally, constraints on power unit part weights, dimensions and materials, and on boost pressure, are being introduced in 2017 and in 2018.

3) Tires: 

As before, the teams must inform the FIA of their slick tire choices no less than eight weeks before the start of each European race and fourteen weeks before the start of each event held outside Europe.

For 2017 only, because the tire selection deadline for the first five Grands Prix falls before pre-season testing, for these events Pirelli (the single tire supplier) will allocate two sets of the hardest compound specification, four sets of the medium compound specification and seven sets of the softest compound specification to each driver.

4) Outsourcing restrictions: 

Since Haas F1 debuted in 2016 with much success thanks to close cooperation with Ferrari and Dallara, some restrictions have been introduced this year on outsourcing.

If a team does outsource, including being supplied with components from third-party suppliers, then the time spent using aerodynamic chambers and use of CFD technology connected with such contracts is now strictly regulated, and the team is obliged to give the FIA detailed reports on any such testing.

Besides, rules on team specialists moving to another team have been clarified, among other things to prevent leaks of confidential technical information. Now, all teams must inform the FIA of any significant changes to their personnel, and also present evidence that all reasonable measures to prevent information leakage are taken.

5) Power Unit Supply: 

New rules have been introduced on the supply of power units. This was done to prevent a repeat of the situation in 2015 when the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams could have ended up without contracts for the supply of power units for the following season. To ensure the supply of power units to customer teams, the homologation procedure now includes an ‘obligation to supply’ that is activated in the event of a team facing an absence of supply.”

—8<—

I think that these changes will see a significant shake-up of the F1 status quo and seriously homogenize teams’ performance; this in turn will make the races much more neck-and-neck, interesting and exciting. And of course it provides good opportunities for Ferrari! The red team is strong and its drivers are too. Yep, it has everything set for an excellent season, and finally place the car with our logo on it into the hall of fame of this legendary marque :).

PS: Well done and thank you D.M.!

Surprisingly, Kiev turned out to be the best connection on the journey from Barcelona to Yerevan.

For the first time in my life I flew Ukrainian Airlines. It is basically fine. Only the seats in business class are cramped and uncomfortable (as with most European companies) – they’re the same as in economy class, only three seats are used for two passengers. If the person sitting in front leans back, it becomes very difficult to do any work on a laptop – the keyboard ends up at your throat. You know how it is. What else didn’t I like – well, during the transfer at Boryspil we parked up on the tarmac, and only one bus was sent to transfer all the passengers of a Boeing 737-800. We were packed in like sardines.

Everything else was fine. The smiles of the stewardesses and good service completely made up for the cramped seats. The new terminal D was clean and spacious, and the WiFi was fast (the most important thing!).

Read on:

Some of you may be wondering what we were doing on Antarctica in 2009, and how exactly we could claim it was a business trip. So let me tell you…

We unintentionally (and that’s a whole story of its own) became the main sponsor of an all-woman skiing expedition to the South Pole. Now, some time before the expedition itself, some colleagues and I were in Singapore. One evening in a restaurant we all admitted we were rather worried for the ladies on the 40-day (forty-day!) ski across the most inhospitable land on the planet. And that’s when we had a eureka! moment: “Why don’t we go too?!” Ok – not on skis, but to at least be there at the finish to meet and greet and celebrate with the intrepid adventurers. And that’s just what we ended up doing. Then we figured such an ambitiously adventurous jaunt would be interesting not only for us but also for the press – so we invited journalists along too!

So. There was me. There was our then-APAC-director, Harry Cheung (who was the main organizer of the project). There was Aleks Gostev (one of our top experts on cyberthreats, interviewee-extraordinaire, plus a mandatory member of any exotic expedition involving mountains or glaciers or both). Then there were three journalists – two with video cameras, the other – a professional photographer: Alexander Blotnitsky (France Press), Marina Ten (Associated Press), and Denis Davydov (Izvestiya).

We landed at the South Pole at precisely midnight (Moscow time) – on New Year’s Eve! Oh my glacier! New Year’s Eves don’t come more memorable than that :).

Read on: Antarctic nostalgia! …

I really didn’t expect to find in Moscow yet another curious place that is mandatorily must-see – including by children. But the other day we visited one. It was the Exhibition Complex of Russian Railways at Rizhsky Vokzal (Riga Station). Its railroad scale model and other expositions aren’t all that big, but they’re ever so well done. Respect!

Ok, so, it’s not quite the Grand Maket Rossiya in St. Pete, but, in terms of quality of the models (incredible detail, precise movements…) – I’d say it’s on a par.

Read on: A wonderful exhibition!…

While making preparations for my upcoming creative Antarctic expedition I started to recollect my previous trip to the sixth continent, so had a delve into my photo-archive thereof. Ahhhhh, the nostalgia: I was reminded of how it was one of the most… OMG/ unforgettable/ outstanding adventures of my life; but, then, it would be. How could a trip to the South Pole itself not be? What’s more – a business trip there!!!

I took that many photos, and wrote that many words describing my polar adventure, that eventually a whole photo-travelogue book was published, an electronic version of which can still be downloaded from my blog (along with other books penned by me).

What you might not know is that practically anyone in good health and with sufficient (minimal) training can go to the South Pole. Ok, it will cost you quite a bit – say, that same as you’d pay for a brand new large Mercedes – but, well, extreme tourism always costs a lot more than beach holidays. So if you fancy it – get in touch with the company ALE, and off you pop (between November and February every year).

So how does it all happen – getting to the South Pole?

Read on: First you get to Punta Arenas…

Reichstag, Berlin, Germany.

The Reichstag isn’t just the building that houses the German parliament – Bundestag – and nor is it just a historical symbol. It’s also one of the most interesting tourist spots in Berlin (and there a plenty of them:). I’d heard so much about the Reichstag – but never seemed to find the time for an excursion thereof. But finally – I pulled it off, just the other day. And not just the common-or-garden tourist excursion, but one which covered normally off-limits areas too – including, literally, the corridors of (bundes) power!…

I’ll start from the outside and move my way towards the center, actually – towards the top of the building!. But first – what were we doing here? We were here on business – and that was our ‘in’ to the ‘corridors of power’ :)…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQn88NlD7Qm/

Read on: a symbiosis of power and modesty…

Briefly, a few words about a place we stayed at in the desert. Well, this hotel… was like… a mirage – for it seemed almost unreal to me, what with it being right in the middle of a real desert!

It was built, so we were told, on a greenfield site bare desert site up from nothing. As you can see – all around there’s nothing but desert. Water gets piped in from 200km away! And the Internet is super-fast. And free! The hotel is called Qasr al Sarab.

Read on: Chinese New Year and a lucky upgrade…

Interestingly, it takes 4.5 hours to fly from Moscow to Dubai, 3+ hours to fly from Istanbul to Moscow, and from Dubai to Istanbul – the same 4.5 hours!

Yes, direct from Dubai to Istanbul it’s a little shorter as the crow flies, but commercial flights fly around conflict zones. Mmm, unpleasant topic, but that’s the reality of today’s turbulent world.

Read on: Interesting selfie…

Ever driven across a desert – I mean, off-road – actually on the sand? Probably not – it generally can’t be done by all and sundry; only specially-trained, experienced drivers are permitted. But it doesn’t really matter; just being in a passenger seat is equally thrilling as being sat behind the wheel. The experience beats helter-skelters easy. Must-try!…

Alas, after such a wonderful sunrise, the sunset was a bit disappointing. There was a strong wind, and the clouds on the horizon appeared to eat up the sun-imbued colors like a crocodile. Or so it seemed to me ). All the same – pretty awesome, even though it seemed to have been digested by a large reptile.

Read on: The difference between dunes and barchans…

Deserts…

Nothing quite like them. Endless sandy scenery, wavy dunes, sand all squishy underfoot – or blowing up into your face by the wind; in fact, sand: EVERYWHERE! In your boots, in your pockets, in your… teeth! But despite such petty tortures (and with sandals on your feet, not boots) – the desert is otherworldly beautiful, breathtaking, brain-numbing, hypnotizing. Like this:

Read on: the largest contiguous sand desert in the world…