The series then forces uniform electronic controllers onto the teams as embedded spies to ensure compliance. The 2016 FIA technical regulations governing Formula 1 cars run to 90 pages regulation 5.11.1 limits the number of spark-plug firings per combustion event to five, et cetera and so forth.
Indeed, today’s rulemakers spend more time trying to slow cars down than speed them up, and they exert their dominion with picayune chassis and engine guidelines. The age of rulebook tyranny has descended, in which the goals of improved safety and reduced cost take precedence over ever-higher speeds. It’s a romantic notion, though, and somewhat outdated, as racing isn’t what it used to be. We still think of racing as the pointy spear of automotive development, where new ideas are tested in a freewheeling, cost-no-object arms race.
