F1 Car Race - 2012 Rule Changes

Lower Muzzle:

In order to increase security, for 2012 the FIA has decided to lower the height of the car's front part, primarily to lessen the chance of one's car's nose intruding into the arena of another in the event of a side-on collision. As can be seen in this diagram, the height of the chassis immediately in front of the arena can still be up to 625mm above the reference plane (PR), but then in the space of 150mm it must fall to 550mm. This is predictable to lead to some rather awkward-looking, stepped-nose designs on the 2012 cars, including Ferrari's new machine.

Revised Exhaust Exits - Side Outlook:

As part of moves to prohibit blown diffusers, the FIA has compulsory new restrictions on the positioning of exhaust exits for 2012. There can only be one exit on each side of the car and it must decrease within the yellow dotted line shown here. In practice this is a box 700mm long (between 500mm and 1200mm from the rear axle), 350mm high (between 250mm and 600mm above the reference plane, RP) and 300mm broad (see separate article for overhead view). On top of that, the last 100mm of the pipe (red arrow) must be in a straight line and round in section, and must be angled between 10° and 30° longitudinally.