Clipping, this is why it cannot disappear unless drastic actions are taken: the numbers

The Suzuka race highlighted all the problems and risks of superclipping, the slowdown at the end of the straight which can exceed 50 km/h. As well as providing a questionable performance in qualifying, the phenomenon confirmed safety fears, causing large speed differences between cars which could lead to an accident. The FIA ​​and the teams are now evaluating possible solutions, but the problem is unlikely to be completely resolved, unless drastic action is taken. Acting on the combustion engine is not enough Clipping is a dual problem, which concerns both the discharge and recharging phases of the battery. In fact, to power the electrical part for as long as possible, it is necessary to recharge the battery while driving, even without braking. This presupposes using the combustion engine as a generator, using part of its power to generate electrical energy, which inevitably causes a loss of thrust to the wheels and speed, corresponding precisely to clipping. Among the hypotheses launched, there is that of increasing the maximum power with which to recharge the battery in a straight line from 250 to 350 kW. However, this would reduce the driving force even further, exacerbating the clipping phases, albeit shortening them. Another proposal is to change some parameters of the combustion engine to increase its horsepower, so as to experience less power loss during charging phases. However, this is not a road that can be traveled before next year and, moreover, it would not change the substance that a weakening would still be felt on the straight. Marcel van Dorst/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images The third option would be to reduce the recoverable energy per lap, as already timidly done in Suzuka. The idea here is to limit battery charging on a straight line, but, as the Japanese Grand Prix demonstrated, even this isn’t enough. Even if charging outside of braking were completely prohibited, even in extreme cases, clipping would still persist. This is because the other problem would always remain, that of premature battery discharge, which would require a revision of the 50:50 ratio between internal combustion engine and electric motor. Electrical power: an 80% cut would be needed. One of the options on the table involves cutting electrical power by 50, 100 or more kW, but, on closer inspection, not even this would be enough to eliminate superclipping. By regulation, the battery has a capacity limited to 4 MJ, more or less in the order of magnitude of the energy that can be recovered each lap when braking, a number which however varies depending on the track. Imagining using the electric motor to the maximum of the 350 kW currently permitted, the battery would discharge in 11 seconds. If the power were reduced to 300 kW, the energy would run out in 13 seconds, while at 250 kW it would run out after 16 s. At Suzuka, these would have been enough to travel the 130R straight without clipping, but then found themselves without energy in the rest of the circuit. Peter Fox/Getty Images On average across the various tracks, the cars travel with the accelerator wide open for over 50 seconds per lap. To avoid clipping in the race, the electrical power should be cut by 80%, limiting it to 80 kW. This is an even lower value than the 120 kW of the previous regulation, which says a lot about how detrimental the abolition of the MGU-H, the generator that recovered energy from exhaust gases, was. In qualifying the problem is less serious. Paradoxically, the problem is easier to manage in qualifying, when you launch with the battery at maximum, and then progressively recharge it during the lap. Imagining again that we wanted to limit charging to braking only, we would have 8 MJ of energy available per single lap. To use them all without clipping during the 50 seconds in which you travel at full speed on average, the electric power should be limited to 160 kW, with a cut of 55% compared to the current value. BATTERY CHARGING HYPOTHESIS ONLY WHEN BRAKING ELECTRICAL POWER DISCHARGE TIME IN QUALIFICATION [8 MJ]DISCHARGE TIME IN THE RACE [4 MJ]350 kW22 s11 s300 kW26 s13 s250 kW32 s16 s200 kW40 s20 s150 kW52 s26 s100 kW80 s40 s Photo David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images It would be a drastic decision, one that the FIA ​​and the teams do not seem willing to take. We thus return to the starting point again: no matter how much we try to improve the charging and discharging phases, power cuts and clipping will always exist. A realistic objective is to act on the energy recoverable at each lap, on the electric power and, from next year, on the performance of the combustion engine to dampen the slowdowns at the end of the straight, possibly by adjusting the various parameters based on the tracks. Accidents: the problem is software freedom. A different matter concerns the risk of accidents due to large differences in speed. When two cars clip at the same time, the problem does not arise, as they continue to proceed at a similar pace. Conversely, when one car is charging and the other is using the electric motor, the speed difference increases, even more so if the attacker is using the Boost button, as happened in the Bearman accident. Not only does this result in artificial or involuntary overtaking, defined by Alonso as “avoidance manoeuvres”, but it can also catch the attacker off guard, resulting in a rear-end collision. Kym Illman/Getty Images It all comes from the different strategies for using the battery, as Antonelli observed in Japan: “With Leclerc, I used much more battery in points where he didn’t use it at all and in these cases you find yourself with a significant difference in speed.” The problem arises from excessive freedom in energy management. “I don’t think it’s something that easy to fix,” Kimi observes. “Each team decides how and where to use the battery.” These are words that invite us to reflect on the need to place constraints on energy management logic, trying to standardize the various strategies. Nothing would prevent us from defining points where the electric motor can be exploited, along the lines of the old DRS activation zones. These would also reduce battery usage times from the current average of 50 seconds, which would dampen clipping. The only certainty is that drastic measures are needed and that none would be free from contraindications, but at this point the only possibility is to choose the lesser evil.