F1’s new technical rules for 2013 will include a return to turbo engines and ground effect aerodynamics, according to Autosport.
The two technologies, which were hallmarks of F1 racing in the late seventies and eighties, will be revived in an effort to make F1 racing more exciting for fans and more relevant for car manufacturers.
The use of ground effect could allow designers to maintain current cornering speeds while reducing the turbulent wake which develops behind a car, making it difficult for a chasing car to stay close.
However the turbo engines being considered are likely to be smaller and much less powerful than the 1.5-litre V6s last used in the sport. They are expected to have less power than the current normally-aspirated V8 engines, but will make greater use of energy recovery systems.
Turbo power was last seen in F1 in 1988. The era of ground effect aerodynamics came to an end when flat-bottomed cars were mandated from the beginning of 1983:
Turbos and ground effect