Make no mistake the 2009 cars will look a lot different to their 2008 cousins. Okay, they'll still have four wheels, a raised nose, a front wing, sidepods and a rear wing but all those elements could look substantially different.

However the thrust is to try to increase mechanical grip at the expense of aero grip. The theory is that it will make passing easier. The mechanism to achieve this is to add mechanical grip through wider, slick tyres and reduce downforce by about 50%.

It should be noted that the 2009 regs have yet to be finalised. Of course they could change but the principles have been agreed among the teams and the sense in the paddock is that we are a month or so away from a freeze.

Let's take each element in turn and see what the proposed changes are.

Front wing

The plan is to lower the front wing and widen it from 145cm to 180cm, like the car seen in the main picture!

The idea here is to create more downforce at the front in turbulent air. By lowering the wing the air will be cleaner and the downforce greater because of the ground effect. By making the wing wider it will be able to generate more downforce.

The only downside is that as cars try to pass expect more incidents involving front wings. After the first lap it would not be too much of a surprise to see 5 cars in the pits getting new noses!

Also the centre of the front wing will be a standard part — the various spoons and shovel shapes will be a thing of the past. Again this is to control downforce at the front.

The other proposal is a little more controversial and involves a movable aero device. Two flaps will be included that the driver can move by 6 degrees twice a lap. The idea here is that when the following car is trying to pass, the driver can ratchet up the downforce on the big straight to further negate the effect of being in the dirty air.

Rear wing

The rear wing will be narrower and higher. It is thought the width will reduce from 100cm to 80cm and the height will increase from 80cm to 95cm.

The reduced width will see downforce at the rear of the car cut significantly. This will also affect how teams set up the front wing so as to maintain balance; front downforce will need to be lower too. The increase in height is designed to get the wing out of the dirty air when in the overtaking zone — the theory is that there is less upwash from the forward car. Whether that will work remains to be seen but I assume the CFD simulations suggest improvement.

The number of elements will also be restricted, probably to two. Again this will serve to reduce rear downforce.

Diffuser

The diffuser is critical for generating underbody downforce. In 2009 the diffuser will be shortened (by half a wheel length) and will be higher. This actually has the effect of increased nominal downforce under the car and is subject to fewer disturbances when following a car.

One important aspect of a 2008 diffuser is the way it interacts with the rear wing (the lower element creates a low pressure zone by the diffuser, which draws air out). With the raising of the wing this effect will be less.

Winglets etc.

Winglets, which quite frankly make the current crop of cars look ugly, will be banned. This will mean that some body downforce will be lost but, more importantly, there will be fewer vortex generators.

Vortices break up the wake severely, so this should act to clean up the air behind the car a little.

Tyres

Although still up for debate, the odds are that the boots will be slicks and wider! This will serve to increase mechanical grip substantially — three to four seconds a lap — and ease overtaking

Conclusions

The thrust of the new regs is clear: more mechanical grip + less aero grip = more overtaking.

Although not perfect, 2009 should be a better show than 2008 is shaping up to be. Also, as all the teams are starting from a zero base the grid could be significantly different.

We've only skimmed through the new rules but as they are firmed up we'll spend more time picking them apart.

So what could a 2009 car look like. Here is one interpretation of the rules — interesting eh?