Pit stops for refuelling are now prohibited by the 1984 Formula 1 regulations, but there is nothing to stop people running on soft tyres for the first part of the race and stopping somewhere beyond half distance for a set of fresh rubber. The much-discussed and debated question of the minimum weight limit came to the forefront of attention once again with plenty of rumour and speculation as to the way in which several teams would circumvent the spirit of the rules: water tanks for the injection system, or the brake cooling systems – or just water tanks for no real purpose apart from ballast – were regarded as the most popular choice.
Ayrton Senna put his Toleman 17th on his first grand prix start
First past the flag at the sun-scorched Autodromo Riocentro for the past couple of years has been Nelson Piquet at the wheel of a Gordon Murray-designed Brabham and, from the way in which he completed the ’83 Championship season at Kyalami last October, it was really rather difficult envisaging a change in overall form. However, the new BMW-engined Brabham BT53 didn’t take part in the recent week of testing at Rio, and although this factor didn’t prevent the brand new BT52 from scoring a début victory in last year’s race, the tempo of Formula 1 competition ensured that this feat wasn’t about to be repeated.
