A large part is also for looking for something that passes the letter of the rules, but not the spirit - a loophole.

The Mercedes F1 DAS system they intend to race this year when the season gets underway is just the latest example, but see also the 6 wheeled car, the fan car, getting around the ground effect ban, double diffuser, blown exhaust etc. etc.

It's one of the reasons I love the sport.

Maybe in the past, nowadays F1 have lots of technical regulations.

They do - but they also have scores of super smart engineers who each year manage to find a certain something - be it a loophole, or just something nobody else thought of.

See DAS this year, F Duct in the early 2010s, the 2009 Double Diffusers (when they were technically banned), Blown diffuser, CF layups that cause the front wing to flex under load etc. etc.

The regulations serve three main purposes which seem reasonable:

1) Increased safety

2) More entertaining racing (not much success here so far)

3) Reducing the cost so that it is economically sustainable even for smaller teams.

Still, the current cars are the fastest F1 cars ever.