2007 Formula One Thread

[Lord Blackadder]

I was hoping for a more wide-open championship, but Ferrari has no answer to McLaren and Renault has slipped almost to mid-pack.

 

[mfacey]

I was hoping for a more wide-open championship, but Ferrari has no answer to McLaren and Renault has slipped almost to mid-pack.

Yeah, the season looked very enticing after the first few races, but the McLaren dominance is really starting to show. Its kind of a pity. On the other hand, the prospect of Hamilton winning the championship his debut year is quite interesting to say the least!

 

[iGav]

Kubica's crash data disclosed.

Data showed the Pole impacted against the wall at 230 km/h, and the G-forces on Kubica peaked at around 75 G in a millisecond.

So that's around 140ish in old money isn't it.

Considering the damage to the car, I thought it would've been in the 160-170 region, though far, far short of 200mph because the cars only exceed that towards the end of the back straight.

 

[Counterfit]

When the tub is compromised like that, I'd say so.



It did do it's job well, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have done it even better.

Had his secondary impact into the barrier been at a different angle, it's not inconceivable that he'd have lost both of his feet. And that is cause for concern. In this case he was extremely fortunate.

This accident exposed a potential weakness with regards to the current design and construction of the current generation of monocoques, and one that should be rectified to further protect the driver.

I think the reason we can see his feet is because there's a cover there to provide access to the pedals for adjustment.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I can't look at those pictures of Kubica's feet exposed without thinking about Alex Zanardi's accident...to hit a wall at 140mph and walk away is a a testament to the crashworthiness of the car.

 

[smueboy]

Formula one is front page news in Nature magazine this week:

How green is this?

On the cover, McLaren's sensational rookie Lewis Hamilton leads Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari in Montreal, en route to the first of his back-to-back wins in North America. Hamilton's chosen sport is hardly 'green', based as it is on carting machinery and personnel all over the world to drive around in circles. But, in the tradition of 'improving the breed' that brought disc brakes into automotive use, there are ambitious plans to recast the formula as a force for technological good. From 2009, new regulations will reduce the environmental impact of the sport, and introduce kinetic energy recovery systems to use energy otherwise wasted during deceleration. Later changes will involve recovering energy lost as heat. The combination of fierce competition, talented technicians and big research budgets should drive the technology forward in ways that may ultimately benefit road cars. Andreas Trabesinger interviews F1's Max Mosley, the man behind the new formula.

News Feature: Formula 1 racing: Power games
Can motor racing go green? Andreas Trabesinger asked Max Mosley, head of Formula 1, how he wants the sport to develop energy-efficient technology that will also work in road cars.

Unfortunately the article is not online yet.

 

[takao]

since le mans has been finally turned into a turbo diesel competition this year (and despite diesel powered cars getting handicapped by a roughly 10% smaller fuel tank thus resulting in more mandatory stops) it's hardly surprising to see more and more stuff introduced in all racing leagues

 

[Counterfit]

Schumi confirmed for RoC!

 

[AlBDamned]

Schumi confirmed for RoC!

...will take place in the UK in December...

It'll likely be wet so Schumacher will have a decent chance. Better than Coulthard or Button. Would be nice to see then World Champ Lewis Hamilton spank him though .

 

[iGav]

Ferrari initiate criminal enquiry against Nigel Stepney

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Sounds as if it's likely to be another case of stealing technical data. no?

 

[link92]

I can't look at those pictures of Kubica's feet exposed without thinking about Alex Zanardi's accident...to hit a wall at 140mph and walk away is a a testament to the crashworthiness of the car.

That's exactly what I thought of first. What if the crash was slightly different? What if the final impact was slightly harder? What would have happened?

 

[iGav]

Sounds as if it's likely to be another case of stealing technical data. no?

Who knows, though there's been some real classic cold war'esque espionage stories doing the rounds.

What if the crash was slightly different?

To be honest it was a freak accident... that can be partially attributed to flaws on the circuit (the initial bump on the grass, the angle of the concrete wall, lack of SAFER etc).

But that said, the last thing F1 should become is complacent with regards to safety. The impact speed was significantly less than what these cars are capable of achieving and the resultant impact exposed weaknesses in the current cars design and construction that need to be addressed.

F1 is of course inherently dangerous, and the risks will almost certainly continue to exist as long as F1 does. But that doesn't mean that they should not continue to try and reduce them by considering accidents such as these as stark reminders of what can potentially go wrong.

F1 dodged a bullet that day.

 

[link92]

To be honest it was a freak accident... that can be partially attributed to flaws on the circuit (the initial bump on the grass, the angle of the concrete wall, lack of SAFER etc).

IMO as long as the cars race there, they must be safe to drive there. If that car was going quicker (as they will get over the years), who knows what would've happened?

 

[iGav]

World Motor Sport Council proposals include:

Active wings, active ride height, pump standard biofuels... and on, and on, and on.

World Motor Sport Council proposals include:

Engine efficiency

To limit engine power by imposing a maximum energy flow rate. However, there will be few restrictions on the engine cycle, which can include turbo-charging and energy recovery. It is believed that this will lead to a gain of at least 20% in thermal efficiency.

Drag

To allow moving aerodynamic devices, which will reduce drag by over 50% and allow a 40% reduction in the power required to maintain current speeds.

Energy recovery

Energy will be recovered during braking and returned to both front and rear axles when accelerating. The amount of energy returned on each straight will be limited in order to prevent top speeds exceeding the safety criteria for the circuits.

Fuel

The total amount of fuel energy to be consumed during a race will be regulated, encouraging further overall efficiency. The CO2 emitted will be further reduced by the introduction of gasoline which is partly derived from sustainable, non-food bio sources but complies fully with pump fuel legislation.

Overtaking

Formula One cars currently find it very difficult to overtake because of the influence of the car in front. New aerodynamic rules will halve the downforce, and de-sensitise the car to the influence of the wake of the car ahead. It is also proposed to eliminate automatically the downforce deficit of the following car.

Regulations

The best estimates of what these measures will mean in terms of regulations are currently as follows:
• 1.3-1.5 litre, 4-cylinder engine;
• no RPM or boost limit;
• energy flow rate to generate 300kW, including energy recovery from the exhaust;
• 200kW brake energy recovery, front and rear axle;
• 400-600kJ energy return per straight;
• pump-legal bio-fuel;
• FIA specified and supplied undertray and possibly other aerodynamic components;
• 50% 2007 downforce;
• adjustable, regulated wings and cooling;
• automatic downforce adjustment when following another car;
• lap times and top speeds maintained at 2009 levels;
• over 50% reduction in fuel consumed.

Costs

A number of measures to constrain costs are proposed, including:
• standardisation of components;
• homologation of components and assemblies;
• material restrictions;
• extended life of assemblies;
• restrictions on personnel and work at races;
• restrictions on the use of certain facilities (eg wind tunnels).

 

[R.Youden]

Ferrari finally work out why they are struggling with the new Bridgestone rubber:

 

[R.Youden]

****Breaking News****

As of 09.44 AM Lewis Hamilton has stopped on track in France. What's happened to the boy wonder?

 

[R.Youden]

It turns out that his engine had an automatic cut-off as it was running too cool so they just turned the heat up. Thats a bit boring isn't it! Why couldn't he have a proper problem, well maybe he does, the pace of the Ferrari.

 

[xUKHCx]

I have a question about the 2 race per engine rule

If Alonso has to change his engine (1) he will automatically drop 10 places as he has to put a new engine (2) in

As this race will be the first for engine 2 will it have to alst for another race or can they put a new engine (3) in for the next race as he has already be penalized for engine (1) failing.

If that makes any sense?

Edit: Gearbox failure for alonso but the question still remains

 

[R.Youden]

If Alonso changes his engine prior to this race then he will loose 10 places in this race only.

If he has to change engine prior to the start of the next race then the 10 place penalty applies to that race only after which they can change the engine.

I remember last year BMW Sauber took the enigne out of their car after one race and dropped it on the floor, damaging internal components so they had to replace the engine and suffered a 10 place penalty at the next race.

One problem with this rule is: If you are racing one weekend prior to a circuit which demands a lot from an engine and you are not running in a strong position for the current race do you deliberately blow your engine so you get a new one for the next race which can be tailored to a different circuit?

 

[R.Youden]

One HUGE shunt in the GP2 race. He is a very lucky lad!

YouTube Link

and Link

No safety measures can protect against that type of accident

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Wow, that was quite an accident!...it could have ended very differently, I'm sure. He's lucky the car skidded along the top of the wall upright.

 

[xUKHCx]

Luckly that the guy is alright and also very lucky that no safety marshals were caught up in this accident, like that poor guy in Australia(?) a few years back.

 

[R.Youden]

And Italy in 2000?

There was an accident in 1995 which killed a guy in Formula 3000 in France, very similar accident.

We are having a few too many "wow, he was lucky" accidents at the moment.

 

[link92]

Luckly that the guy is alright and also very lucky that no safety marshals were caught up in this accident, like that poor guy in Australia(?) a few years back.

Yeah, Australia 2001.