F1 - GP (General Purpose)

good local gannett rag photo shoot...

http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=CB&Date=20110614&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=106140802&Ref=PH&Profile=1003

Shifting rules...

Among the myriad rule changes for the 2011 season, one of the less prominent was that gearboxes must now last for five consecutive events rather than four. Furthermore, each team had to choose 30 ratio options before the season began to cover the demands of the 19 circuits, which must be able to cope with the slowest corners at Monaco, and the long straights of Monza, with DRS enabled. As the Valencia Street Circuit requires the most gear changes per lap of any circuit so far this season, 64, and the second-most per lap of any circuit behind Singapore, it provides the perfect opportunity for Mercedes to bring us a closer look at this crucial system…

Q: What challenges does the Valencia Street Circuit present the gearbox with?
A: The Valencia Street Circuit requires 64 gear changes per lap; only Singapore requires more, with 71 changes per lap. This equates to over 3,648 changes per race, compared to a season average of 3100 gear changes. This means, on average, the drivers are changing gear once every 85 metres, compared to once every 61 metres in Monaco, or at the other extreme, once every 143 metres in Spa.

Q: How has mileage for a gearbox evolved for 2011 relative to 2010?
A: Gearboxes must be used for five consecutive races in 2011, compared to four in 2010. Last year, a gearbox was used for between 2,100 and 2,500 kilometres; for 2011, this is expected to be between 2,600 and 3,000 kilometres. During the five-race cycle, a gearbox would therefore perform over 25,000 gear shifts.

Q: What are the toughest races for the gearbox?
A: The toughest races for the gearbox are Monaco, Singapore and Abu Dhabi where the drivers shift gear every 61m, 71m and 82m respectively. The main factors that make a race demanding are torque levels and the number of gear shifts; Monaco and Singapore see the drivers shift gear over 4,000 times per race. At slow speed circuits, the ratios selected give a low car speed, which means the gearbox has to transmit higher torque for longer periods; also, the car spends more time in the lower gears, which is more damaging to the bearings. The gearbox also has to withstand torque spikes during a gear change; therefore, the more changes are made, the harder the gearbox has to work.

Q: What temperatures does the gearbox operate at, and what forces does it transmit?
A: The gearbox typically runs at up to 130 degrees Celsius and has to transmit around 5000Nm at the final drive. The gearbox itself weighs less than 40 kilograms and includes well over 500 individual components; these include not just gearbox functions, but also mounting points for the suspension, the rear crash structure and many hydraulic components.

Q: How quickly is a gearshift made in a modern Formula One ‘seamless shift’ box?
A: In terms of transmitting torque through the gearbox, a gear changes takes zero seconds. The time for the mechanical parts to complete the shifting mechanism is less than 0.05 seconds - that’s a third of the time it takes to blink an eye. At 250 km/h, a Formula One car would travel almost 3.5m, around two thirds of a car length, in this time.

Q: Article 9.6.2 of the Technical Regulations says all competitors have only 30 gear ratio pairs available for the season, and these must be declared before the first event of the year. How are they selected?
A: This rule means that the teams have 30 ratio options available, not that only 30 ratios can be used. Within this range, ratios can be changed between races to adapt to circuit characteristics. The 30 ratio options are chosen based on pre-season testing with both drivers, plus lap simulation. Each driver has the same 30 ratios available.

Q: How are ratios selected for a specific circuit?
A: The first part of the process is to select top gear, which is done through simulation of various wing levels, plus the lap time compromise between DRS and non-DRS running for various top gears: optimising for non-DRS running could leave the driver on the limiter for too long when DRS is active, while the reverse scenario could cost too much lap time without DRS because the gearing is too ‘long’. At high-downforce circuits, using DRS has increased top speeds by 15 km/h, while speeds are very similar at medium-downforce circuits like Montreal; its operation can also increase engine speeds by nearly 1,000 rpm.

The remaining ratios are picked after running the circuit on the simulator. The ratios must provide sufficient torque to exit a corner without the engine bogging down but, if the ratio is too short, it becomes difficult to control wheel spin on exit, or could make the car nervous on corner entry. Upon arrival at the circuit, planned ratios may be adapted to suit grip levels or wind direction. Within the range of 30 ratios, they can be freely changed between first and second practice. After P2, the team has just two hours to select final ratios for the remainder of the event.

http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2011/6/12197.html

I hear that the new rules (2013 - 2014 moving target so far) would allow eight gears ratios picked before the start of the season, with the ability to change these ratios once in the season.

Also looks like we will have turbo V-6's instead of the 4 cylinder WonderMotors (think BMW, 1200 hp and rocket fuel - those were the days).

I wonder what kind of simulator they're using.? Here's a screenshot of entry into Variante della Roggia at Monza with 105 MPH:

Thumbnail of 1019x584 (594KB) screenshot from EA Sports title F1 2002 with Ralph Hummerich and various miscellaneous mods, e.g., glowing brake disks, sky, photo-real tread, 2D rims, etc.

At 220 MPH, the physics engine is operating on at least 50 different variables over discrete distances of 8 1/2". I created an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to tune my car fairly well. However, since tire slip is pretty difficult to model accurately, there's significant error between what the spreadsheet predicts and in-sim results, i.e., approx 5% or so.

i have not gotten into simulators for i fear it would consume every free waking moment...

i know these guys through their sister and think i am going to have to give it a try in the near future

http://force-dynamics.com/

i think even Ferrari would prolly relent in that case

Woah. I've seen something similar with Falcon 4.0, i.e., full immersion-cockpit.

I'm more along the lines of EA Sports F1 series. The most recent iteration being F1 Challange (with stock '99 - '02 seasons). However, either F1 2002 or F1C are modifiable to grimace proportions. Granted there were some significant issues with regards to F1 2002, they are resolvable through hacking the config files.

I'm unclear about F1C, but the former's physics engine resolution in F1 2002 is 400 Hz (in super-mode or whatever its called). And from what I understand a lot of problems were resolved and enhancements made in the F1C release. In any case, anybody having merely a rudimentary comprehension of undergraduate study in vehicle dynamics can tweak either to a highly sophisticated degree.

As is vehicle set-up is a quite daunting task. The configuration options available - let alone modding the config files used by the physics engine - are mind boggeling. The combinatorial permutative numbers are virtually unlimited, e.g., gear ratios, ride height, wing settings, fuel load, tire compounds, spring / shock / damper rates, single / double or triple suspension, tire pressure, alignment, etc. etc. etc.

In one of the 3^rd-party set-up manuals I have, one big-shot F1 jockey said something to the affect, the thing that distinguishes a truly remarkable driver from also-rans is the driver that understands the intracacies and nuances of vehicle set-up. The driver has to know WHY the rear end is loose, or the car is tight, and what affect changes to suspension stiffness or torsion (or any other number of factors either alone, or in concert), will have on handling. No two drivers will be able to drive the same set-up in the same way; the driver has to know how to dial their car in for the way they drive in the conditions they're in.

One thing that I can most whole-heartedly recommend, anybody wanting that 3rd dimension into F1 racing should immerse themselves in EA's F1 series. Forget the physics engine, the visual fidelity alone is breath taking (and I'm speaking from a GeForce 2 GTS gfx card on a PIII 800 O/C'd to 920 perspective. That was sufficient for me to run laps with one car. A modern gaming rig should be jaw dropping. You won't know what I'm talking about until you've actually been in game-cockpit and compare that experience with on-board video that is broadcast during the F1 races. In either case, the only thing missing are the G forces kicking you around.

Think about it: in the above screenshot I'm doing 105 MPH at that precise instand, but that's decelerating out of 200 MPH some 50 or so meters prior, then the 90^o turn to the left, with hard right 90^o to the right with an exit velocity of about 60 MPH or so (all within three seconds) and then full mash down on the throttle unleashing 900 ponies on a 550 kg vehicle is a fun ride to say the least. If the vehicle set-up is wrong in the least amount forget taking those chicanes in the shortest distance available.

Heck, the first thing one has to get straight is handling the initial decel without the engine torque whiping the rear-end out from behind oneself (forget about roll torsion and combined fast and slow compression and rebounding to handle the chicanes), or entry / exit strategy / tactics.

Fun, fun, fun, and like ya said: very addictive to suck up every 'free waking moment' However, the feeling one gets after walking away from the cockpit is a bit disorienting at first; sometimes I feel like I'm still in the cockpit.

these people make me wanna puke... 2.4L is already smaller than prolly 90% of the car engines on the planet, so lets show our ass and make it smaller, feh!

Formula 1 bosses confirm engines will not change until 2014

Formula 1 bosses have confirmed a deal to delay the introduction of new 'green' engines by a year until 2014.

The decision to switch from four-cylinder 1.6-litre engines introduced in 2013 to V6s of the same size a year later was made by F1 bosses last week.

It was rubber-stamped on Monday by a vote of the FIA's world council, the legislature of F1's governing body.

The maximum rev limit of the engines will be increased to 15,000 from 12,000 to allay concerns about the spectacle.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has been against the switch to the new engines from the current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8s, claiming that they will make a less dramatic noise and therefore be less exciting to watch.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/13878359.stm

ping...

Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says the team will lose half a second per lap with the introduction of a ban on off-throttle blown diffusers from the British Grand Prix. But Marko says the pacesetting team have already made up for the deficit with set-up changes and aerodynamic updates.
Full story: Autosport

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed it is "very, very likely" Mark Webber will stay with the team in 2012.
Full story: ESPN F1

Red Bull's World champion Sebastian Vettel says he would pay to drive a Formula 1 car, adding: "If I didn't love what I do I probably wouldn't be so successful."
Full story: formula1.com

Toro Rosso technical director Giorgio Ascanelli says the team will soon turn their attention to the new car for 2012. Red Bull's junior team are seventh in the team standings and Ascanelli says Toro Rosso are already ahead of their targets for 2011 - but he adds that there will still be some small updates for the next race in Silverstone.
Full story: Team Rosso F1 team

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton is expected to drop into Wimbledon on Wednesday as a guest of his manager Simon Fuller, whose company also looks after world number four Andy Murray. Hamilton will, in turn, show Murray around the McLaren factory after the tennis star turned down an invitation to the British Grand Prix to play in Britain's Davis Cup in Glasgow.
Full story: Daily Express

Sauber driver Sergio Perez is looking forward after finishing just outside the points in 11th at last weekend's European Grand Prix. The Mexican writes: "Now heading to Hinwil to have some mettings with my team! We will bounce back next race, anyway I'm very pleased to come back it was a very hard weekend for me! But I'm sure Silverstone will be better!!"
Full story: Sauber driver Sergio Perez on Twitter

Pirelli has gone soft / hard tyres for Silverstone. They had expected to allocate medium / hard before Sunday. High temperatures could make it interesting.
Full story: Autosport F1 correspondent Edd Straw on Twitter

God these people make me wanna puke... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/13978228.stm

F1 aims to make efficiency 'cool' with new engine rules

Formula 1 is aiming to make increased fuel efficiency in cars "cool" through its new engine rules, Ross Brawn says.

Plans to replace the current 2.4-litre V8s with 1.6-litre V6 turbos with extensive hybrid systems were approved by governing body the FIA on Wednesday.

Mercedes boss Brawn said: "It's not about the fact that the new engine is going to be more efficient in itself.

"It's the message it gives that it's cool to have a really efficient engine and race on a lot less fuel."

Cars will use about 35% less fuel in 2014 than they currently do, with plans to introduce further efficiencies in the future. This target will partly be achieved by increasing the aerodynamic efficiency of the cars at the same time.

"We're setting dramatic targets for reducing the amount of fuel we race with - 30, 40, 50% less than what we're racing on now but still with the same power and the same excitement."

The idea behind the new engines was to popularise this type of power-train, which is the route many road-car manufacturers are taking in a bid to respond to a world of rising fuel prices, diminishing oil supplies and climate change.

Liberals excel in killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

Audi just won 24 Hours of LeMans, using a V6 versus Peugeot’s V8.

Both are also turodiesel, which is a fairly dramatic change from a few years ago.

So lots of “road car” advances come from racing. Over half of new passenger sales in Europe are diesels, so LeMans is highly relevant.

Formula 1 has been using KERS, related to Hybrid. Again, relevant to road cars.

Meanwhile, there is Nascar. Aren’t they still runing big V8s? Yep. to 358 ci.

No turbos. Four speed manual transmissions. No diesels.

And plastic bodies, styled after Plymouths, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles, to name a few.

Racing is becoming totally fake. I'm especially disgusted with IndyCar's promotion of ethanol, which I guess NASCAR is also doing now.

Hey, Ross: Here's what would make F1 racing "cool"

More power

More tire

Less aero

Less Tilke

I have no problem with this. Racing is fun to watch, but it also provides unparalleled design experimentation, including safety and engine design, which flow down to regular drivers like myself.

I don’t want to send any more money over to Arabia than I have to. I’d prefer not to send any at all.

Heck, modern Corvettes (another Le Mans winner) get much better mpg than my Jeep with an arcane 3.6L V-6, and of course can wipe it off the road at 1/4 throttle.

You guys are undoubtedly way more up on all this than me - I'm just a ol' 2002 season virtual driver - but the Wiki entry gots this to say 'bout the F1 engines:

The 2006 Formula One season saw the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) introduce the current engine formula, which mandated cars to be powered by 2.4 litre naturally-aspirated engines in the V8 engine configuration, with no more than four valves per cylinder. Further technical restrictions, such as a ban on variable intake trumpets, have also been introduced with the new 2.4 L V8 formula to prevent the teams from achieving higher RPM and horsepower too quickly. The 2009 season limited engines to 18,000 rpm, in order to improve engine reliability and cut costs down.
For a decade F1 cars had run with 3.0 litre naturally aspirated V10 engines; however, development had led to these engines producing between 980 and 1,000 hp (730 and 750 kW), and reaching dangerous top speeds of 370 km/h (230 mph) on the Monza circuit. Teams started using exotic alloys in the late 1990s, leading to the FIA banning the use of exotic materials in engine construction, and only aluminium and iron alloys were allowed for the pistons, cylinders, connecting rods, and crankshafts. The FIA has continually enforced material and design restrictions to limit power, otherwise the 3.0L V10 engines would easily have exceeded 22,000 rpm and well over 1,000 hp (745 kW). Even with the restrictions the V10s in the 2005 season were reputed to develop 980 hp (730 kW) and 18,000 rpm, which were reaching power levels not seen since the ban on turbo-charged engines in 1989.
The lesser funded teams (the former Minardi team spends less than 50 $million, while Ferrari spent Yx100 million euros / year developing their car) had the option of keeping the current V10 for another season, but with a rev limiter to keep them from being competitive with the most powerful V8 engines. The only team to take this option was the Toro Rosso team, which was the reformed and regrouped Minardi.
The engines produce over 100,000 BTU per minute (1,750 kW)[citation needed] of heat which is dissipated via radiators and the exhaust, which can reach temperatures over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). They consume around 650 liters (23 ft³) of air per second. Race fuel consumption rate is normally around 75 liters per 100 kilometers traveled (3.1 US mpg - 3.8 UK mpg - 1.3 km/l). Nonetheless a Formula One engine is over 20% more efficient at turning fuel into power than most small commuter cars, considering their craftsmanship.
All cars have the engine located between the driver and the rear axle. The engines are a stressed member in most cars, i.e., the engine is part of the structural support framework; its bolted to the cockpit at the front end, and transmission and rear suspension at the back end.
In the 2004 championship, engines were required to last a full race weekend. For the 2005 championship, they were required to last two full race weekends and if a team changes an engine between the two races, they incur a penalty of 10 grid positions. In 2007 this rule was altered slightly and an engine only had to last for Saturday and Sunday running. This was to promote Friday running. In the 2008 season, engines were required to last two full race weekends - the same regulation as the 2006 season. However for the 2009 season, each driver is allowed to use a maximum of 8 engines over the season, meaning that a couple of engines have to last three race weekends. This method of limiting engine costs also increases the importance of tactics, since the teams have to choose which races to have a new or an already-used engine.

I'd like to believe that the new fuel regs will translate to stock production car applications down the road. I can only assumee that 20 years of stock car-racing - post late 60's to pre '74 production muscle-car - has been realized in the 200,000 miles durability of contemporary production car engines. And that in addition to squeezing more ooomph out of the engines.

It seems to me that a lot of what's going on in professional racing has to do with econmics in general; it takes a lot of crisp and green semolians to finance a race team. That seemed to be a big issue in that a lot of the teams / sponsoring corps were squealing they couldn't continue. So a great deal of this can be attributed to economic climate-dictated austerity measures.

A really good example is the speialized tires that the various race teams use. Some serious changes came into play concerning that over the last few years. The tires alone are a huge portion of a race team budget. Specialized after-market tires (espeicially "high-performance") have the raceing affiliated nod. However, there's no commuter app that needs racing performance.

Case in point: years ago I drove the "Mighty Ventura" (1974 Pontiac 350) and paid for some "high performance" tires. I complained "there was a bit of vibration at high speed." They rebalanced and rebalanced the tires. I kept coming back again and again. Finally the manager got into my face when I told him the vibration set in at 90+ MPH. The last time I was there they threw me out was when I complained that the vibration got really bad at 80 but smoothed out akin to glass until I exceeded 105...

I worked as a temp doing engineering change/material scheduling for the F body N America (assisting as required on the Y-body and P-car) at GM C-P-C HQ back in '85. One of the biggest scheduling issues I had to deal with at the time were the new - at that time - alum-alloy wheels; I couldn't get the things out of QC from the vendor to schedule 'em. Nowadays they're defacto equipment. I'd like to believe that racing had something to do with development of that technology. The "Mighty Ventura" had those steel wheels of yesteryear, eh?

One thing that amuses me is NASCAR "stock-car" racing. What in the world is "stock" about any of those cars. At best they ALL appear to be Buick Grand National wannabe's. NONE of those cars look anything remotely like a contemprary 2011 production car.

bingo...

F1 Stuff...

F1 crash test dummies... http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2011/7/12307.html

Maximum impact - the F1 accident reconstructed

From a mild slap to shunts beyond human endurance, this sled at the FIA Institute’s F1 Accident Reconstruction Facility reproduces Formula One accidents of every type and severity, to keep drivers safe

It is designed to recreate the forces involved in all major impacts in F1 and to measure their effect on the driver. The rig and chassis can handle impact forces of up to 100g, the equivalent of a race-car going from 100km/h to zero in one tenth of a second.

“That’s pretty severe for a sled facility of this type,” says the Institute’s Andy Mellor, who oversaw the design of this machine. It equates to five-times the g-loads experienced by Red Bull’s Mark Webber during his dramatic lift-off accident at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia.

In other words, the facility can recreate impact conditions that stretch to the fastest and most devastating crashes in motor sport.

The chassis, which was donated, appropriately, by the Red Bull F1 team, can be positioned on the rig at any angle to replicate all conceivable front, side, or rear impacts. It enables FIA Institute researchers to measure accurately how well the safety systems are working and suggest improvements where necessary.

“When there’s an accident of particular interest,” says Mellor, “the FIA Institute can put a dummy in the chassis, reconstruct the crash ‘pulse’ from the accident, then measure the dummy loads to see how the whole system works. We can see exactly how things like the head rest, belts, HANS device and other systems all contribute to the safety of the driver.”

The crash-test dummy used in these tests is itself highly instrumented, having accelerometers and transducers located throughout its body.

much more at link

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz says "a conversation about a contract never occurred" with Lewis Hamilton, despite the Englishman having a clandestine meeting with team principal Christian Horner at the Canadian Grand Prix. Mateschitz says he is convinced Mark Webber will sign a new contract for the team for 2012.
Full story: Autosport.com

Formula 1 is evaluating jet-fighter canopy technology to protect drivers from flying debris and airborne cars. (Autosport magazine)

Williams chairman Adam Parr believes Formula 1 could make better use of social media to promote the sport. He praised "the quality of the events" created by commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone but said: "The thing I do believe is that social media, the internet and even pay TV, how it has grown up in the last decade, must change the landscape. Not only how you communicate with people and how you distribute content, but also economically what is possible." Parr added: "[Williams driver] Rubens Barrichello has more than a million followers on Twitter, of whom a significant proportion are Brazilian... how do you quantify what that's worth?" Full story: attwilliams.com

Renault has begun talks about extending its deal with with engine supplier Renault Sport. The current agreement runs until the end of 2013, with the team keen to continue the partnership when F1 switches to the new V6 power units the following year. There were suggestions Renault could team up with Cosworth in 2012 but team principal Eric Boullier said: "Those are new rumours from the paddock that I can kill now if you want - our contract with Renault is ending at the end of 2013. We have already started the discussions about extending it, and now we have to negotiate." Full story: Autosport.com

Red Bull's Christian Horner and McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh

Horner and Whitmarsh clashed at the FIA's official press conference ahead of the British Grand Prix

The FIA is confident the row over off-throttle blown diffusers will not cast a shadow over the rest of the season. The dispute, which came to a head at last weekend's British Grand Prix when Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and McLaren counterpart Martin Whitmarsh argued over its intricacies, led to two extraordinary meetings of the Technical Working Group to find a solution. As a result, there will be a return to the engine-mapping ban brought in at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. In a Q&A on its website, the FIA said: "All cars will run under 'Valencia' conditions for the remainder of the season. "We are optimistic there will be no protests over any engine mapping and exhaust tailpipe issues this season." Full story: fia.com

Hmmmmm...

The FIA is confident the row over off-throttle blown diffusers will not cast a shadow over the rest of the season. The dispute, which came to a head at last weekend's British Grand Prix when Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and McLaren counterpart Martin Whitmarsh argued over its intricacies, led to two extraordinary meetings of the Technical Working Group to find a solution. As a result, there will be a return to the engine-mapping ban brought in at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. In a Q&A on its website, the FIA said: "All cars will run under 'Valencia' conditions for the remainder of the season. "We are optimistic there will be no protests over any engine mapping and exhaust tailpipe issues this season."

I wish I knew more about this issue concerning the off-throttle blown diffuser technology. I've always operated under the mantra: "Its nice to be blown, but its better to be injected."

I can see mechanical challanges presented by the aeordynamic physics of raising the collapsing rear spoiler, but why is the 2011 diffuser rule so controverial?

I'm not understanding the fundamental premise...

I don't want to be a thread-Bogart, so if this already has been discused: please direct me to the proper thread.

F1_ferrari

HEADS UP........SPEED CHANNEL HAS “SEAT SWAP”...show about Steward and Hamilton’s switch coming on at 6:00 est.

this IS the thread for all things F1 that don't require a thread of their own, so yes this is the proper place

as to the diffuser, i'm not sure either