OT: Formula One

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:48 am

Hi Guys,

I've been watching the F1 races the last two weekends and have been blown away by these cars. These cars are freaking amazing.... The speed, the handling, the technology etc.... I'm looking for any links to info on the net where I can learn more about these cars and the technology that makes them what they are.

Many thanks in advance!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:06 am

A good site:

http://www.f1technical.net/

***

A few basics, from the USGP Media Guide:

THE FORMULA ONE CAR

ENTRANTS

•Each entrant must construct its chassis and enter two cars and drivers in all races of the season. Any entrant that misses a race may have to pay a substantial fine unless it can prove extraordinary extenuating circumstances. The total entry is limited to 12 two-car teams. This year, there are 11 two-car teams.

CAR DIMENSIONS

•Height: Overall height cannot exceed 37.4 inches (95 cm).
•Width: Overall width cannot exceed 70.87 inches (180 cm).
•Minimum weight: 1,333.80 pounds (605 kg), including driver.
•Maximum complete wheel width: Front – 13.98 inches (35.5 cm). Rear – 14.97 inches (38 cm).
•Minimum complete wheel width: Front – 12.02 inches (30.5 cm). Rear – 14.38 inches (36.5 cm).
•Maximum complete wheel diameter: 26 inches (66 cm), dry tires; 26.4 inches (67 cm), wet tires.
Note: A complete wheel is the wheel rim with an inflated tire fitted.

TIRES

•Four circumferencial grooves on each dry-weather tire. The grooves are at least .01 of an inch (2.5 mm) deep, and .552 of an inch (14 mm) wide at the top and .04 of an inch (10 mm) wide at the bottom.

ENGINE

•The engine must be a 2.4-liter (146.4 cubic inches) V8 four-stroke with reciprocating pistons. Supercharging and turbocharging are forbidden.
•Formula One engines generate up to approximately 750 horsepower.
•Formula One engines are limited to 19,000 rpm.
•The “V” angle of the V8 engine must be 90 degrees.
•Engines must have two inlet valves and two exhaust valves per cylinder.
•Only one spark plug and one fuel injector per cylinder is permitted.
•The overall weight of the engine must be at least 209.44 pounds (95 kg).
•Crankshaft and camshaft must be made from an iron-based alloy. Cylinder heads and cylinder blocks must be made from cast or wrought iron aluminum alloys. Pistons must be made from an aluminum alloy.
•Unless explicitly permitted for a specific engine component, the following materials may not be used anywhere on the engine: magnesium based alloys; metal matrix composites; intermetallic materials; alloys containing more than 5 percent by weight of beryllium, iridium or rhenium.
•Cylinder bore diameter may not exceed 3.86 inches (9.8 cm). Cylinder spacing must be fixed at 4.19 inches (10.65 cm). The crankshaft centerline must not be less than 2.29 inches (5.8 cm) above the reference plane.
•The center of gravity of the engine may not lie less than 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) above the reference plane.
•Variable geometry inlet and exhaust systems are not permitted. Variable valve timing and variable valve lift systems are not permitted.
•The basic technical specifications of each team’s engine were frozen at the start of the 2007 season, and only limited modifications and upgrades to the engine’s auxiliary systems are permitted.

FUEL

•Formula One fuels are unleaded and composed of components normally found in commercial fuels. Before the event, the competitor must submit a fuel sample for analysis and approval by the FIA. Fuel samples taken during the course of the event must match the footprint of the original sample.

FUEL TANK

•The fuel tank must be a single rubber bladder tank that conforms to required safety regulations and is situated between the driver and the engine.

ELECTRONICS

•Electronic driver aids such as launch control, anti-lock brakes, torque steering and “active” suspension are forbidden.
•Traction control is legal. Launch control is forbidden.

TRANSMISSION

•Semi-automatic gearboxes are legal. Automatic gearboxes are forbidden.
•The number of forward gears permitted is four to seven. Reverse gear must also be fitted.

SUSPENSION

•All cars must be fitted with sprung suspension. Computerized “active” suspension systems are forbidden.

COCKPIT

•The driver must be able to undo his safety belts, remove the steering wheel and climb out of the cockpit in five seconds and then replace the steering wheel in a total of 10 seconds.

DRIVER’S SEAT

•The driver seat must be able to be removed from the car with the driver still in it.

***

The respective team Web sites often have some pretty cool information and photos about their cars:

•AT&T Williams: www.attwilliams.com

•BMW Sauber F1 Team: www.bmw-sauber-f1.com

•Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team: www.spykerf1.com

•Honda Racing F1 Team: www.hondaracingf1.com

•ING Renault F1 Team: www.ing-renaultf1.com

•Panasonic Toyota Racing: www.toyota-f1.com

•Red Bull Racing: www.redbullracing.com

•Scuderia Ferrari: www.ferrariworld.com

•Scuderia Toro Rosso: www.tororosso.com

•Super Aguri F1 Team: www.saf1.co.jp

•Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: www.mclaren.com

***

The official F1 Web site has some decent information:

http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/

***

Finally, you must watch the coolest commercial ever made. It's a Shell commercial featuring five generations of Ferrari F1 cars driving on the deserted streets of major world cities. I have no clue how Shell pulled off the logistics of this amazing ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iItzJc-NHI4

Glad you're enjoying F1! I wish the wheel-to-wheel racing was better, but the technology and cars are fantastic, no doubt.

Take care,
PK

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:27 am

Thanks PK...

As for the wheel to wheel racing.. You are correct, however it seems that each of the two races i've seen have provided at least one "OMG" moment of side by side racing that makes you want to come back for more.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:40 am

Passing in F1 is damn difficult, so any good move is to be applauded. No question.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:49 pm

F1 is downright boring nowadays if you compare it to say the 60's-90's when cars actually passed because todays F1 is all about Aero and that hinders any type of passing or excitement we saw back in the Senna, Mansell era.

Felipe Massa said it perfectly yesterday in the press conference. Unless your going twice the speed of the car in front of you it's damn near impossible to pass in F1. If you get too close you get into dirty air and loose downforce so that's why most races look like processions rather than a race. And most passes occur either in the first corner or in the pits.

F1 would be much more exciting if they went back to slicks and limited all the aero crap. Cars back then had more mechanical grip and today it's all based on aerodynamics. That's how Ferrari got a 1-2 yesterday by putting new aero packages on their cars.

I still like F1 but compared to the product offered in the 80's-90's there's really no comparison.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:03 pm

Rodster wrote:I still like F1 but compared to the product offered in the 80's-90's there's really no comparison.

Absolutely. The deterioration of the racing started almost simultaneous with the switch to high-nose aerodynamic designs.

Then again, 1992 was a horrible season because Williams' title winner had so many gizmos -- traction control, active suspension, etc., -- that an ape could have driven it. Instead, Williams picked Nigel Mansell.

F1 needs to ban all aerodynamic bits other than front and rear wings. No flip-ups, no barge boards, no gearbox and airbox wings. As Rodster said, it also needs to return to slick tires. Manual gearboxes would be nice, too, as no one misses a shift anymore.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:26 pm

Over time the driver has factored less and less in driving the car. It use to be the other way around. I recently read that first the engineers design the car before even considering who they want to drive it because F1 is 80% car and 20% driver.

I wish they went back to manual transmissions but I also heard and maybe I heard wrong that the cars shift so fast today within milliseconds that it's almost humanly impossible for an F1 driver to manually shift gears without ruining either the tranny or engine. Like I said I heard this several years ago on a Speed F1 telecast so I don't know how accurate it is.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 3:46 pm

Rodster wrote:Over time the driver has factored less and less in driving the car. It use to be the other way around. I recently read that first the engineers design the car before even considering who they want to drive it because F1 is 80% car and 20% driver.

I wish they went back to manual transmissions but I also heard and maybe I heard wrong that the cars shift so fast today within milliseconds that it's almost humanly impossible for an F1 driver to manually shift gears without ruining either the tranny or engine. Like I said I heard this several years ago on a Speed F1 telecast so I don't know how accurate it is.

That's true, Rodster. Nearly all teams are using a seamless shift transmission now so there's only a couple of milliseconds of power cut to ensure the gears mesh smoothly. No human could shift that quickly.

In fact, Scott Speed's team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, unveiled its seamless-shift tranny last weekend at Magny-Cours. STR was one of the last F1 teams without seamless shift.

Take care,
PK

Smurfy · Post by **Smurfy** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 4:26 pm

It's great to see someone new with an interest in Forumula 1.

Here's a fantastic clip that brings back memories for me of sitting in the front row on the run down to turn one in Montreal. The clip is of the first lap of the British Grand Prix, but the sound in the clip captures exactly the same experience I had.

Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wLwGqhQGYs

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 5:21 pm

And so the Silly Season begins. Although it does appear Fernando is not happy at McLaren.

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/ ... 0819.shtml

Theissen distances BMW from Alonso

Team boss Mario Theissen has counted BMW-Sauber out of wild speculation that Fernando Alonso could be looking to leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season.

Some sections of the Spanish media believe the reigning world champion is so dissatisfied alongside Lewis Hamilton this year that he could be looking for an exit from his new three-year contract.

Reports then said Theissen and Alonso were spotted in conversation in the Magny Cours paddock last weekend, while the BMW chief was quoted as saying he has "great respect" for F1's reigning title winner.

That was enough to spark more imaginative rumours about a team transfer for Fernando Alonso.

"I spoke with Alonso," BMW's Theissen confirmed to the newspaper Diario As, "but about completely unrelated issues. There is nothing to report. Concerning his future there are no discussions with him."

jcalvert · Post by **jcalvert** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:50 am

While I have got back into F1 this year ... I am about to go a little OT, but only because I saw the long post from PK.

I have been watching more and more IRL races this year. Texas and Richmond were fun, but Iowa seemed something of a disaster. I cannot wait to see the cars racing at the Glen this weekend. I just wish we could get more HD treatment for the races; HD makes everything better.

OK, back on topic. Will S. Speed make it past this year? I think it is great to have an American in F1, but for various reasons the results do not seem to happen. Is there any way he can score a point this year?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:01 am

jcalvert wrote:Will S. Speed make it past this year? I think it is great to have an American in F1, but for various reasons the results do not seem to happen. Is there any way he can score a point this year?

His nationality is about the only reason to keep him in the team at the moment, and given Red Bull's marketing presence in the USA I wonder how much they care about that. In truth, Gerhard Berger doesn't seem overly fond of either of his drivers, and surely Gerhard wouldn't be trying to test Sebastien Bourdais again shortly if there wasn't some sort of future link-up planned.

In saying that, if STR don't bin both of their current drivers he might just hang on, because I don't see that Liuzzi offers a lot more. Points? With luck, maybe, but on pace I don't see it - though the STR cars have ran with the Red Bulls on occasion, RBR seem to be towards the front of midfield more often than not, and STR aren't extracting the same kind of performance from their machines.

jcalvert · Post by **jcalvert** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:30 am

GB_Simo wrote:His nationality is about the only reason to keep him in the team at the moment, and given Red Bull's marketing presence in the USA I wonder how much they care about that.

I agree, but I doubt Red Bull's sales have increased because of Speed. Now if he managed some points and they actually put some marketing behind STR, that would be a different story. Anyway, I guess I expect for Speed to be out next year.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:04 pm

jcalvert wrote:OK, back on topic. Will S. Speed make it past this year? I think it is great to have an American in F1, but for various reasons the results do not seem to happen. Is there any way he can score a point this year?

Speed is toast after this season, even if he scores a point or two.

Expect to see Sebastien Bourdais in one of the Toro Rosso cars next season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bruno Senna -- Ayrton's nephew -- in the other, as Liuzzi isn't setting F1 ablaze, either.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Sebastian Vettel in one of the Red Bull cars next season, filling the spot by DC, who will retire or be pushed out. BMW wants Vettel in a race seat next year, but it already has Kubica and Heidfeld on the books. Since Vettel has a personal sponsorship deal with Red Bull, I'm sure Theissen will be happy to loan him to Red Bull for a year or two.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:28 pm

It's too bad about Speed because it looks like it's been the car that's let him down. Even some of the Five Live post race commentary said they were rather impressed with Speed lately and that he's been fairly consistent. other than the car breaking down. I've seen way too many failures this year to judge whether he's up to the task of driving in F1.

I hope he stays in F1 until Graham Rahal or Marco show up.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:39 pm

Rodster wrote:It's too bad about Speed because it looks like it's been the car that's let him down. Even some of the Five Live post race commentary said they were rather impressed with Speed lately and that he's been fairly consistent. other than the car breaking down. I've seen way too many failures this year to judge whether he's up to the task of driving in F1.

I hope he stays in F1 until Graham Rahal or Marco show up.

It's not going to happen. He's done after this year.

And don't pin your hopes on Marco, either. There's no way he's going straight from the IndyCar Series to an F1 ride, especially with his rather poor form of this season.

Marco will need to avoid the mistake made by his father and move to Europe and either serve as a test driver for a year or race in a ladder series, such as GP2 or the Renault World Series.

As for Graham Rahal, the jury is still WAY out. Proving yourself in a Newman-Haas ride against the weakest Champ Car field in history isn't a barometer of ability at all.

Take care,
PK

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:16 pm

Big story this week, Ferrari fired Nigel Stepney for apparently leaking Ferrari's F2007 plans to McLaren(at least that's what I've taken out of it). It's too bad there isn't much coverage given to F1 in the US, this is a huge story in my opinion, and I wonder how much of a taint this will put on Hamilton's start.

Can't wait to see the fallout from this.

jcalvert · Post by **jcalvert** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:25 pm

CrazyPsycho wrote:Big story this week, Ferrari fired Nigel Stepney for apparently leaking Ferrari's F2007 plans to McLaren(at least that's what I've taken out of it). It's too bad there isn't much coverage given to F1 in the US, this is a huge story in my opinion, and I wonder how much of a taint this will put on Hamilton's start.

Can't wait to see the fallout from this.

Wow! Have not read this, but Hamilton looks to be a natural tallent, so I would hate for anything like this to taint what he has done to date. I too wish we got better F1 coverage in the US.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:33 pm

CrazyPsycho wrote:Big story this week, Ferrari fired Nigel Stepney for apparently leaking Ferrari's F2007 plans to McLaren(at least that's what I've taken out of it). It's too bad there isn't much coverage given to F1 in the US, this is a huge story in my opinion, and I wonder how much of a taint this will put on Hamilton's start.

Can't wait to see the fallout from this.

How can it taint Hamilton's start? He's still beating Alonso, and both are driving the same cars.

This taints McLaren, not Hamilton. He's just driving the car provided to him and doing it well enough to beat the two-time defending World Champion in the same car.

Adam Cooper has a detailed look at "Stepneygate" at autosport.com. Adam knows his sh*t and has a lot of access. He was the reporter who broke the Michelin exodus story Saturday night at the 2005 USGP:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/60467

Joe Saward also has plenty of coverage of "Stepneygate" at grandprix.com.

Take care,
PK

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:40 pm

Yeah, I suppose you are right PK, definitely a black mark on McLaren. I was a bit surprised to see how fast they were this year in comparison to last year.

Awesome article, thanks.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:50 pm

Let's wait for the FIA investigation to determine whether McLaren broke the rules. They said in Autosport and F1-live.com that McLaren is fully cooperating with the FIA and has given the FIA 100% access to their cars as part of the investigation.

p.s. and Hamilton is a freak of nature. Schumi did not have this kind of impact on the sport when he first arrived.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:48 pm

CrazyPsycho wrote:Yeah, I suppose you are right PK, definitely a black mark on McLaren. I was a bit surprised to see how fast they were this year in comparison to last year.

Forgive me if I've read this wrongly, for I'm all tired this evening, but you're not linking their improved pace to the Stepney affair, are you? McLaren themselves have gained dramatically from one year to the next four times in the last decade that I can recall, and they're hardly the only example of that.

Given how all of these Formula One cars are unique, regardless of outward similarity, and that they're all an incorporated package with parts that might slow down another car but work perfectly on one, whatever's in these documents surely isn't something McLaren could use as a means of enhancing their 2007 performance?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 9:24 pm

Adam is right. Remember that McLaren had the fastest car of 2005 by far, but it's appalling reliability let the consistent Alonso take the title in the bulletproof Renault.

As I recall, the 2003 McLaren was damn fast, and Kimi had a shot at the World Championship going into the finale at Suzuka.

Everything is cyclical in F1. Hell, Honda was second in the Constructors Championship just three seasons ago. It scored its first point of 2007 just last weekend.

I think everyone is seeing dominance in F1 through the recent rose-colored glasses of Ferrari, which ruled the Constructors standings from 1999-2004. That was an unprecedented stretch of dominance in the Constructors standings in F1 history.

Before Ferrari's six consecutive Constructors titles, the longest stretch of dominance by one constructor was four seasons, McLaren-Honda from 1988-91 during the Prost-Senna era.

Otherwise, no other team has won more than three consecutive Constructors titles, and even that is rare: Williams-Renault (1992-94) and Ferrari (1975-77) are the only three-timers besides McLaren (1988-91) and Ferrari (1999-2004).

Take care,
PK

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:33 am

Yeah, I'm pretty much an F1 newbie, just started following closely towards the tail end of 05. I think Varsha said 06 was the first year McLaren hadn't won a race in a really long time, so yeah, it's probably unfair to say that they are back on top because they copied Ferrari. Having two really great drivers helps. I'm excited for next year when they get rid of the traction control. That should bring the cream to the top, no?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:46 am

CrazyPsycho wrote:Yeah, I'm pretty much an F1 newbie, just started following closely towards the tail end of 05. I think Varsha said 06 was the first year McLaren hadn't won a race in a really long time, so yeah, it's probably unfair to say that they are back on top because they copied Ferrari. Having two really great drivers helps. I'm excited for next year when they get rid of the traction control. That should bring the cream to the top, no?

It won't make much difference at all. It's not like Adrian Sutil in a Spyker is suddenly going to challenge the Ferrari and McLaren drivers for a victory when traction control is turned off.

Traction control is an aid that all drivers use, not just the lesser ones. So when it's turned off, the playing field will remain pretty level. All of the greats raced and won in lower formulas without traction control, so driving without it won't be alien to them.

If anything, losing traction control could widen the gap between the great and the good. The greats, such as Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton, can manage their grip with their right foot. Some of the lesser guys can't do it as well, so they're going to be even farther behind the top drivers once they lose the crutch of traction control.

That said, I HATE traction control and all driver aids and will be glad when they're banished. I know it's a charming, outdated idea, but I would love to see F1 cars without traction control and launch control, and with manual, sequential gearboxes. Put more work into the hands of the driver.

F1 needs a complete rethink of its dependence on aerodynamics if it's ever to return its glory days of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The most important guys on any F1 team right now are the chief designer and head aerodynamicist.

I'm not kidding. Even the best driver can't win with a sh*t car. Look at Button. I think he's overrated, but he's not as bad as the Honda is showing him to be this season.

Glad you're enjoying F1, CrazyPsycho. It's a fascinating form of motorsport.

Take care,
PK