And end to the lack of overtaking or just more buggering about?
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F1 - 2011
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Just more buggering about, in effect.
I mean - they're re-introducing movable rear wings, but at the same time, they're outlawing the (really quite brilliant) F-duct concept, which does exactly the same thing: temporarily changes the airflow over the rear aerofoil to 'stall' it and reduce drag, allowing a few miles an hour extra top speed.
If they want to encourage overtaking, they need to be ruthless when choosing the tracks to include in the calendar - simple as that. I'd also like to see them racing with smaller engines, 'road' fuel, narrower tyres and a few other modifications to the rules that will, quite frankly, never be accepted.
Ultimately, I'd like to see the FIA accept a switch to one 'doctrine' or another in Formula 1: either to reduce engine size and at the same time allow (nearly) all technological developments (i.e. turboes, side-pods, ground-effect, tweakable wings, etc.) or go to the opposite extreme of reducing the cars to little more than high-powered go-karts - just an engine and four wheels. Either is fine with me. The thing is, they can't go on pretending that their sport is helping to aid the development of road cars and increase their efficiency, when it clearly is not. As soon as a clever piece of technology is introduced into Formula 1, they ban it! Thus, it's hypocrisy to say that they're helping road cars to evolve.
I don't think Formula 1 will see a real overhaul until Ecclestone has died, quite frankly.
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Contradictory messages being sent out by this, IMO.
In a nutshell, less downforce from wings and more from undertrays. Fine in theory. However, whilst they will be reducing the wing size, front and rear, it seems they won't be able to compensate for it in the same way that the 1982 cars did - by using *elongated* sidepods that stretched the entire distance between the wheels - sometimes with 'skirts'. In that scenario, they were reducing the size of their front wings voluntarily, so as to optimise the 'clean-ness' of the airflow under the car. In fact, Lotus (who had previously, in consecutive years, introduced the side 'wings' and then skirts) took this to an extreme by doing away with their front wing altogether for the Lotus 80:
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Although this turned out to be a step too far, since the low-speed cornering was too adversely affected, even though the theory worked fine in faster bends.
Thus, the citing of the cars from that brief era - in my opinion the most beautiful Formula 1 cars since the 60s - is at least a bit misguided or even a wilful fiction. Any new cars with a combination of small wings and limited undertray efficiency are going to be really quite unstable in mid to fast bends and the transition between them. I think this could lead to one or two spectacular accidents. I dunno - maybe that's what they want?
Like I said in my previous post, I'd much rather they limited the speed of cars by simply limiting engine size (or fuel type) and thus basic power. If they really want to limit grip, put them on narrower or a different compound of tyre, but for the love of god, make sure the cars are going slower first!
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F1 - 2011
Just make every race a wet race - even a monumentally bland Tilkedrome can stage a watchable race if the conditions are on the moist side of variable.
Confirmed driver changes for 2011 so far
Virgin: Lucas Di Grassi out, Jerome D'Ambrosio in. Only a year younger than Di Grassi and four anonymous years in GP2 suggests he's nothing out of the ordinary (though he does come with testing experience from Renault, which might be useful). Can't help thinking Romain Grosjean would've been a better choice if they were appointing a Renault refugee.
Williams: Nico Hulkenburg out, Pastor Maldonado in. Maldonado was the standout driver in GP2 this year and Frank has done well to secure his signature, but Nico can still consider himself unlucky and is paying the price for a handful of disinterested performances where he didn't look like he was at the top of his game.
Sauber: Nick Heidfeld out, Sergio Perez in. Runner-up in the 2010 GP2 series Perez is certainly a more inspiring choice than perennial underachiever Heidfeld, but I'm not expecting the same fireworks we got from Kobayashi last term.
With Petrov confirmed at Renault, that just leaves the pairings at STR, Force India and HRT to be resolved. Personally I think Sutil ought to be a shoo-in at Force India, whilst Bruno Senna deserves another chance at HRT. Buemi and Alguersuari were mediocrity personified all season, though the latter finished the season marginally stronger than his team mate and ought to push on from his debut season. Would think Hulkenburg could outshine both though, if his sacking from Williams has given him the boot up the arse he needed. It would be great to see the brilliant Paul di Resta step up to a race seat for Force India, but as always, team finances may dictate a different pilot.
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
This - re-signing Jordan and expanding his role slightly - is a good thing, IMO. Coulthard always comes across as conservative, only saying 'safe' things. Jordan, however, isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers and I respect him for that. It makes the show more fun, if nothing else.
(This might be common knowledge elsewhere, so excuse my ignorance, but... am I the only one who got the distinct impression that Coulthard and Jordan don't really like each other?)
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F1 - 2011
EJ can be hard work and a bit of a dick - his interview with Dietrich Mateschitz being evidence of that (OK this isn't quite how it went but it's close) - but he's good fun. Although I agree that he and Crazy Dave don't really get on.
Best news of all, of course, is that Foghorn Legard is gone. Martin Brundle, the jewel in the BBC coverage crown, took longer than I would have done to get fed up with the rabid bellowing fool and ask for him to be removed from the box.
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F1 - 2011
New cars are being unveiled daily as the first testing session has been going on since Tuesday. I really enjoy looking at the new developments and ideas which come to light at this point.
Most revolutionary is Renault's forward-facing exhaust system which exits at the front of the side pods and is intended to increase airflow over the single rear diffuser:
It will probably be copied by all other teams as it is rumoured Mclaren will have a similar system on their new car which is unveiled tomorrow, and Mercedes are said to be working on a similar system to be introduced at some point in the future, possibly before the first race.
Could be interesting in hot or wet conditions.
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Something about F1 car design over the last decade that has confused me is that the down-swooping rear ends and side pods (as clearly illustrated by those photos) should create loads of uplift through the area of negative pressue they cause. I have to guess that it's the clever undertrays and rear spoilers that stop that from being a problem.
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F1 - 2011
I'm no aerodynamicist so I'm not going to make myself look stupid by trying to give my explanation. However, I did find this:
By ending the diffuser with a gurney flap, the airflow over the top of the diffuser can actually aid airflow extraction underneath the diffuser. This is the reason sidepods have become slimmer, undercut and the diffuser appears more exposed amongst the coke bottle bodywork. Effectively the harder the air flows over the diffuser, the more powerful the gurney can be in puling airflow from inside the diffuser; this makes the diffuser act as though the exit is larger and makes more downforce.
Better view of the Williams drive shafts:
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Thanks for that, TJA - that does explain it.
I was dimly aware that it is the speed differential between the 'fast' air over the top of the car and the 'slower' air underneath it that causes the 'slower' under-car air to accelerate, stretch itself and thus create suction, but I didn't realise that the proximity (at the exit-point) of those two differing-speed airflows made such a difference. Evidently it does.
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Gangster Octopus wrote:
Twilight Johnny Atom wrote:
The shape of these sidepods reminds me a little of those on the old Formula 1 prototype/design study that Cosworth produced in 1972(?) ...And not just for the colour!
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I loved that prototype. I think the ideas with those sidepods were that a) they'd produce a ground-effect-like suction, b) they'd channel the air smoothly along the length of the car and over the engine, and c) they'd reduce turbulence between the wheels. By today's standards, the execution of the design and the construction look brutal, but I think that's part of its charm. Way ahead of its time. Only Luigi Colani was styling F1 cars anywhere near as adventurously at the time.
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F1 - 2011
Robert Kubica to miss at least the start. I'm surprised that he's allowed to piss about rallying.
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F1 - 2011
That's a real blow, particularly if the new Renault lives up to the expectations from first practice.
Kubica is up there with the best drivers of today and a genuine contender in the right car. I'm also surprised he can do this so near to the start of the season.
It seems there is some concern that his hand might need to be amputated. That would be awful.
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- Mar 2008
- 14186
- The Deep South of England
- JPS Lotus
- Shortcake ...no, Custard Cream! ...no, Jammie Dodger...
F1 - 2011
Twilight Johnny Atom wrote:
I'm also surprised he can do this so near to the start of the season.
"He loves rallying. We knew the risks and so did he," Renault team boss Eric Boullier told Italian news agency Ansa.
"We didn't want a robot or a corporate man for a driver. It was agreed."
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F1 - 2011
The Renault support is great, and refreshingly worded, and during the earlier months of the off-season it makes a lot of sense. I just think at this stage of the season, with another practice session starting this Thursday, the first one only just over, and the first race in one month he should be virtually sleeping in the cockpit of the new F1 car.
I'm not sure about the return of Bobby K before the end of the year. In fact I'm not sure he'll return to F1 at all. I hope he does but it's certainly too early to say "he may even return within a year". The injuries sounded pretty bad, as you'd expect if your hand was virtually severed by some Armco penetrating the bulkhead of your car!
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