Official Formula 1 thread

[mike the snake]

I agree. The rpm limit is 15,000rpm, but because of the fuel restrictions they are only running to 10,000-11,000rpm.

I bet these cars would sound a LOT BETTER if they sang to 15,000rpm.

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

They could fix pretty much all their "problems" by removing the fuel flow limit.

[alxtheoreo]

[Silver Ignition]

those look HUGE

not sure how I feel about them...

[alxtheoreo]

Here's a thought: If they actually go to these size of wheels, would braking distances decrease due to more surface area & cooling? I know the suspension would need to be more compliant.

[mike the snake]

I remember reading that they kept the 13'' wheel size to limit the brake size.

I would assume breaking might be improved if they switch to 18'' wheels if the rotors grow the same amount.

[strat61caster]

No improvement in braking distance which is currently limited by the amount of grip the tire provides.

Larger surface area and better cooling will mean less fade and wear over a race so they can be more aggressive on the brakes, might be a leg up for the likes of Alonso and Hamilton who will have more leeway to dive into corners aggressively. Talking about preserving the brakes may be a thing of the past.

The biggest difference will be in the tires, they'll have to be much stiffer resulting in softer suspensions. The cars are going to move around a bit differently, the slow-mo comparisons will be fascinating.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I would assume breaking might be improved if they switch to 18'' wheels if the rotors grow the same amount.

"braking"

I agree. The ONLY reason for larger wheels in motorsports is so that larger brakes can be fitted, otherwise most cars in most motorsports would run smaller wheels. So if they're just increasing the wheel size, just to do so, that would be really F'in stupid and it would give me another reason to replace my DVR space with Indy instead of F1.

I'd like to see the fuel flow restriction raised to 120kg/hr and the fuel cap eliminated.


As it stands my pros and cons of F1 are:

PROS:

• Quieter engines: I like hearing the brake lockups, the crunching of Maldonados car and the roar of the crowd.
• Somebody that isn't Vettel/RBR is winning.
• Williams is on the podium!
• The racing has been quite exciting. Hamilton battling Nico, Vettel battling Alonso etc etc.

CONS:

• "Conserving fuel": The moment a commentator mentions that a driver is "conserving fuel" it makes want to change the channel. This is not endurance racing so conserving fuel is the antithesis of the function of this sport. If you're not running at the limit of the car, the tires the engine, then you're not racing, you're just turning laps until it's time to go racing.
• Fuel restriction is the right move, but the degree of the restriction is not. Allow another 20kg of flow and let them make another 100-200hp and rev to 14-15k.
• No engine development during the season. That is insanely stupid. It's a rule that actually reduces competition because the engine is so damn important that if one engine provider "gets it wrong" (or less right) then they simply suffer the whole season. That's really shitty for the fans. Right now, it's really shitty for Renault and Ferrari.
• Downforce and tires. There's too much of one and not enough of the other. I want less downforce or less "importance of aero" and more tire. More mechanical grip.
• Bernie Eccelstone. No explanation needed.

[alxtheoreo]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

"braking"

I agree. The ONLY reason for larger wheels in motorsports is so that larger brakes can be fitted, otherwise most cars in most motorsports would run smaller wheels. So if they're just increasing the wheel size, just to do so, that would be really F'in stupid and it would give me another reason to replace my DVR space with Indy instead of F1.

I'd like to see the fuel flow restriction raised to 120kg/hr and the fuel cap eliminated.


As it stands my pros and cons of F1 are:

PROS:

• Quieter engines: I like hearing the brake lockups, the crunching of Maldonados car and the roar of the crowd.
• Somebody that isn't Vettel/RBR is winning.
• Williams is on the podium!
• The racing has been quite exciting. Hamilton battling Nico, Vettel battling Alonso etc etc.

CONS:

• "Conserving fuel": The moment a commentator mentions that a driver is "conserving fuel" it makes want to change the channel. This is not endurance racing so conserving fuel is the antithesis of the function of this sport. If you're not running at the limit of the car, the tires the engine, then you're not racing, you're just turning laps until it's time to go racing.
• Fuel restriction is the right move, but the degree of the restriction is not. Allow another 20kg of flow and let them make another 100-200hp and rev to 14-15k.
• No engine development during the season. That is insanely stupid. It's a rule that actually reduces competition because the engine is so damn important that if one engine provider "gets it wrong" (or less right) then they simply suffer the whole season. That's really shitty for the fans. Right now, it's really shitty for Renault and Ferrari.
• Downforce and tires. There's too much of one and not enough of the other. I want less downforce or less "importance of aero" and more tire. More mechanical grip.
• Bernie Eccelstone. No explanation needed.

Speaking of less importance of aerodynamics & more mechanical grip, the FIA are considering the banning of FRIC. I didn't know such a system would be allowed, considering the history of active suspension.

I agree on all of your points. Might as well throw in steel brakes. Lol

[cfusionpm]

I do not understand the engine freeze whatsoever. It doesn't save any money because instead of doing what they know will work to improve the engine, teams that don't have a Mercedes engine have to either spend millions trying to find alternative ways to be faster (we're all seeing how that works out...) or they have to write off the entire season.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by alxtheoreo

Here's a thought: If they actually go to these size of wheels, would braking distances decrease due to more surface area & cooling? I know the suspension would need to be more compliant.

I thought cooling wasn't really a problem with the ceramic brakes?

If anything, the bigger wheels will cause more aerodynamic drag and slow down the cars that way Decreased braking distance, marginally.

[mike the snake]

The brakes used on F1 cars are carbon, not ceramic if I'm not mistaken. They need to get very hot to work properly.

The wheel size limiting braking was something that was put it place a long time ago when F1 brakes were very different.

I'm not sure if enlarging the rotors and brakes will give improvement, with today's brakes and materials. Maybe they might be a lot lighter.

What is FRIC?

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by alxtheoreo

Might as well throw in steel brakes. Lol

They might if they ever pursue cost saving measures. The carbon brakes advantage over steel isn't so much effectiveness but lightness. They are drastically lighter but they can stop just fine on iron/steel/whatever rotors. So if they ever go to 18" wheels they should consider going back to non-carbon rotors.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

What is FRIC?

Front and Rear Inter Connected suspension.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

The brakes used on F1 cars are carbon, not ceramic if I'm not mistaken. They need to get very hot to work properly.

The wheel size limiting braking was something that was put it place a long time ago when F1 brakes were very different.

Carbon ceramic composite. I said ceramic because I think that's the most accurate term for it. A ceramic substrate with carbon fiber.

If I were balling out of control I'd get them on all my sports cars for the weight reduction. There's not many places on a car where you can swap one thing and drop so much mass, and unsprung mass at that. Plus, I want a Porsche, and yellow calipers on them look awesome lol.

For Formula 1, I don't think going to iron brakes is necessary. Carbon ceramic brakes is only a tiny fraction of the cost of the car, the voodoo crap they put in the engine and all the aero is what costs all the money.