2011 Formula 1 Season Thread

I completely agree, they wanted a safer f-duct but they made it some stupid circumstantial gimmick.
 
If it was operational all the time it wouldn't aid overtaking which is the entire point of it.
 
vikiradTG2007 said:
If you haven't seen Macau, you don't know how mad and tight it can be. In places it's a lot tighter than Monaco if that's conceivably possible.
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I've seen some F3 races and it doesnt look THAT bad.....
 
Pininfarina_ said:
I've seen some F3 races and it doesnt look THAT bad.....
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The part around the hairpin is quite bad, you can barely fit two F3 cars side by side there. It's also a permanent yellow flag zone for at least some car classes (if not all). Another problem would be the 1.5+km run from Fisherman Bend to Lisboa including the two kinks that I'm sure could be taken flat in an F1 car.

Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to see an F1 car tackle the circuit in anger but it would not work as a racing circuit for anything faster than F3. How they even manage to organise superbike races there is beyond me...
 
@DRS / FFW (Flippy Flappy Wing, found this moniker quite catchy from F1 Fanatic): Based on how the Aussie GP turned out, we need more zones and just extend it to an entire straight, as what most of you people mentioned.

Sepang this weekend could be hotter than hell, based on what the weather is like from Singapore 300KM++ away.
 
Peter3hg said:
If it was operational all the time it wouldn't aid overtaking which is the entire point of it.
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I was originally going to say "I think he means drivers could choose to use it at any time," but after re-reading what you said, it hit me that the driver trying to keep his opponent behind him could be using it too.

I'm no automotive genius but as far as I know, the majority of overtaking occurs on turns, and the adjustable rear wing doesn't really help much around the turn since it reduces downforce over your rear tires, which means you can't take the corner as quickly since you have less grip? KERS wouldn't help too much either I wouldn't think, because while it might help you accelerate more quickly after hitting the apex, I think the driver in front would have cut off your overtaking line by then in most cases.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I probably am wrong, and would like to know why.
 
Victoria said:
I'm no automotive genius but as far as I know, the majority of overtaking occurs on turns, and the adjustable rear wing doesn't really help much around the turn. [...]
Correct me if I'm wrong, I probably am wrong, and would like to know why.
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One of the main problems with F1 cars of the last 20 or so years is that they heavily rely on aerodynamic grip, i.e. that traction and car control comes from spoilers, the floor, the diffusers pushing the car onto the ground. This is opposed to mechanical grip, i.e. tires and suspension doing their part in keeping the car on track. Mechanical grip has been greatly reduced in a (futile) effort to keep the car's speed under control.
Anyways, the problem with aero grip is that it works best in clean air, that is either if you're quite far behind the car in front of you or directly in it's slipstream. If you're in "dirty" air, the turbulences left behind by the aero devices of the car in front of you you'll lose grip, thus lose time in the corners thus will have a hard time getting close enough on the next straight to get into the slipstream and overtake. That's where the stalled wing comes in: It gives you some extram 5 to 10 kph down the straight so you can get your nose beneath your opponent's gearbox (or even make a pass on the straight).
 
Dr_Grip said:
One of the main problems with F1 cars of the last 20 or so years is that they heavily rely on aerodynamic grip, i.e. that traction and car control comes from spoilers, the floor, the diffusers pushing the car onto the ground. This is opposed to mechanical grip, i.e. tires and suspension doing their part in keeping the car on track. Mechanical grip has been greatly reduced in a (futile) effort to keep the car's speed under control.
Anyways, the problem with aero grip is that it works best in clean air, that is either if you're quite far behind the car in front of you or directly in it's slipstream. If you're in "dirty" air, the turbulences left behind by the aero devices of the car in front of you you'll lose grip, thus lose time in the corners thus will have a hard time getting close enough on the next straight to get into the slipstream and overtake. That's where the stalled wing comes in: It gives you some extram 5 to 10 kph down the straight so you can get your nose beneath your opponent's gearbox (or even make a pass on the straight).
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That sort of makes sense. So basically, what you're saying is, the reduced rear drag allows for the car trying to overtake to have a higher speed when entering the corner, and this provides an advantage when trying to overtake with the corner by being able to be in control of the racing line, and pushing their opponent off the ideal line through, though in some cases in a long straight, the extra speed from the reduced drag might allow them to overtake on the straight?

Forgive me for my naive questions, I've only watched any kind of racing for a single season, so I'm still getting used to how things work.
 
I'm not sure if i got all the details right, tbh. Some people here, most notalby WillDAQ, are much more knowledgeable than me.But the point is not being faster through the corner - if you're faster through the corner, you'll spin off. The point is being close enough to your opponent when reaching the corner that you can claim the inside line, outbreak him, etc, basically, getting into strike distance. Of course, if you can make the move stick before getting to the corner, it's even better for you.
 
Cellos88GT said:
There shouldn't be a zone. DRS should be operational during the entire race. I mean shit, the terms on the way it's setup reads exactly the same way as the fine print on a lottery ticket.
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for once, i agree

Peter3hg said:
If it was operational all the time it wouldn't aid overtaking which is the entire point of it.
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you still would need to be within 1s...
 
Victoria said:
in a long straight, the extra speed from the reduced drag might allow them to overtake on the straight?
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only in designated zones, and only if the drivers are within the mandated 1 sec gap.

I really do enjoy seeing drivers gambling their luck with the DRS system activated through the corners, when committed to a fast quali lap.

To quote Brundle's famous phrase, ambition exceeds adhesion. Sutil's attempt in AusGP quali was exactly that, but nevertheless spectacular to watch.
 
Basically, if they don't turn off the DRS in time the car won't be able to brake in time for the corner, as downforce helps making the braking distance shorter.

The system itself gives the chasing driver up to 10-15kph faster top speed, which in theory should increase the chances of overtaking.
 
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ahpadt said:
Basically, if they don't turn off the DRS in time the car won't be able to brake in time for the corner, as downforce helps making the braking distance shorter.

The system itself gives the chasing driver up to 10-15kph faster top speed, which in theory should increase the chances of overtaking.
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if i understood correctly, the moment they hit the brakes, the DRS is disabled even if they are still pressing the button...
 
But you will need to brake harder, since you arrive to the corner with a higher top speed.

So with the current regulation stipulating the brake discs dimension to be the same as last year, we will most likely see more brake failures this year.
 
The difference should be smaller than a first glance suggests though. With the Flippy Flappy Wing set to high drag the car slows down even at full throttle, hence engaging it shortly before braking will already have removed some of the excess speed.
 
MadCow809 said:
So with the current regulation stipulating the brake discs dimension to be the same as last year, we will most likely see more brake failures this year.
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Or maybe bigger brake ducts. Or more development in that general area.
 
MadCow809 said:
But you will need to brake harder, since you arrive to the corner with a higher top speed.

So with the current regulation stipulating the brake discs dimension to be the same as last year, we will most likely see more brake failures this year.
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Not really, they'll just adjust the compromise (ie brake duct size) to fit the new data...
 
^

some teams will bound to get it wrong by pushing the brakes to the limit.
 
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