Monaco GP 2009 - Monte Carlo

[Giblet]

Former F1 driver

[PlatinumZealot]

Is it that you can not use it under 100 km/hr at the start of the race, or under 100km/hr at any time during the race?

[gridwalker]

Former F1 driver

Former F1 driver who I don't think has even driven a KERS equipped car.

So ... seeing as nobody's asked yet, how many broken front wings do you expect to see at Monaco during the race?

I vote for at least 6.

[SoliRossi]

Is it that you can not use it under 100 km/hr at the start of the race, or under 100km/hr at any time during the race?

The only reason they do not use it under 100kph is because they are traction limited. A F1 car will generate lots of wheel spin below 100kph, basically they get wheel spin all teh way until 100kph, and its at that point that they get traction, this is a result of slightly less torque at those speeds/gears and also the aero starting to work and aid the traction.

So the reason KERS is pointless below 100kph is because your wheels are already spinning with out it, so if you got an extra 80HP then you would just get more wheel spin and probably have a slower net result.

There is no rule that prevents the cars from using the KERS below 100kph, its just widley accepted that its about 100kph where KERS becomes 'usable' to gain an advantage. Some teams may get traction earlier than others but as a rule of thumb its about 100kph.

Also the KERS is completley charged on the out lap so every KERS car his the boost ready to use off the line...or more to the point as soon as they have traction they hit it and it delivers that extra power onto the road.

[yzfr7]

I haven't seen a driver use it on entry.

Any corner that entry speed is less then 100kmh you can't use it, and why would you want more power when you are slowing for a corner?

If the corner is a flat out, then it doesn't really have an entry/exit and KERS could be used as if on a straight.

I've no idea. I was merely passing along what I'd heard from an F1 driver.

I believe Ant was refering to the "braking effect" of the KERS on the entry, and how to use this effect to help stabilise the car, and how to play with this when defining your brake bias (front/rear).

[nudger]

Mclaren to have diamonds in helmets for Monaco GP...

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/05/ ... ovalainen/

i don't get the point of this, they will probably still be towards the rear of the field. Okay last year Hamilton was a real race winner contender, but why this year?

you think?
i dont, i think they will be up at the sharp end at monaco. their car is very good on twisty bits anyways...barcelona clearly showed where it was lacking...and monaco dosnt have any of that. plus they are pretty pleased with the new rear wing i hear...lots of lovely downforce

[roost89]

Former F1 driver

Former F1 driver who I don't think has even driven a KERS equipped car.

So ... seeing as nobody's asked yet, how many broken front wings do you expect to see at Monaco during the race?

I vote for at least 6.

I shall e-mail him via the BBC or send a text in on Thursday/Saturday and try to find out for everyone...if my text gets read out and my e-mail replied to of course.

[dave kumar]

A quote from Ross Brawn about his expectations for this weekend:

Our car works very well with low-speed corners and we have a fantastic engine from Mercedes-Benz which has a lot of power and excellent drivability which is important around the twisty street circuit. The BGP 001 car is very good mechanically which you need to take advantage of the slow speed nature of the track

I thought the Brawn car derived most of its advantage from the innovative aero package. Thus we expected them to excel in Barcelona. But does the diffuser also give them help at Monaco - able to generate more downforce than the others? Or, as suggested in the quote, does the Brawn also possess excellent mechanical grip as well.

I thought this would be the one race of the year where we could estimate which cars had the best mechanical grip as the aero package would be a less dominant factor in lap times

[ISLAMATRON]

A quote from Ross Brawn about his expectations for this weekend:

Our car works very well with low-speed corners and we have a fantastic engine from Mercedes-Benz which has a lot of power and excellent drivability which is important around the twisty street circuit. The BGP 001 car is very good mechanically which you need to take advantage of the slow speed nature of the track

I thought the Brawn car derived most of its advantage from the innovative aero package. Thus we expected them to excel in Barcelona. But does the diffuser also give them help at Monaco - able to generate more downforce than the others? Or, as suggested in the quote, does the Brawn also possess excellent mechanical grip as well.

I thought this would be the one race of the year where we could estimate which cars had the best mechanical grip as the aero package would be a less dominant factor in lap times

diffusers are much more efficient at lower speeds than wings are.

[Moanlower]

I believe Mclaren, and more precisely Lewis will do very well next weekend. They also have the best and lightest KERS system which doesn't compromise the balance of the car like most other teams. They probably will use it at the S/F straight, after turn 1 where it's most beneficial, and into the tunnel.

Quali will be very interesting since both Brawn and RBR drivers are very competitive at Monaco and their cars' performance is as close as it can be. Anywho, thats my 2 cents.

Something else. Can anyone enlight this pic. What happened there?

[Avto]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but here goes what is so special about Monaco? I mean sure it's special being a city circuit and all, but take Monza isn't it just as special for the demands it presents? There are probably other unique circuits, and I have always felt that we are forced to believe that Monaco is the crown jewel of the F1 racing calendar and while this might be true in terms of VIPs and glamour, this is not true from the pure racing perspective, I mean I doubt many pilots can call it their favourite and I doubt mechanics would call it their favourite, so what gives?

[WhiteBlue]

Monaco is unique due to the historical dimension and marketing impact it has aquired over the years.

The position is so strong that Bernie is not collecting a significant race fee from them contrary to his normal attitude of raising prices all the time.

The GP and the Cannes Film Festival are run almost in tandem and there is always a bunch of celebrities at hand to make the sponsors happy. So they come in flocks to make their deals at this event.

From a technical view it is the slowest race and I'm sure engineers would like to get rid of it but their team principals will allways tell them it is not an option.

It is regarded as a drivers race because it can be won in inferior machinery as neither aero nor engine superiority garantees success. The most prestigious drivers have made their name by multiple race wins there.

So it will probably stay for many reasons.

[gibells]

Also (not that this is why it's so special) it is one of the tracks that hasn't changed over the years. Whereas most of the other famous circuits (Monza, Silverstone, etc.) have all had several changes.

[scarbs]

I believe Mclaren, and more precisely Lewis will do very well next weekend. They also have the best and lightest KERS system which doesn't compromise the balance of the car like most other teams. They probably will use it at the S/F straight, after turn 1 where it's most beneficial, and into the tunnel.

Quali will be very interesting since both Brawn and RBR drivers are very competitive at Monaco and their cars' performance is as close as it can be. Anywho, thats my 2 cents.

Something else. Can anyone enlight this pic. What happened there?

I don’t recall the exact details but it was a car being craned back to the pits on the transporter and the car fell off, with the driver still onboard!

[RH1300S]

Wasn't that Taki Inoue?