2011 F1 car concepts

[Twaddle]

@ machin - you reckon our friends in China are jumping on the green bandwagon too?

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/vie ... -ambition/

On topic, does anyone know what the reasoning behind banning the F-duct and introducing a movable wing was? I really don't get it.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how well the teams manage their packaging with the reintroduction of KERS next year. It sounds like a recipe for another Newey glass cannon for the RB7, but hopefully they'll be able to get a handle on the reliability quite quickly. Just to come back full-circle; if F1 was really serious about road-car relevance and green issues KERS would have been kept and deregulated last season with a view to moving towards an all-electric formula in the next few years. I don't think I'm the only one that doesn't see this happening.

[Tamburello]

@ machin - you reckon our friends in China are jumping on the green bandwagon too?

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/vie ... -ambition/

On topic, does anyone know what the reasoning behind banning the F-duct and introducing a movable wing was? I really don't get it.

F-duct doesn't do anything for overtaking if all teams have it. Next is the cost of development associated with a device that will only give performance parity.

The movable rear wing, OTOH, is supposed to aid in overtaking.

[gridwalker]

If they allowed a manual activation switch for the F Duct and then regulated use through the SECU then you could have a very similar effect for a much lower development cost than a movable rear wing. It seems a bit pointless to switch systems over now!

[timbo]

If they allowed a manual activation switch for the F Duct and then regulated use through the SECU then you could have a very similar effect for a much lower development cost than a movable rear wing. It seems a bit pointless to switch systems over now!

F-duct is suboptimal system on many levels.
You just can use same F-duct on different cars and every time you have t tune one. Remember that many people spent quite a while fine-tuning F-ducts.
Movable rear wing in the long game is a much easier and logical thing IMO.

[Intego]

It will be interesting to see what the regulations for 2011 will look like. Will they only state that the flap can be flattened with some timed restrictions? Will we see Newey, Costa or whoever design a flexible flap that moves from arcuated to linear?

Also interesting: Red Bull had the best car without DD in the beginning of 2009. I would like to see a comparison between the RB5 and the 2011 cars (with Bridgestone tyres).

But we also hoped to see the Toyota TF110 racing ...

[Italiano]

Will we see Newey, Costa or whoever design a flexible flap that moves from arcuated to linear?

That's illegal, it's moveable aero.

[dougskullery]

What's the situation at Red Bull regarding running KERS in 2011? Has there been any suggestion that they will/won't run the system next year?

I've been doing research for a blog post, and, compared to other teams, Red Bull overwhelmingly depend on leading out of the first corner to win races: to cut a long story short, 87% of Red Bull victories come from leading out of the first corner, while the figure is 52% among other teams.

If they run without KERS next year, and competitors are able to get the jump into the first corner, history says they'll struggle to get the wins. A Red Bull has never won a race in which it had to make a competitive pass on track (I think I've got my facts right, but I'd be happy to be corrected on that).

[mith]

I thought KERS was mandatory starting from next season.

[gridwalker]

87% of Red Bull victories come from leading out of the first corner, while the figure is 52% among other teams.

Very interesting statistic, especially given what you say about never winning following a competitive overtake : what are your sources?

[dougskullery]

87% of Red Bull victories come from leading out of the first corner, while the figure is 52% among other teams.

Very interesting statistic, especially given what you say about never winning following a competitive overtake : what are your sources?

My own research, reading through race reports of the 2009/10 seasons. There's a degree of personal interpretation in those statistics (for example, the 87% includes Abu Dhabi and Brazil 2009, in which the only car in front of the winning Red Bull subsequently retired) but, regardless of how you interpret it, one fact stands out loud and clear: no Red Bull has ever performed a competitive overtake to win a race.

It sounds a little absurd, and I half feel I must be missing something obvious. Did Vettel actually 'overtake' Hulkenberg in Brazil this year, or did he pass him off the start line?

Edit: Just watched a video of the Brazil start, and Vettel outdragged Nico to the first corner. Not an overtake, as such.

[marcush.]

an overtake is this a car thing or a driver thing,can it be devided at all?I would interpret this towards the RedBull being outstanding in qualy ..if you are in front at the start no overtaking is necessary (as long as you don ot blow the takeoff),or is it a lack of racecraft of the two heros who ,after dodging starts again and again were unable to pull of overtaking moves that stuck without taking out themselves... I feel this is alll noit car related but I might be biased...

[forty-two]

sounds VERY mickey mouse to me. And kind of Ricky-Bobby Talladega Nights ish

Sorry all, I know this is off topic, but Raymond, you mentioned Talladega nights, so I couldn't help but post this.... ever noticed this similarity before?

And next up...


Sebastien Buemi


Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen from Talladega Nights)

Mods, please delete this if you feel it's entirely inappropriate, but in these austeer times we all need a little giggle every now and then.

[raymondu999]

While they do look alike, I can't help but think that that character is based on El Nando rather than based on Buemi I believe they even used footage of El Nando in his car as if it was this fellow.

[donskar]

What's the situation at Red Bull regarding running KERS in 2011? Has there been any suggestion that they will/won't run the system next year?

I've been doing research for a blog post, and, compared to other teams, Red Bull overwhelmingly depend on leading out of the first corner to win races: to cut a long story short, 87% of Red Bull victories come from leading out of the first corner, while the figure is 52% among other teams.
If they run without KERS next year, and competitors are able to get the jump into the first corner, history says they'll struggle to get the wins. A Red Bull has never won a race in which it had to make a competitive pass on track (I think I've got my facts right, but I'd be happy to be corrected on that).

Very interesting reading dougskullery. Those numbers say a lot about the state of F1. Instead of worrying about being "green," F1 ought to be concerned about continuing the flow of "green" (sponsorship dollars) into the sport. Yes, the obsessive few of us who love the sport and appreciate the technology, strategy, inner workings, etc do not really need lots of passing to hold our interest. But we are the few, and sponsors want the masses. If I were an F1 team manager looking for sponsorship, I would NOT want a potential sponsor to see the numbers above (unless I was Red Bull!).

[raymondu999]

What's the situation at Red Bull regarding running KERS in 2011? Has there been any suggestion that they will/won't run the system next year?

I've been doing research for a blog post, and, compared to other teams, Red Bull overwhelmingly depend on leading out of the first corner to win races: to cut a long story short, 87% of Red Bull victories come from leading out of the first corner, while the figure is 52% among other teams.
If they run without KERS next year, and competitors are able to get the jump into the first corner, history says they'll struggle to get the wins. A Red Bull has never won a race in which it had to make a competitive pass on track (I think I've got my facts right, but I'd be happy to be corrected on that).

While those are some telling statistics, we must also compensate for the fact that Red Bull have 15 pole positions this year. Point being, they would, statistically (since we're on the subject of stats) 15/19 times their win would be more likely to come from leading from the first corner, if everyone has the same good start. That's 79%. Against your 87%.