Team: Tim Goss (Director of Engineering), Paddy Lowe (TD), Neil Oatley (DRD), Martin Whitmarsh (TP), Jonathan Neale (MD), Sam Michael (SD) Drivers: Jenson Button (3), Lewis Hamilton (4) Team name: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
A place to discuss the characteristics of the cars in Formula One, both current as well as historical. Laptimes, driver worshipping and team chatter do not belong here.
Lycoming wrote:Perhaps a stronger vortex at that region is more beneficial for redirection of airflow downstream... will cost them some aero efficiency, but that is a very small element anyways.
michl420 wrote:In my opinion a monkey seat is on of the best ways to produce downforce. Because you can design it in the most effective way. So maybe it brings just a little bit downforce but very effective.
Not really. It has a very, very low aspect ratio, which results in a lot of induced drag. You are not really limited in terms of profiles that you can use, except the rear wing which only allows 2 element wings. It is in fact much less efficient than the front or rear wing. The advantage is that it helps drive the diffuser and probably takes advantage of an area of relatively clean airflow to get a little bit of extra downforce when you need it.
I understand that this wings are bad in drag penalty as we see it. But why the teams make maybe 2 wingprofils in a shape like aircraft wings. They would have less drag.( not much downforce but better than no wing)
michl420 wrote:
I understand that this wings are bad in drag penalty as we see it. But why the teams make maybe 2 wingprofils in a shape like aircraft wings. They would have less drag.( not much downforce but better than no wing)
Certainly they have less drag force due to their small size but in terms of lift to drag ratio, I would expect them to be quite a bit worse than the rear or front wings due to their low aspect ratio. Although to be honest I don't really know what you're trying to say.
As for the gap to mercedes... its tough to say. the temperature dropped a lot between Q2 and Q3. AS somebody else already mentioned, rosberg was first to set a hot lap and that could have had a lot to do with it.
michl420 wrote:
Lycoming wrote:Perhaps a stronger vortex at that region is more beneficial for redirection of airflow downstream... will cost them some aero efficiency, but that is a very small element anyways.
Pup wrote:I think the cars are set up for race pace.
But we'll know shortly for sure.
i hope it but 0.5 sec is much.
someone sad that you allways set up your car for going as fast as possible and then you take care on the tyres.
lets hope this was not best pace they have
1) Rosberg changed his setup at the last moment to a completely qualifying oriented one.
2) Hamilton beat Schumacher, who has been the faster Mercedes for most of the year (so far).
3) Rosberg was on track at the perfect moment for the tyres to work.
With all those in play, I don't really think we can read much into the performance of the floor.
michl420 wrote:
I understand that this wings are bad in drag penalty as we see it. But why the teams make maybe 2 wingprofils in a shape like aircraft wings. They would have less drag.( not much downforce but better than no wing)
Certainly they have less drag force due to their small size but in terms of lift to drag ratio, I would expect them to be quite a bit worse than the rear or front wings due to their low aspect ratio. Although to be honest I don't really know what you're trying to say.
As for the gap to mercedes... its tough to say. the temperature dropped a lot between Q2 and Q3. AS somebody else already mentioned, rosberg was first to set a hot lap and that could have had a lot to do with it.
michl420 wrote:
Lycoming wrote:Perhaps a stronger vortex at that region is more beneficial for redirection of airflow downstream... will cost them some aero efficiency, but that is a very small element anyways.
I trying to say that I don´t understand why many teams don´t use this free area (15cm) in the rules to generate downforce. Unless you mean that in 15 cm it´s impossible to make a efficient wing.
Aero improvements in F1 are not just about adding downforce. More than anything, they are about improving aero efficiency, ie. generating more downforce for less drag.
Adding downforce is easy, just crank up the wing angles. but if it the drag penalty is too great, your lap times will suffer.
The little wing there by itself is quite innefficient for a number of reasons. Besides the fact that it generates a lot of induced drag, the high pressure zone above it is diluted by the low pressure zone under the main wing. The same thing happens to a greater degree with the beam wing. So it reduces the effectiveness of all 3 wings.
It probably still adds net downforce, and by virtue of that also enhances the efficiency of the diffuser, but the element itself is not that efficient for a lot of reasons.
In the end, it adds drag, but also downforce in addition to moving the center of pressure rearwards, which affects balance. Does it end up making you faster or slower in the end? Obviously, some teams say yes, others say no. This is why not all teams run it.
Pup wrote:I think the cars are set up for race pace.
But we'll know shortly for sure.
i hope it but 0.5 sec is much.
someone sad that you allways set up your car for going as fast as possible and then you take care on the tyres.
lets hope this was not best pace they have
1) Rosberg changed his setup at the last moment to a completely qualifying oriented one.
2) Hamilton beat Schumacher, who has been the faster Mercedes for most of the year (so far).
3) Rosberg was on track at the perfect moment for the tyres to work.
With all those in play, I don't really think we can read much into the performance of the floor.
if u think so
for both (the monkey seat and the floor) i think mclaren knows what they do.
they will not do it for reducing pace.
possible that the monkey seat saves the rear tyres because the car has a better ballance?
Lycoming wrote:Aero improvements in F1 are not just about adding downforce. More than anything, they are about improving aero efficiency, ie. generating more downforce for less drag.
Adding downforce is easy, just crank up the wing angles. but if it the drag penalty is too great, your lap times will suffer.
The little wing there by itself is quite innefficient for a number of reasons. Besides the fact that it generates a lot of induced drag, the high pressure zone above it is diluted by the low pressure zone under the main wing. The same thing happens to a greater degree with the beam wing. So it reduces the effectiveness of all 3 wings.
It probably still adds net downforce, and by virtue of that also enhances the efficiency of the diffuser, but the element itself is not that efficient for a lot of reasons.
In the end, it adds drag, but also downforce in addition to moving the center of pressure rearwards, which affects balance. Does it end up making you faster or slower in the end? Obviously, some teams say yes, others say no. This is why not all teams run it.
How long do you guys think it will take McLaren to get a DDRS onto their car given that they helped pioneer the rear wing F-Duct and so have a considerable amount of knowledge of the principles of such a system...??
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