2014 Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang

[Juzh]

No I mean (looking at last years car topspeed and gear ratios), are we going to be okay on the straights in Sepang?

Huh? Merc were hitting 335km/h in Bahrain testing, they stated they thought they could probably do 360km/h at Monza... Of course the car is geared long enough for Malaysia.

Rosberg said 360kmh for china, not monza. Monza is lower aero config so maybe even more is possible. But I think that's stretching it a bit.

[Juzh]

No I mean (looking at last years car topspeed and gear ratios), are we going to be okay on the straights in Sepang?

Huh? Merc were hitting 335km/h in Bahrain testing, they stated they thought they could probably do 360km/h at Monza... Of course the car is geared long enough for Malaysia.

Guess I'm still a bit non-believing after the surprisingly low top speeds last year... Still don't understand how they could mess that up with the best engine. Every race faulty gear ratios?

What makes you think gear ratios are faulty? You seriously believe hundreds upon hundreds of engineers managed to get it wrong?
Button himself said gears don't matter in 2014. Power band is too wide for it to be a problem.

[SectorOne]

Rosberg said 360kmh for china, not monza. Monza is lower aero config so maybe even more is possible. But I think that's stretching it a bit.

[De Jokke]

What makes you think gear ratios are faulty? You seriously believe hundreds upon hundreds of engineers managed to get it wrong?
Button himself said gears don't matter in 2014. Power band is too wide for it to be a problem.

Lewis had several times with mcl the wrong gear ratios (monza '11 for example), and last year the merc (despite the best engine) wasn't the fastest in a straight line for several unknown reasons...

[Blanchimont]

Monza 11, last year...

We're in 2014 now, have a look here for the speeds in top gear: http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... 35#p496635

[basti313]

No I mean (looking at last years car topspeed and gear ratios), are we going to be okay on the straights in Sepang?

Huh? Merc were hitting 335km/h in Bahrain testing, they stated they thought they could probably do 360km/h at Monza... Of course the car is geared long enough for Malaysia.

Rosberg said 360kmh for china, not monza. Monza is lower aero config so maybe even more is possible. But I think that's stretching it a bit.

Every km/h more in Monza will cost you torque at the wheel on every other track in 8th gear and maybe even in 7th gear. We haven't really seen 8th gear, so this is still hard to judge. As Malaysia top speeds are quite low due to the aero package you need, the long gear ratio may increase this problem.
"Normal" (without slipstream and DRS) top speeds have been lower in Melbourne 2014 than in 2013. So I think the "normal" top speeds in Sepang will be even lower than in Oz due to a still not usable 8th gear and more drag. With slipstream and DRS we may see usage of 8th gear...but as I have seen it all cars which could hit 310km/h could do it in 7th gear.

[Juzh]

Every km/h more in Monza will cost you torque at the wheel on every other track in 8th gear and maybe even in 7th gear. We haven't really seen 8th gear, so this is still hard to judge. As Malaysia top speeds are quite low due to the aero package you need, the long gear ratio may increase this problem.
"Normal" (without slipstream and DRS) top speeds have been lower in Melbourne 2014 than in 2013. So I think the "normal" top speeds in Sepang will be even lower than in Oz due to a still not usable 8th gear and more drag. With slipstream and DRS we may see usage of 8th gear...but as I have seen it all cars which could hit 310km/h could do it in 7th gear.

I used to think this as well, before we got to pre-season testing and first numbers were starting to come out. As has been seen on the onboard telemetry and confirmed by drivers, these supposedly long gear ratios have zero drawbacks to themselves, which is unlike anything we've seen with V8s. Power band is simply too wide for something like this to happen... as in seriously too wide.
I haven't really seen what 2013 or 2014 cars were doing on the straights in oz during normal race running so can't comment on that. Generally lower top speed for 2014 is predictable because of 100kg fuel limit.
Not sure what you mean by "more drag"? Drag is much lower in 2014.

[Juzh]

Lewis had several times with mcl the wrong gear ratios (monza '11 for example), and last year the merc (despite the best engine) wasn't the fastest in a straight line for several unknown reasons...

Mcl gear ratios in monza 2011 were spot on for normal race running, because mclaren was carrying much more DF than mercs. Even so, button passed schumi quite quickly, so it could be done.

Nothing strange about mercs being slow on the straights last year. They had much more drag on the car as others around them. Similar to RB 5,6 and 8, but to a lesser extent because of mercedes engine.

[godlameroso]

This gp is going to be interesting, top speed isn't as important as stability under braking, and putting power down. There are 4 turns where maximum downforce counts, and a lot of hair pins that require heavy trail braking. A lot of the traction events are similar to the exit of the final turn at Albert park. We will see a lot of sliding cars if it stays dry.

[basti313]

Every km/h more in Monza will cost you torque at the wheel on every other track in 8th gear and maybe even in 7th gear. We haven't really seen 8th gear, so this is still hard to judge. As Malaysia top speeds are quite low due to the aero package you need, the long gear ratio may increase this problem.
"Normal" (without slipstream and DRS) top speeds have been lower in Melbourne 2014 than in 2013. So I think the "normal" top speeds in Sepang will be even lower than in Oz due to a still not usable 8th gear and more drag. With slipstream and DRS we may see usage of 8th gear...but as I have seen it all cars which could hit 310km/h could do it in 7th gear.

I used to think this as well, before we got to pre-season testing and first numbers were starting to come out.

Testing numbers are rubbish. You never know the aero package. Melbourne numbers are clear: Lower top speed.

As has been seen on the onboard telemetry and confirmed by drivers, these supposedly long gear ratios have zero drawbacks to themselves, which is unlike anything we've seen with V8s. Power band is simply too wide for something like this to happen... as in seriously too wide.

You have to read more careful. The wider gearing is no drawback together with the wider power band when it comes to the perfect gear for a certain speed. But there is nothing said about acceleration and this is reduced at higher revs due to reduced power and cause a wider gearing automatically means less torque at the wheel.

I haven't really seen what 2013 or 2014 cars were doing on the straights in oz during normal race running so can't comment on that. Generally lower top speed for 2014 is predictable because of 100kg fuel limit.

The cars were going flat out at the end and in FP and Q1. The lower topspeed has nothing to do with the fuel limit. Just with less power and wider gearing.

Not sure what you mean by "more drag"? Drag is much lower in 2014.

Drag in Oz was lower than in Malaysia.

[Juzh]

You have to read more careful. The wider gearing is no drawback together with the wider power band when it comes to the perfect gear for a certain speed. But there is nothing said about acceleration and this is reduced at higher revs due to reduced power and cause a wider gearing automatically means less torque at the wheel.

I guess in theory you are correct and I would agree with you, actual onboard telemetry however says otherwise, or else there wouldn't be 400+ kph capable gear ratios in the car:
http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... 02#p497402

The cars were going flat out at the end and in FP and Q1. The lower topspeed has nothing to do with the fuel limit. Just with less power and wider gearing.

I was talking about the race itself, where fuel consumption is important. Of course in quali it makes no difference. Less power is debatable, wider gearing less so, as explained above. Someone else has opinion on this?

Drag in Oz was lower than in Malaysia.

ah, ok.

[strad]

do you guys really think they accelerate as quickly as when they could fine tune the ratios?

[beelsebob]

do you guys really think they accelerate as quickly as when they could fine tune the ratios?

Much quicker – remember, these engines are way torquier than the V8s, they're grip limited all the way up to 5th gear under acceleration now.

[strad]

i wonder how we could verify that. To me they appear to pull slower over this wide band.
They often sound as though they are pulling too tall a gear.

[beelsebob]

i wonder how we could verify that. To me they appear to pull slower over this wide band.
They often sound as though they are pulling too tall a gear.

We have a trivial way to verify that, we've already seen cars tail wagging and wheel spinning towards the ends of straights. The fact that they're grip limited is trivially observable.