Why don't the teams use their 2017 cars on selected tracks?

[FelixAustria]

Pole position of Azerbaijan 2018 was approximately one second slower than in 2017, both under dry conditions and even with way harder tyres in 2017. So apparently the 2018 cars were slower despite the stable regulations didn't require major changes on the cars.

So my question is: Why don't the teams pull out their old cars of 2017 on tracks where they're probably faster than the cars of 2018. IMO they could apply the small regulatory changes required (e.g. remove monkeyseat) to make them pass the 2018 regulations and use them instead the current cars. I'm talking mainly about the chassis, I know that the teams would need to fit the 2018 engines and gearboxes in the 2017 chassis to abide to the 3-engines/gearbox-per-season-rule.

To me it sounds simple and solid, what do I miss?

[JonoNic]

So like use a car without a halo? I'm sure that's not a simple bolt on job.

[Rodak]

The chassis has to pass impact testing and is then homologated by the FIA as the approved chassis;cdon't think you can have two different chassis homologated at the same time. Also, as mentioned above, the 2018 crash tests are different than the 2017 tests, mostly because of the halo loads.

[jjn9128]

This is a joke right? The car's are slower at 1 track out of 4 and they need to revert to last years car?!?!

The reason the cars were slower was tyres - the race was 2 months earlier in the season and track temp was about 20C lower than last year. They couldn't get heat in the tyres - plus the gusting wind. What is the obsession with going faster every year??? Was it a great race. Yes. End of. [expletive deleted]!

[hollus]

20C lower temps? That’s about 7% extra drag. Plus halo... that alone makes you slower in a track with virtually no downforce corners.

[flattyre]

Some small budget racing teams design a specialist car which is purely designed to go as quickly as possible at one single circuit. The small teams know they stand no chance of competing against the big budget teams with a 'normal' car, so they decided to put all their resources in being outstanding at one race only to get a good result there. I guess the closest we've got to this in modern F1 is when Williams recently designed low-drag cars so that they could compete at the high speed circuits.

Using the topic's idea - perhaps these teams could design a low drag specialist car one year, then design a high downforce specialist car the next year; that would mean they could swap between the two car designs depending on the circuit. That is, assuming the regulations actually allow you to do this...

As for why they don't do it in F1 this year - all of the above, but mainly, if you converted a 2017 car to 2018 specs it simply would not be competitive. Some of the changes for 2018 (i.e. the halo) require significant changes to the fundamental design of the car.

[astracrazy]

They design there car for one track? I dont think so. Thats would be far to risky.

They would design there car to specialise in one area. Like as you say Williams, they usually design a low drag car. The big teams can however afford go r&d different aero kits throughout the season.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

20C lower temps? That’s about 7% extra drag. Plus halo... that alone makes you slower in a track with virtually no downforce corners.

How do you explain cars getting slower in Barcelona, when the race is held in Summer, compared to the faster times they achieve in Winter? And Barcelona has high down force corners too!

Before coming to Baku in 2018, after 12 months from last race, the cars have gone through 12 months of development and the winter development. Plus, the power units have evolved and got better in terms of overall power. The tyres have gotten a step softer, which should have better grip, albeit less durable. If you compare the loss due to halo and the lower temperature to the factors I mentioned, it should still be a positive difference in performance. Yet, the cars are slower by a second! While Ferrari was faster by 2 tenths, Mercedes is slower by 1.1 seconds!

My hunch is, the tyres have taken away great deal of performance from the cars. In an effort to make the tyres less durable, it seems like Pirelli has created tyres which are far lower in grip, despite being in right temperature window.

It has never happened that the cars have gotten slower from one season to next, while the regulations have stayed same. In my opinion, halo has added 6 kilos of weight to the car, but hasn't greatly changed the aero performance of cars. Actually, many teams expressed concerns when the nose regulations changed from 2014 to 2015 and admitted to have lost a lot of downforce, including Mercedes. But the cars still were faster in 2015, than in 2014. Throughout the last season when teams were trying halo, no one made statements about their aero being affected.

[Phil]

Perhaps Mercedes simply and entirely missed the tire window they needed to hit to get their cars to perform at their full potential. The only track the Mercedes was ‘working’ the tires correctly so far this year in QF was Melbourne...

[hollus]

7% colder temperatures (in Kelvin) mean 7% higher air density, which to a first approximation means 7% more downforce and 7% more drag.
In Baku, drag matters most.
In Barcelona, downforce matters most.
I am confused about where the confusion lies.
Also, IIRC, the differences between winter testing and the race in Barcelona have become much smaller since lower temperatures stopped meaning higher engine power, haven’t they?

[Tommy Cookers]

the confusion lies maybe in your mistaken premise

7% less deg Kelvin doesn't mean 7% more density
because eg Baku's or wherever's air is in pressure balance with all the rest of the air in the atmosphere
in principle and broadly if the temperature at Baku airport falls 20 deg the Baku airport pressure doesn't change at all

this amateur pilot has never known surface pressure outside the range 995-1015 millibar
throughout flight you need to know this pressure and confirm it to others - as altitude measurement is based on it

[Rodak]

I understand what you're saying Tommy, but come to the States sometime; pressure in a hurricane can drop to the 900 millibar range. Of course you probably wouldn't want to fly in that........

[DiogoBrand]

I have another question:
If the Porsche 919 EVO is able to beat an F1 car, why doesn't any team use the Porsche 919 EVO to compete in F1?

(I'm assuming this thread is just for nonsense questions, sorry if my interpretation is wrong.)

[hollus]

[J.A.W.]

I have another question:
If the Porsche 919 EVO is able to beat an F1 car, why doesn't any team use the Porsche 919 EVO to compete in F1?

(I'm assuming this thread is just for nonsense questions, sorry if my interpretation is wrong.)

Do you think perhaps.. its the VW/Porsche/Audi Group's way of signalling an intent to go F1 racing, in due course?