Phil wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 16:54
I know some of this is bound to be discussed in more detail in the
Ferrari engine thread, but I thought I'd post it here with my own translation as well, as the topic will surely expand beyond just the technical discussion.
From the article
AMuS / Protest gegen Ferrari in Monaco?
AMuS wrote:Ferrari steht im Verdacht, beim Antrieb in Grauzonen zu wildern oder sogar einen Schritt weiter gegangen zu sein. Ein Trick im Bereich der Batterie soll kurzfristig 20 PS extra bringen. Die Konkurrenz fordert bis zum GP Monaco Klarheit. Sonst droht sie mit einem Protest.
Translated: Ferrari is under suspicion of using grey-zones or even going too far with its power-train. A trick with the battery is said to bring a short 20hp boost. Other teams are demanding clarification until the Monaco GP or will threaten to protest [against Ferari].
AMuS wrote:Ferrari entwickelt am Limit und bewegt sich in den Grauzonen des Reglements. Manchmal sogar darüber, unterstellen die Gegner. Die FIA hat in den letzten zwei Wochen mehrere Punkte am Auto beanstandet, die nicht den Regeln entsprechen oder technische Direktiven zu großzügig interpretieren. So musste Ferrari am vorderen Ende des Unterbodens überstehende vertikale Strömungsausrichter abschneiden. Das Kundenteam HaasF1 auch, was bei der Konkurrenz wieder den Verdacht aufkommen ließ, Ferrari und HaasF1 arbeiten in der Aerodynamik enger zusammen als erlaubt.
Translated: Teams are suspecting that Ferrari is developing at the limit and within certain grey areas of the technical regulations. The FIA has objected to various areas of the car that are either outside the rules or take some of the technical regulations interpretations too liberal. For example Ferrari apparently had to make adjustments to its floor where certain protruding vertical veins (?) needed to be shortened. This also impacted Ferrari's customer team HaasF1, which led to further suspicions from other teams that Ferrari and HaasF1 may be working closer together / sharing data on aerodynamics than what is allowed.
You sure deserve 10 out of 10 for budgerigar-ing these opinion fomenters/conspiring/speculations around. But the funny thing now is that Toto Wolff wants the whistle blowers he hires not to be named.
AMuS wrote:Viel ernster ist der Verdacht, Ferrari könnte im Bereich des Antriebs jenseits des Erlaubten tricksen. Da ist von einem separaten Ölkreislauf für den Turbolader die Rede. Das dort verbrauchte Öl soll nicht zu den 0,6 Litern pro 100 Kilometer zählen, weil der Turbolader kein Motor ist. In diesem Fall könnte man von einer Grauzone oder Spitzfindigkeit bei der Definition sprechen. Hier kommt es wie in der Spiegelaffäre darauf an, wie die FIA das Reglement interpretiert. Weil es dann Mercedes, Renault und Honda genauso machen würden. Sämtliche Untersuchungen bei Ferrari in Bezug auf den Ölverbrauch liefen allerdings bislang ins Leere. Die FIA entdeckte weder einen zweiten Ölkreislauf, noch Unregelmäßigkeit beim Ölkonsum.
Viel komplizierter sind Verdachtsmomente, dass Ferrari beim Energiemanagement mogeln könnte. Demnach sollen aus der Batterie mehr als die erlaubten vier Megajoule Energie pro Runde in das System eingespeist werden. Das soll über eine Umgehung des Messsensors, eine Manipulation des elektrischen Widerstandes in den Leitungen und zwei Ausgänge aus der Batterie bewerkstelligt werden. Wäre dies der Fall, würde das nach Meinung von Experten in den Qualifikationsrunden kurzfristig 20 PS mehr bringen. Erlaubt ist eine Abgabe von maximal 120 Kilowatt (163 PS) aus dem Energiespeicher.
Die mutmaßliche Trickserei ist so kompliziert, dass sich die FIA-Techniker schwer tun, sie zu verstehen. Womit es auch schwierig wird, ein Vergehen nachzuweisen. Nach Kontrollen in Baku wurde ein Report erstellt, der vorerst noch geheim ist. Stichproben in Barcelona ergaben nichts Auffälliges. Kann Ferrari zwischen Baku und Barcelona etwas verändert haben? Eher unwahrscheinlich. Die komplette Leistungselektronik ist versiegelt. In Sebastian Vettels Auto ist zwar bereits die zweite Einheit eingebaut, doch das passierte bereits in Bahrain.
Translation: There's a more serious suspicion (allegation) that Ferrari could be going beyond certain regulations within the powertrain. Allegedly, there's a second oil circuit that is feeding the turbo that is not limited by the FIA mandatory 0.6l/100km limit, because the turbo isn't a motor. This could be a greyzone of the written rule and it will be interesting to see how the FIA will decide on it (as they did with the Halo-mirror-winglets) and would force Mercedes, Renault and Honda to follow suit if this loop isn't clarified. It has to be said however that all inspections so far have yielded no definitive answers in regards to Ferrari's oil consumption. The FIA didn't find a second oil circuit nor make any discovery of irregularities with the oil consumption.
A lot more complicated is the suspicion that Ferrari has found a way to use more than the allowed four megajoules from the battery. They apparently achieve this by bypassing the measuring sensor, manipulating the electrical resistance in the wires and with two outputs from the battery. If this is true, experts believe that over a qualifying lap, this could result in a 20hp boost. Allowed would only be 120KW (163hp).
The trickery is so complicated, that FIA technicians are having trouble understanding it. Because of that, it's also difficult to prove/say either way if it is illegal or not. After examinations in Baku there was a report, but that is still confidential. Random inspections at Barcelona didn't show anything suspicious. It raises the question if Ferrari changed anything between Baku and Barcelona? This may be less unlikely though, as this is all part of the electronics that is sealed. Vettel is already on the second unit, but that was changed in Bahrain.
The article goes on to suggest that Ferrari has been very cooperative as of late in regards to varies suggested rule changes for 2019, even changes that would not benefit them. Officially, they are stating "for the benefit of the sport and the show". Some teams are apparently worried that if Ferrari is found guilty of going too far with some of the alleged trickery, that they could be let off easily.
Meanwhile, Mercedes wants clarification until the Monaco GP. If there isn't any, it is suggested there will be a formal protest.
----
I am posting this in here, hopefully not to provoke any of the usual bickering, but because the article is in German (and some of you don't speak it) and if any of this happens to be accurate, could lead to perhaps a shift in performance, perhaps similar to last year after Canada when the second oil tank within the Ferrari was discovered and suddenly Ferrari lost some of its edge. It will surely be interesting to see how this develops and perhaps some of the above may also be part of the reason why Ferrari was quite a bit off pace in Barcelona during the race, compared to the previous 3 races?