2009 January Winter Testing

[ISLAMATRON]

i dont know where the 4 test engines come from... but yes the season has started and this engine come out of their 8 total per car, so now they are down to 7 for that car number.

[Agerasia]

No, they still have 8 for the races.
8 for racing and 4 for testing.

[Agerasia]

Are they actually forbidden to shroud the suspension now then? What's the rules regarding them.

You would think that since they work in tension/compression with no bending, that it would be quite easy to shroud them all the way out to the upright... But since any shroud would be larger than the suspension it is shrouding, and heavier overall, there may be no benefit.

I thought they acted as aerofoils as well though.

[shir0]

Even the teams are unsure...

Not sure why that seems to be the case... the Sporting Code IS clear about the 8-engine rule. I've explained it here.

The enabling-phrase is "...at ANY EVENT during which an additional engine is used. A 9th engine, for example, is already THE FIRST ADDITIONAL ENGINE for the season for any team which uses it. Logically, using that 9th engine at ANY EVENT (which a Grand Prix race is a part of), you get penalized. So each time you use that 9th engine, you get penalized.

What IS UNCLEAR is the 4-engine allotment for testing... Where the heck did that come from? Any quotes from the 2009 Sporting Code or the 2009 Technical Regs?

@ vyselegend:

The "Season" has not yet started. If it already did, then why are the teams being allowed to do some testing right now? 'Coz from what I understand, "IN-SEASON TESTING" is not allowed anymore, right? This would mean that the "Season"-proper would start at Australia.

[NDR008]

I don't think that engine has gone. But that aside - can you repair an engine?

Also I am 100% sure that engine does not count with test/race engines, because right now they can test whatever they want, old wings, new wings, 'illegal' exhausts, etc.

[djos]

The only limitations to off-season testing is a max of 15,000km's covered per team - so a team can blow up as many engines as it likes and use any illegal parts they want.

Once they show up in Australia, then they must play by the FIA's 2009 rule book.

[mx_tifoso]

Here's a cool pic of the FW31 from today.



Would it be possible to create a flip-up-like lip with the exhaust cover? By lowering the exhaust area bodywork and creating a lip with the raised exhaust cover section. Or would it just disrupt the air flow and add drag instead of being beneficial?

[CMSMJ1]

Not sure MX but that looks wicked. =D>

I get the feeling that shrink wrapped bodywork is not good for cooling and so they go for "baggy" bodywork. The enclosed pipes look superb too.

[myurr]

Quick comparison image of the Renault vs McLaren:



Taken from two images on ITV-F1.com. I've lined it up as best I can, but it shows that the McLaren appears to be slightly taller and shorter than the Renault. Most striking is how much higher Lewis is sitting in the car, and how his helmet appears to be much more effective at getting air into the airbox than Alonso's.

[Henning]

A thought just came to me about the "more than eight engines" rule. If a team has used it's eight engine allocation, it could theoretically bring a brand new engine to every subsequent grand prix. Of course, they'd take a 10 place grid penalty, but I wonder how close to "the edge" they could run those engines for one race at a time and whether that would being any benefits.

[ISLAMATRON]

with a 18K rpm limit, there is not much of an "edge" to these engines, but a new engine may have 1 to 5% more power than an already run engine so that could give it a boost... plus the reliability factor would be enhanced if you already went thru 8 engines.

[Metar]

I recall that back at the 2007 finale, when Hamilton was on a race-old engine, they said this meant a 20HP deficit compared to the fresh Mercedes of Alonso and Ferrari of Raikkonen. I reckon a two-race engine will wear out even more, perhaps more than linearly?

[modbaraban]

Maybe it wasn't due to wear but rather due to settings (mapping, etc.) that would be lass stressful on the engine, to play safe.

[DarkSnape]

F1.09 roll-out in Valencia
These are Bartek`s materials from BMW Sauber unoficial forum
http://www.dailymotion.pl/video/x840sc_ ... ncia_sport
http://www.dailymotion.pl/barteks2/video/13625722
http://www.dailymotion.pl/barteks2/vide ... ncia_sport

[blobslosak]

Those videos are awesome! And what a wonderful noise. Majorly excited for this season.