I was watching the f1 qualifying from Suzuka today and noticed the shunt Grosjean had in the S curves. It appeared that he lost the rear of the car when he rode on top of and along the inside kerb. They don't appear overly high, certainly designed to be used.
This had me wondering why and I began thinking about what would occur with the car to cause it because I imagine its quite an important trait of a f1 car at this circuit to be able to ride those kerbs to maximise performance.
Am I correct in thinking that the front inside wheels riding up onto the kerb slightly before the rear would cause the inside wheel to move into bump (after being in a rebound phase through the same corner prior to lifting up onto the kerb) which in turn causes the ARB to basically untwist and result in reduced stiffness in the front relative to the rear? This change in lateral load transfer distribution then leads to sudden O/S? Or is it more a damping issue with how quickly the suspension is able to react to the change?
I was also wondering what effect the kerb has on under body airflow and whether it can reduce flow underneath just enough to cause a loss in downforce and instability.
I've only had 2 beers I swear.
Cheers