Formula One 2018 - General Thread

[Vintage Racer]

McLaren back to papaya........great teaser video

McLaren gives strong hint over 2018 F1 livery in video

 

[Mactech]

I do indeed fully appreciate the reasons for the cars looking the way they do, and I don't blame the designers for exploiting the rules as far as they can. It's just that in my insignificant opinion the current set of rules produce very ugly cars.

I'll have a look for the Newey book, thanks for the tip.

I confess to have been party to developing and running some pretty 'weird' looking race cars, designed mostly by the results of wind tunnel testing.
But, do you know what? After they have been successful and /or won major races they begin to be described as 'iconic' and sometimes even beautiful. Strange how our perceptions change....

 

[guhvies]

Aston Martin to power RB in the future?

Doesn't Aston Martin have a deal with MB? The RB livery is going to change though. This is just for testing...

 

[190]

McLaren back to papaya........great teaser video

McLaren gives strong hint over 2018 F1 livery in video

That will be one thing they have got right then. The recent nondescript look didn't do justice to their heritage.

 

[Stratman]

Ricciardo crashes new Red Bull on first outing

 

[bob6600]

W09

Ferrari SF-71H

 

[bob6600]

Sauber C37

Renault RS18

 

[artyman]

What's with all the blackish liveries, it makes it so hard to spot different cars, are they lacking imagination.

 

[brucemillar]

What's with all the blackish liveries, it makes it so hard to spot different cars, are they lacking imagination.

I was told (this may not be true) that the heavy use of black is try and disguise the fugliness of the cars. Most agree that the Halo is a shocker on the eyes and certainly Renault have had a good bash at painting it out.

I just know that Ant is watching with Glee as Honda quietly start to impress.

 

[Mactech]

What strikes me most about all this years cars is that most seem to feature a 'Red Bull' high rake angle on the floor.
I'll bet a car without a halo will look like an antique by the third event.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I was told (this may not be true) that the heavy use of black is try and disguise the fugliness of the cars. Most agree that the Halo is a shocker on the eyes and certainly Renault have had a good bash at painting it out.

I just know that Ant is watching with Glee as Honda quietly start to impress.

Fugliness??? They’re all beautiful in my eyes. I think I’m the only one to embrace the evolution of F1. I love each Years efforts more than the last.

Did someone mention Honda? Who are they again???

 

[fabes]

There certainly is a lot going on with these cars

Still going to be crap when following close?

 

[UKCCE]

Looking forward to this year I think it will have a few more teams getting a win thus year

 

[Mactech]

There certainly is a lot going on with these cars

Still going to be crap when following close?

As a rule of thumb, the more intricate the topside aero devices are (and the new cars look pretty fussy to me!) then the better they will work in clean free stream air......which means the grip is more likely to be degraded by the 'dirty' air following another car
Great for a lap time, not so clever for wheel to wheel combat.

I'm counting 28 elephants ( sorry! elements) on the front wings.....

 

[Mactech]

In fairness, I should perhaps explain my Freudian slip of front wing elements to elephants for those not steeped in F1 aerodynamics
It is three fold:

• The approx. downforce weight produced by these devices.
• Their intrinsic fuglidity. (bit like fugliness, but more stupid!)
• The "In the room" context when seeking closer racing.

 

[Dryce]

As a rule of thumb, the more intricate the topside aero devices are (and the new cars look pretty fussy to me!) then the better they will work in clean free stream air..

I'm counting 28 elephants ( sorry! elements) on the front wings.....

My observation is that when cars sustain minor damage or lose bits of the front wing it often doesn't always seem to affect their race performance that much. Your comment would suggest a reason for this - in that what is happening in these situations is that losing some small bits or getting some bits a bit out of shape is likely to have a lower impact on a cars ability to follow the car in front.

Then why on earth can the rules not be hardened in some way to stop this - eg. stating that each wing can consts of only so many separate surfaces (eg. 2 or three) with a limit on protrusions and the and angular change in the surface plane.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Looking forward to the McLaren Launch today.

 

[Mactech]

My observation is that when cars sustain minor damage or lose bits of the front wing it often doesn't always seem to affect their race performance that much. Your comment would suggest a reason for this - in that what is happening in these situations is that losing some small bits or getting some bits a bit out of shape is likely to have a lower impact on a cars ability to follow the car in front.

Then why on earth can the rules not be hardened in some way to stop this - eg. stating that each wing can consts of only so many separate surfaces (eg. 2 or three) with a limit on protrusions and the and angular change in the surface plane.

Yes, this is on the agenda for the 2021 cars. Limited number of elements. The teams have fought against this for a long time claiming it was one of the very last bastions of design freedom open to them!

 

[Dryce]

The teams have fought against this for a long time claiming it was one of the very last bastions of design freedom open to them!

In which case give them a bit more freedom in other areas. It seems to be universally understood that the aero kills racing - and over-emphasises qualifying performance and race strategy over race performance. The alternative to fixing the formula is to introduce handicapping - eg. by weight or fuel or by enforced qualification demotion - and I don't think they'd be happy with that either.

 

[Mactech]

In which case give them a bit more freedom in other areas. It seems to be universally understood that the aero kills racing - and over-emphasises qualifying performance and race strategy over race performance. The alternative to fixing the formula is to introduce handicapping - eg. by weight or fuel or by enforced qualification demotion - and I don't think they'd be happy with that either.

And thereby hangs the problem. Aero is the single biggest factor making a racing car go quickly around a track. It's one of the reasons that F1 teams have 800 people....all with that purpose in mind.
It is also the single biggest factor in not allowing the cars to run closely together on the track and produce 'exciting' racing.
Ross has a great opportunity (and the technical knowledge) to make F1 a better show. But there is no easy answer and at least some of the interested parties are going to be disappointed.
Giving everyone the same cars on the same day will not happen, nor would we want it too. Equally, it is very difficult to 'unlearn' how much (individual) speed we can give a car with aero assistance.