F1 2010

[Pete McCluskey.]

Alonso and Massa try a different ride.
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vi...el=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=msnhed&gt1=42007

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

JEAN TODT On New F1 Circuits And Overtaking
<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dedcd7; COLOR: #dedcd7" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->FIA president Jean Todt says new circuits will have to prove that they provide adequate overtaking opportunities, and has suggested that changes to current tracks to improve the spectacle could be on the cards.

His comments follow the difficulty in passing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, during which title contenders Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber could not get back through traffic following their pitstops.

"We need to favour overtaking," Todt told La Stampa. "It was impossible at Abu Dhabi."

Todt denied that his complaints were motivated by his former team Ferrari having missed out on the title because Alonso could not get back up to the fourth place he needed at Yas Marina - pointing out that McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton's shot at victory was also severely hampered by the overtaking problem when he was caught behind the yet-to-stop Renault of Robert Kubica.

"I speak as president of the FIA," said Todt. "Take Hamilton: he had fresh tyres, he would have lapped two seconds quicker than Kubica, yet he didn't manage to pass him.

"From now on, before homologating a circuit, we'll evaluate its spectacle potential, besides its safety."

He said the FIA was prepared to take rapid action on the overtaking issue.

"On 23 November we'll discuss the overtaking problem in the commission," Todt revealed. "It's the cars' and tracks' fault.

"We will create a report card with the circuits' competitiveness, and we'll see if we can make some modifications in 2011 already, if possible."

 

[Bill Cooke]

It would be nice to see a race rather than a game of follow the leader.
Bill

 

[Gill]

It would be nice to see a race rather than a game of follow the leader.
Bill

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Mesa]

Is it a track problem? Which tracks are better for passing? Seems Spa is not bad. It's not like they have not been trying to make the cars more pass friendly, yet there was what we saw at the last race, Take the aero off the cars and passing will come back, look at the way FA's car was pushing so bad every time he got tucked up behind another car. Is ground effect effected by the car in front or is it the wings that are effected?

Interesting problem, but not a new one.

 

[tom pritchett]

It seems that the "older tracks" were quite enjoyable and had room for passing. Can we suppose that the new designed tracks are not quite what they should be? I wonder what a track would look like if someone like Hamilton designed it.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

It would be two long straights joined by two 180s. He'd out-brake everyone. Okay, that perhaps wasn't fair, but this seems to be his forte.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Is it a track problem? Which tracks are better for passing? Seems Spa is not bad. It's not like they have not been trying to make the cars more pass friendly, yet there was what we saw at the last race, Take the aero off the cars and passing will come back, look at the way FA's car was pushing so bad every time he got tucked up behind another car. Is ground effect effected by the car in front or is it the wings that are effected?

Interesting problem, but not a new one.

I think the problem lies more in the aero packages than the tracks.
As a car approaches from behind the turbulence from the wings and aero from the preceding car disrupt the airflow over the wings and aero of the pursuing car causing a lack of downforce and grip. That is why you see cars catch up quickly and then have to follow for lap after boring lap hoping for a mistake.

 

[Graham]

It's the old bugbear of mechanical grip versus aerodynamic grip. The only way we'll get rid of it is to go back to HUGE tyre sizes and reduced aero packages. This isn't a favoured option of the FIA because they see F1 as the pinnacle of technical acheivement within motorsport and to "dumb down" the cars is counterproductive to their marketing (and I can see their point).

There has to be a way forward. We have had a great season, but the issue in Abu Dhabi was mostly about the circuit, not the cars. If they had been at Spa, Monza or Silverstone, then Alonso and Hamilton would have passed the cars relatively easily IMHO.

Cheers,

Graham.

 

[colin artus]

Proper 'ground effect' systems ( such as in the era of sliding skirts and active ride ), could produce as much or more aerodynamic force as the current aero packages without the attendant problems of reduced effectiveness in the turbulent wake of another car. Problematicaly perhaps, the cars would have less drag with less wing area and therefore more speed but also , and I suspect more importantly, less area for sponsorship.