Hmmm, I'm not sure what to make of this. The front runners (renault + merc) all seem to think having the power unit mounted near the front of the engine, yet Ferrari has chosen to go in the opposite direction and mount it to the back of the engine. This new layout forced them to increase the wheelbase of the car...and now that stuff is spread out and away from the center of mass, the car would hypothetically be more difficult to handle? Here's the new layout, courtesy of F1.com: http://i.imgur.com/AhMlRio.png please discuss.
Aerodynamically they could make the floor longer which could work on their favor, and it may help them package a few things easier, but that is the only positive I see from this. It was already inferred by ferrari weeks ago they have a Mercedes type of block in the works or already on the dyno, and hopefully that's along with a log type exhaust manifold as well which was another little brilliant and tightly packaged thing on the Mercedes PU.
Thanks for posting, it explains alot. Think we will be seeing a heavily revised pu next year, together with a new front suspension.
Well doubt it's gonna change much, especially with Monza coming up. Their engine down with power too, not just aero efficiency..
They were actually much more competitive at Spa in the dry than I though they'd be. Fingers crossed for Monza.
Ya, I was pleasantly surprised too. I think if Alonso didn't have his pu and electrical issues and that stop-go penalty, he could've probably finished on the podium. I'm just trying to figure out how this new ferrari pu layout will lend itself to the 2015 season when it's pretty clear everyone will copy in some shapre or form, mercedes' split layout of a front mounted compressor and rear mounted turbo.
I don't see this as a mid season change but how the F14T was always designed. They compromised everything for aero and yet the RB's aero is obviously (a little bit?) better as their engine sucks too. Pete
Don't really want to start another debate but the stop/go penalty was only 5 seconds added to his pitstop time and he retook his gridslot. Kimi genuinely outraced him on Sunday. He was right on his heels before the pitstops (obviously came out ahead because of said penalty for Alonso) and set some blinding laptimes.
Good icecream in Belgium. The problem is you need the fast Kimi to turn up for every race and that simply does not happen. He is just like Berger was, fast when he happens to want to be. Pete
Agreed. It's been that way since day one. It just taken a while for the layout to become "public". As for their engines, there's no doubt they're both behind Merc, but I don't think there's much to choose between the Renault & Ferrari units. Hopefully they'll both close the gap next year. Cheers, Ian
It was all about track position. Alonso was running 4th on lap 7 before the pit stops started, +2.6 to ROS and about 3.7 ahead of RAI. Alonso lost 6 seconds on that stop compared to the other 3 Ferrari stops. The resulting loss of track position is what set him back for the rest of the race (BOT, RAI, MAG, BUT, and PER). IIRC both Kimi and FA were having power issues and both had pretty similar lap times and a similar strategy. For Kimi to pass FA without the penalty, he'd likely have had to do it on the track.
+1 my take on it as well, however I do think there has been a small improvement of late, and of course Alonso is good at polishing a...
No doubt track position played a role (as with Kimi so many times this season). When they where both running in clear air for a few laps after the pitstops Kimi was setting monster lap times though. Unsure where/when their power issues started...I know Ferrari where fuel limited this race too (unbelievable, least power yet most fuel consumption...only the Italians!).
Apparently that´s related to the electric part of the PU, the amount (or lack of) battery charging and the way the compressor is spooled. If you run out of electric power, you have to use more fuel.
The stop/go is just one of several cumulative things that bogged the race down. The penalty may be 5s, but the net damage was far more...coming out behind traffic etc etc Alo was experiencing fuel issues and pu issues from Lap 1 and on. According to the tele interview, he was running at least 100hp less than kimi as a result of all the issues. Not taking any credit away from kimi, just saying things didn't go alo's way at spa.
Not saying I don't believe he had issues...but 100hp down? I don't really buy that to be honest. Unless the Mclaren's had a parachute on their car there's not a chance the power deficit was that much. He was sticking with them on the straights and even attempted passes there.
ferrari experimenting doing different thing than the rest? we all know how it will be anyway hope this will work at least some chances to race a redbull
Searched a bit more and both Kimi and Alonso had similar issues, but not resulting in 100hp deficit: Both their cars couldn't open their throttle for more than 98%, so they had a 15-20hp deficit.
There was a glitch on the telemetry for alo...his throttle was reading 104% on the straights lol. But yea, in one of the post-race interviews he said he was probably down as much as 100hp and was using different settings etc to maximize recharge etc...
Ah right. 100hp I don't buy still. Maybe on the occasional lap but definitely not a while. Alonso may very well be the best F1 driver right now but he can't break physics. His sector 1 and 3 times would have been several seconds slower than the caterhams every lap otherwise.
Remember these modern cars are all about torque not power, hence why they don't rev them as hard as we would like ... Pete
