no it isn't... it is in fact years behind road cars which have been going down the downsized route long before the new rules were decided. There is nothing on a F1 car that is directly applicable to road cars and it has resulted in absolutely not a single bigger innovation that I can remember in last 20ish years that was later applied on road cars.
Steve, the electric turbo charger concept has been worked on for a fair number of years. I think a pretty large part of the fuel saving has been made possible by a much larger ERS system that allows much more power (3x as much) for 5x longer than before. Give the V8s direct fuel injection and a maximum of 600hp (so same as the 1.6 turbo) and the same ERS and I'm sure they'd hover around the 110-115kg a race for fuel usage.
Of all the F1 teams Ferrari is one of the front runners with the La Ferrari's technology directly influenced by the racing team's engineers. And the same can be said about many, many road going Ferraris, which inherited new technology first applied in the F1 cars. It was true in the fifties and it is still true in this century. Ferrari knows that and they actively pursue/milk this. Just take a look at some of their car sales brochures where they overlay road car fotos with F1 pictures (e.g. 360 Modena brochure). But it is not just cosmetics, it is real stuff, whether it was the V12 boxer engine or the paddle shifters, manettinos, electronic diffs or hybrid engines. The list is endless. Funny some folks can't see that.
Even the oil: Mobil 1, however, offers us the most relevance to road cars. The oil you buy at your local garage has become the product it has due to Mobil 1s involvement in F1. Hundreds of components are needed to make up an F1 car and to use an old analogy, youre only as strong as youre weakest link. So even something like engine oil is crucial. Engine oil serves four purposes in Formula One to reduce friction, to keep the engine cool, to increase power and to improve reliability. Electric and hybrid powertrains are undoubtedly going to be big part of the future of road cars, but equally the internal combustion engine shows no signs of going away. So despite the vast (and excessive) wealth involved in F1, the development that goes on in the labs looking for that extra tenth does eventually filter down to your local showroom. The four key aspects to the F1 oil are just as relevant in road cars, especially with the current trend towards downsizing.
and looky looky, it's Audi that will launch the first ever serial production electrically assisted turbocharged engine next year (oh, and it's a diesel).
I think that sports car racing, like what we're watching today at Le Mans, is where new technologies like hybrids, electics, alternative fuels, energy recovery systems and other "green" technologies should be tried out for eventual flow-down to road cars. As far removed as P1 prototypes seem to be from road cars, they are closer than F1 cars are. All of this should be removed from F1, which should be unfettered by experimental technologies, at least in the powertrain area. Go back to an equivalency formula that would allow turbos and non-turbos to be competitive with each other, with a reasonable displacement limit and no limit on number of cylinders. Some limits, like a maximum fuel allotment or a turbo boost limit, could be used to keep speeds within reason.
Oh ok... I don't care, someone told me there is a going to be a bust up tonight 22 blokes chasing a bag of wind round, 11 Italian v 11 English
Who you calling a bag of wind? F1 is an advertising effort for the big automakers. Any technical advances worth making would be made without racing involvement.
Yes, but am sure some fancy gizmos get passed on, the guys with the cash would want them on their motors, but maybe not the exhausts sounds right now..
Good point. the politically correct "green" emphasis is just a total scam. If you want to support green racing watch a bicycle race. Not too exciting though.
Instead of polemics and whining about their current lot, perhaps Ferrari should concentrate on getting on with the business of producing a winning F-1 car seeing as how they've got two of the best drivers in the paddock whom only seem capable of competing against the Scuderia Toro Rosso cars. Let them enter Le Mans, the Audis with those diesel engines will hand them their lunch. BHW
Does the F1 transmission ring a bell for you? Active suspension technology? Carbon Fiber parts? Carbon fiber continues its auto growth - News - Plastics News Countless braking advances and improvements?
I disagree with this. Luca doesn't design the car, or run the team or drive the car he delegates that responsibility to those supposedly skilled to do so. Do Ferrari have good people in these departments, is there harmony in the way these people work together? All responsibilities of the team principal, not LDM. One could argue F1 has been in the decline since the V10's were banned, really when so many resources are being used to transport the teams, does the cost of testing really matter? Does it matter how much fuel is used?
the double clutch transmission that is widely used today is product of sports car racing - first used on porsche 962(and Audi Quattro S1) in the 80s.
Audi and WEC have been applying more tech en-mass to road cars than all of F1 combined. F1 is late and very to the party. WEC itself tests endurance of tech thats far more relevant than sprint tech of F1. Both have influence but WEC is more applicable to mass application. An Audi endurance diesel is a major piece of performance engineering. Sorry but Ferrari does not make mass applicable tech in general. Its a boutique maker of non daily sporting machines. Durability is not a focus in F1 until lately. An Audi racing engine must last 24 hours today. F1 not even close and not in continuous use at that.
F-1 is being strangled by the business owners ... the balance between a profitable busienss and a sport ( show ) has tipped way to the buisness side. F-1 is printing money - billions. If Ferrari would leave and only do Sports car racing they would be walking from around $50M - $85M just in FOM fees not to mention all the branding crap they sell. so call is $100M. there is NO way they will make that in Le Mans Sports car prototype racing. just cant happen right now. ... and doubtful the FIA & Bernie will let it get that way. F-1 killed Group C and Sports car racing in the late 80's and have kept it down every since then. Its never been able to come back fully. in the 60's Sports car racing was MORE important that F1. Formula 1 needs to be technically advanced but also be the pinnacle of drivers and cars. .. speed, power etc... If you are going to do an effeciency formula - then it should be how to make 1000 hp cars go the distance on X amount of fuel and tires etc... that is what people want to see - good racing but also amazing cars.... not a spec formula.
And it puts that "valuable" knowledge into the hands of industrial giants like ... Red Bull, Caterham, and Force India. All this "cost savings" nonsense was a scam by Mad Max to run off names like "Jaguar", "Honda", "Toyota", "BMW". Anyone remember when Lamborghini was in F1? Porsche? The manufacturers are going to LeMans. Like they always did.
