If there were no rules...

How fast could they go? I know very little about F1 except that there are a lot of rules. Take some track records and make a guess as to how fast they'd be if uninhibited.

Also, what technology would be used? Suction fans? What size engine?

GT

 

I've always been under the impression that technology unfettered would result in G's a human could not (currently) sustain.

 

F1 cars would look like this (according to Adrian Newey).



Mark
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Another view.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Another.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

No rules would mean uncontrollably fast cars pulling 5+ g's with unlimited aero
But the down side would be very substantial Like Drivers dying frequently
Plus it would Never happen because No team would participate in a no rules F1

 

If you have a play station and get Grand Tourismo - they have the Red Bull x-1 which is pretty much Adrian Neweys thougts on an un limited F-1 car.

V-6 turbo - check for 2014
enclosed cockpit
Active Aero
enclosed wheels
underside aero - ground effects
extraction Fan
ABS
Active suspension
HUD telemerty
slick tires

so an average lap time at Monza in a normal F-1 car 1:14:35
x-1 : 1:02:10 or something like that.

The limiting factor is human ability to stand the G's ... you could perhaps put the driver in an anti g cockpit inside the car, but still even with a G suite, you are talking about sustained 8-15 G's .... The top speeds would be around 230 or so, but the braking from 230 to 20mph... 4-8 seconds ... that is the pain. along with lateral G's in cornering.

Personllay I would like to go back to the rules in 1990. To me that was one of the most facinating periods of F-1. Lots of engines, mfg's, teams with V-12 - V-10, W12, V-8 I think if you put in an equvilency factor for NA and turbo... 1L turbo 2L NA with Kers and with active suspensions and ABS, and give them totally flat undertray- no diffusers, no up swept back ends behind the axle lines... but alow larger wings with active aero... that would be cool.

Today when you see an F-1 car - they look so tiny and fragile... back in the 1990 - the cars were mean and aggressive -they were big, and powerful looking .... at idle they were impressive... today at idle - 5-6K RPM they are just loud.

in 1990 - you could tell when a Ferrari or Honda or Ford or Yamaha was on track... today they all sound the same.

 

Williams designed one a while back. It was featured in the F1 mag. Had ground effects and six (4 rear) wheels from memory. Apparently the human driving it would be passing out in every corner.

 

No rules would never happen - Best I would like to hope for is a rise on the rev limit to 20k

 

I understand that no limit would never happen b/c of driver safety. I'm more curious from a technology standpoint what that would look like.

Although... wouldn't a G suit like fighter pilots use help? (completely hypothetical)

GT

 

If there were no rules, there would be no requirement to have a human in the cockpit. So the ultimate Formula Libre car would be essentially an engine, fuel tank, 4 wheels and enough telemetry to keep it connected to the twitch specialist 'driving' it from the pitlane.

 

Historically, there have been many GP's held under such rules. They were referred to as "Formula Libre" races.

As an aside, I recall (from my readings) that Enzo created the Bimatore (hope I got that right) to race in those events. It was basically an Alfa with 2 donks. It was so thirsty and hard on tires and was a real handful to manage. Nuvolari certainly drove it, and I'm pretty sure won at least one race with it.

 

How many Gs do fighter pilots pull? Just curious.

Perhaps the closest today is Grand Am or AMLS. It is so cool to hear the flat crank cars go by, and then, and then, you can feel the Corvette before you can hear it. It sounds like something out of a primordial swamp, more like T-Rex than an opera.

Dale

 

This is the car used in the upcoming movie "Rush"
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Current F1 are nearer to 1.22 than 1.14...a 1.14 hasn't been run yet .

 

Fighter pilots pull big Gees but an F1 car would be pulling them almost constantly in quickly alternating directions.

Formula Libre races were mostly one offs with existing designs modified to suit, not clean sheet designs that were developed over an extended period of racing.

 

+1000

 

I got this on the PS3. It is fun taking it to any of the races. You basically lap the field constantly.

 

I thought they weren't just "one offs", my understanding was, there were seasons where a number of races were designated as Formula Libre - something interesting for me to read up on again

 

The G suit's primary function is to put pressure on the lower body to inhibit blood from traveling downwards. Fighter pilots pull G's primarily in the vertical plane, rotating the air craft along its fowards axis and then pulling up to maneuver. This lower body pressure helps keep blood circulating in the heart/brain area so that under sustained vertical G's, the blood doesn't end up all in your legs. The G suit like fighter pilots use would only help in corners like Ea Rouge that pull significant vertical G's. I am not sure it would really do much for cornering forces. As the legs are forwards and up in a F1 car, it could help under braking perhaps.

The body is strongest when acceleration is flat on your back. Its weakest the opposite way, with damage to the eyes resulting. This is why rocket launches are done with the head of the passengers facing up.

 

I think 9 Gs is not uncommon for fighter pilots. But I don't think those are for very long periods of time, which would be pretty harmful if it was constant.

Edit: RB or someone needs to make that car...even if just for fun/prototype purposes. It looks much better than today's f1 cars and the performance of it would be unreal.

 

Mostly.
Even when there were series they weren't sustained long enough for truly dedicated designs to evolve.

BTW if there were no rules it wouldn't be "Formula" One.

 

If it were truly "no rules", wouldn't you have weapons?

 

Now it gets interesting.

 

Hahaha.... Yes. No rules = Machine guns, laser guided missiles, spike strips, oil slicks....