Exactly. Why would they even care? Added weight? Why not just re-design their turbo housing to capture debris in the event of a turbine wheel failure and lose 3-4kg's in the process? Oh, the whining has begun!
What did they do in the last turbo era? I remember neither containment vessels (how Chernobylesque) nor schrapnel.
Agreed. How hard can it be? Get rid of the cover and make the turbine housing strong enough to contain itself. Lighter cars = less fuel consumption = less compromise during races. Yeah but it probably requires some reworking of the turbo as well. The Ferrari turbo might be a bit heavier than the other units since it can contain it's own debris during a failure. Adding a ballistic cover would make that function redudant, and hence unnecessary weight.
Let the games begin! On the other hand, less weight on the top for the other teams would result in a lower center of gravity...it seems the easiest solution would be to attempt Ferrari's interpretation versus trying to penalize them for a different approach.
But to be honest, I don't think this is a real issue. Its just whining from other teams. The regulations say nothing about how the car must contain the debris, as long as they are contained in case of a failure. There has been no official complaint towards Ferrari or any statement from the FIA. It seems that for the moment they (Charlie Whiting) are satisfied with the safe operation and implementation of Ferrari's solution.
Seems reasonable.... Seems reasonable..... meets the regs it would seem.... As long as it 'contains any significant debris', they're good, surely? Nothing to see here...... Cheers, Ian
Again was this an issue in the last turbo era? Engines were spinning a lot faster then and pressures higher but I done remember any schrapnel incidents. Grenades yes but shrapnel no.
Not sure about more rpm and higher pressures back then, but fer sur they weren't as 'safety conscious' as they are now....... They don't want red hot turbo debris flying into the stands I guess, which kinda makes sense. Cheers, Ian
The old turbos were much more highly stressed. 1000BHP in Q trim. Fan safety is paramount but if there's no danger why bother? You don't want them spewing anti-matter but that's not regulated against.
Even more if Dr Theissen is to be believed! *But*, they also only lasted for that one Q session! They swapped (most of ) 'em out before they had a chance to destroy themselves and everything around them. I hear you brother, and don't disagree. But again, this year they get (IIRC) just 5 'power units' for the entire season. As you well know, they used to use that many in a weekend back in the 'good old days'. Times change. I'm not saying for the better, but it's one hell of an engineering challenge...... Cheers, Ian
That, I cannot answer! I do know that something, anything, spinning @ over 120K contains a lot of energy..... Cheers, Ian
I listened to the F1 Magazine podcast this morning and Craig Scarborough said peak power for these motors is around 10,000 rpms, that they actually lose some power above that level. He also reiterated that the drivers will need to drive towards a fuels saving strategy and that the energy recovery system would be vital to posting competitive laps. The fall off will be much more if there are issues with the batteries as the additional power that they generate will be around 180 bhp and the need to conserve fuel is so important. According to Scarbs if the cars run full speed, they are out of gas after an hour which will be a major concern for power tracks such as Monza, Spa and Montreal.
This is not looking like a 'pinnacle' right now. Surely Formula-E is not so restricted. If they cant run 1 hour at Monza the mecca of speed F1 has lost it. I hope this is not true.
Cribbage is looking like an exciting alternative. I mean this is a spoof. Right? The real F1 cars will be announced tomorrow with a big GOTCHA! Right? Right?
I hope this year fails from a spectator turnout and viewership standpoint and they re think the fuel load aspect. Give them more fuel! F1 should NOT be about fuel saving endurance 'racing'.
We can hope. The pictures look like cartoons. Did all the designers spend too much time watching Disney's Cars? An abomination!
My exact feelings on the Ferrari. You could imagine Donald Duck coming out from the helmet. They should have called it the f 313.
So the shambolic sound we are hearing from the cars is as good as it's going to get. And the cars are barely faster than GP2?! What a debacle.
