Driving an F1 car

If you really want to know, go try one out

 

1. I think the car does have a clutch for putting it into gear? I could be wrong about this...
2. The way the brakes are designed (as is every component of the F1 car), they are set to function as efficiently as is possible. Since an F1 doesn't drive slow, the brakes aren't made the same way as "normal" brakes are. F1 brakes need massive amounts of heat in order to be able to bite effectively and slow the car down because of the amount of force it takes to slow the car when its at near top speed. If the brakes were geared towards being able to bite more when the brakes were cooler, they would most likely explode upon trying to slow down from 180+mph. Basically, the F1 car is designed to be driven as fast as possible, and if its not being driven as fast as possible it just isn't going to work right.

That's my theory at least... I could be totally wrong about all of this!

 

I didn't see that episode, but I have driven 2 different F1s and I can tell you at least from my perspective, what is difficult:

The first car was an 89 car, so it had a stick shift and a clutch, no electronic aids etc. You have to really rev the engine before engaging the clutch. Many people just stall the motor. I was proud to get going without that problem. The next problem is that you have a ton of hp coupled to light weight and not electronic aids, so you have to be careful not to spin the sucker. Finally you need to get really go fast into the corners to get the aero working. Something I haven't mastered and I'm still driving like it has no aero aids. It takes practice and eventually confidence to build up to that level where a regular car would simply loose it and a F1 starts to squat down.

My second F1 as a 96 car, so it had paddle shifters. Some electronic aids, but no stability control etc. Stalling the car wasn't really an issue, remembering what all the buttons on the wheel were for took a moment though. This car had grooved tires and they were really nervous and dancing around on somewhat uneven pavement. It took a lot of muscle just to keep the steering straight. The issue about the lack of confidence in the aero remained <blushing>.

The story about the brakes was already explained, so I won't touch on it. However often in these 2nd hand cars, the carbon brakes get replaced with traditional steel brakes, so it isn't such a big deal anymore.

All in all I would agree however, that technically driving a F1 is not rocket science. Driving it however near its potential is a true art form better left to the pros.

 

Just go to Maranello, knock on the front gate, tell them you want to see what's so hard about driving a F1 car, and I bet they have a spare F2007 or F2008 laying around that they'll let you zip around Fiorano so you can see for yourself. Be sure to thank them for their time though - they are quite busy over there but they always take time to do demonstrations.

 

Well, there are a number of reasons that the car is so hard to drive, but the over-arching theme is that it is designed to operate within a certain window of speed. So, to optimize performance in this window, lower levels are sacrificed. Basically, you can't have a car do everything to the best of its ability. The more focused you make the car, the more compromised it is in every other field.

1. the car has 4 paddles, 2 bigger ones for up/down shifting, 2 smaller ones (1 per side, under/overlapping the shift paddles) that disengage the clutch from the engine. When you pull a shift paddle, it disengages the clutch and changes gears. The clutch paddles will only disengage the clutch without actuating the gear change servos.

2. the brakes will operate in a certain heat range, due to the materials used in order to be durable in the peak heat range. Therefore without enough speed, the brakes don't get enough heat. Without enough heat, the brakes basically suck because the compounds aren't going to grab hard.

3. You also don't have very much mechanical grip in current F1 cars. Most of their grip is from aerodynamics. That means that you won't feel the effects of the wings until you are going a certain speed also (like the brakes). At low speeds, this feels like you have no grip in the car while you are trying to drive it.

4. just like the brakes, high speeds cause the tires to be subjected to a lot of friction and thus extreme heats. Compounds that can deal with this heat, quite simply are not soft enough to have any grip at low speeds. As the heat in the tires increases, the softer the tire becomes. If you make a compound that is soft enough to have grip at low speeds, it will simply melt at higher speeds.


SO, you NEED to drive the car in a certain speed envelope, and that requires certain processing speed in your brain, and certain reaction times from your body.

 

Why go to Maranello when you can go out RIGHT NOW and buy the remnants of Super Aguri?

 

Ah that is true.... that auction is coming up soon isn't it?

 

I dont think they are hard to drive. I do think they are extremely hard to drive FAST.

 

Watch the episode again. He tells you why it stalls. The computer makes it stall on purpose.

 

you can drive recent vintage f1 cars in las vegas and see for your self. its pricey but may be worth it.

does anyone have link to that episode? id love to see it.

 

Dude, drive one and find out...

(Lived through several hours in a 3-liter normally aspirated manual shift V-12, and not a Ferrari either... Trying to keep it straight while being aggressive was a challenge...)

 

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=_aLjE0xwyVI

 

How old are you?

 

He is not giving it enough gas. Watch again, you will see he lets up as he starts to move forward.

 

the bruno alfa!!! now that was car!!!! it would be nice if you would spend 20 mins describing all the sensations associated w/ maintaining and driving that alfa.

best,

pcb

 

Cool it. The reason I ask is because it's the kind of question that should be easily answered by watching an actual race instead of a television show about race cars. Doesn't help that you type like you're 5.

 

I have driven many race cars, but only 1 F-1. It was a 1998 car. My problem was not in stalling the car, my problem was keeping heat in the tires. I was all twitchy in the corners and could not figure out why. The supervisor told me that my tires were not hot enough. He suggested I switch to intermediate (wet) tires, even though the track was bone dry. These tires heat up faster under lighter loading, but my abilities were not good enough to rip apart the tires. I switched and my lap times fell dramatically.

I drove a 99 Indy car and actually felt a little better in it. It was more conducive to my lack of ability. I drove it faster and more aggressively. Was not on the same track as the F-1 car, but I bet my lap times would have been faster in the Indy car--simply because it was a 'lesser' car than the F-1. (It was still a beast!)

 

If I'm not mistaken, F1 cars idle at something like 9-10K RPMs.

Mark

 

Yep, you have to break the tires loose to get the car motivating. The computer has a mind of its own.

How about the second half of the video? Really helps out..........

And Topic, you are new here. You should not go back hard at someone who merely asks you a question. If you know very little about F1 racing then do the research first instead of making a statement about F1 driving being easier than they make it look. Tell us, "hey, I am new to F1 racing and I have some questions maybe some of you guys can help me with">........I am not new here but when I need some information I will make it known that I know very little about what I am asking about. I ask for those who know to help me out. You would be surprised the diversity of people on here and the worlds of good information you can get.

Now, that being said, welcome to Ferrarichat. I hope you enjoy your stay.

 

Sorry fellas, gotta disagree here.

I think Topic asked some perfectly legit and intelligent questions. I've been watch F1 for close to 10 years and did not have all the answers to his questions.

I think Gilles27's post was petty and rude. He may be an F1 expert, but there's no need to belittle those that don't know. Can you imagine Steve Machette making such a snide comment??

Believe me, the majority of the folks on this board would not be able to tell you about the inner workings of a modern F1 car.

Topic - I apologize for the lack of tact from one of our hallowed veterans Welcome to FerrariChat!

 

modern F1 cars idle at around 6k.