Good sketches from Scarbs with hopefully a more representative car design that that turd shown by F1, especially the nose and sidepods: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
These wheels: Image Unavailable, Please Login I know I saw them before: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Considering the FIA have to approve these cars, they know exactly what is going on and the differences in interpretation already. As for Binotto, come on, think bigger FFS. You have poured all of 2021 into this car, anything less than a title contender from the outset should be the only target in your cross hairs . You dont understand the weaknesses as you keep making the same mistakes. ie pit strategy for one, the other is to try and have two No1 drivers in a team that cannot win one race since Singapore 2019. But I'll bite again and hope you have got it spot on for 2022.
I believe Domenicali makes a political statement hoping one team does not run-away. Given the large change its possible more than 1 team could be at the front for a real fight. Also the drivers must adapt and that will have impact. If 1 team is dominant is that the end of the world for F1. No. We have history that have 1 team doing well for a number of years. I think Domenicali is being hopeful lol
I think he his being hopeful as well, but they do have or should have by now first hand knowledge of what path teams are heading down. I think that given all the effort, hype and technical restrictions / improvements to "spice" up the show, anything other than 4 teams fighting it out will be a disaster for F! & especially Brawn as he has championed this route to improve the show. He may be out manoeuvred by some clever dick who has seen a loophole.
I had no problems with Ferrari/MS domination or recent Mercedes or RedBull etc. its F1. Sometimes its just 1 team that has it right. With smaller budget and if one team is mastering this quickly, I dont see how others can catch up quickly. Again we have to factor in who adapts and drives well in these new cars. Drivers possibly matter a bit more!
I think F! history has shown us that one team will undoubtebly dominate with a few in hot pursuit. Most have done it through evolution up untill a massive chnage in the technical regulations. There is hope However B teams have changed the dynamics, their participation on the grid has evolved into something completely different where 1/2 the grid is testing for the top 3 or 4 teams. Mostly due to budget and testing restrictions. Best Tony
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-2022-cars-not-crazy-different-in-simulator-says-bottas/7013338/ F1 2022 cars "not crazy different" in simulator, says Bottas By: Jonathan Noble Co-author: Luke Smith Dec 28, 2021, 6:00 AM Valtteri Bottas does not think Formula 1’s 2022 cars will have a totally different feel for drivers compared to the current generation of machinery. Image Unavailable, Please Login F1 teams are working flat out on the all-new ground effect cars that are arriving for 2022, and aimed at helping improve the racing by allowing drivers to follow each other more closely. A number of drivers who have tried the new concepts out in simulators have said that they will require a contrasting approach compared to now – as they will move around a lot more on the edge than the current cars. However, with Bottas having tried out versions of the 2022 car in both the Mercedes and Alfa Romeo simulators, he feels that things will not be totally different. Referencing his run in the Mercedes sim earlier this year, and the Alfa try-out a few months ago, Bottas said: “At least at that point, it felt like the cars are a bit off in terms of downforce. “But the overall feeling, at least in the sim, wasn't that dissimilar in either of the simulators. We can't simulate following other cars and stuff like that, but it’s not crazy different. Maybe still a bit less downforce but, like I said, that will change.” Bottas’ comments are in contrast to McLaren driver Lando Norris, who reckoned the new F1 cars feel quite similar to drive to F2.
I think F1 is the same. Remove this as much as possible......... Stoner: MotoGP corner run-offs “worst thing that's happened" to bike racing Double MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner believes the advent of large asphalt run-offs at circuits is “the worst thing that’s happened to motorcycle racing”. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hopefully a brighter shade of silver than the one on the 2019 car. I always found it to be a bit dull.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/red-bull-mindful-about-f1-rivals-2022-development-gains/7040131/ Red Bull mindful about F1 rivals' 2022 development gains By: Jonathan Noble Dec 31, 2021, 4:29 AM Red Bull remains hopeful that its Formula 1 title push didn’t compromise its 2022 development – but says Ferrari "smashing" it out of the park next season could prove it wrong. Image Unavailable, Please Login The Milton Keynes-based team was locked in a tight fight with Mercedes until the final round of this year for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship crowns – with honours being split between the two outfits. But while Red Bull and Mercedes were kept on their toes to the end, other squads like Ferrari made a much earlier complete shift of resources to work on their 2022 challengers. And that head start, with the new rules being in their infancy, could open the door for those teams that went early to enjoy an advantage from the off. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is optimistic that his squad got the balance between work on 2021 and 2022 right – but is equally aware that a final judgement on if its prospects did get hurt can only be made at the first race next year. “When Ferrari turn up with the fastest car and smash us out of the park at the first race then you’ll have to say that it probably did [compromise us],” he said. “But I think that we’ve all known that big regulation changes are coming for 2022 and we’ve applied our resource accordingly. “I’m sure each team has done what they feel is right and it’s put pressure on the organisation, of course. But that’s where I think the team have been outstanding, because to keep a development rate on a new set of regulations and keep a focus on this year’s car has taken a monumental effort. The commitment shown by all of the team, throughout the team, has been phenomenal. “But we will only see when we come back in a couple of months’ time, with completely new cars. They look different, they’re going to feel different, they’re going to drive differently - and who’s got it right, who’s got it wrong? It all starts again.” Image Unavailable, Please Login George Russell, Mercedes W10 Mule Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckoned that as well as rivals benefiting from an early development focus, the weighted aero handicap system – that allows more windtunnel and CFD work for teams further down the order – could further mix things up.
A couple of updates from Spa and Catalunya. Image Unavailable, Please Login Catalynya New paddock to be ready for the F1 preseason tests on February 23,24,25th. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-f1s-2022-cars-will-be-more-of-a-handful-for-drivers/7067159/ Why F1's 2022 cars will be more of a handful for drivers By: Jonathan Noble Co-author: Giorgio Piola Jan 3, 2022, 5:10 AM Formula 1 will unleash a new rules era this year, as the series shifts to ground effect cars that are aimed at making the racing better. Image Unavailable, Please Login While the regulations are not specifically designed to make overtaking easier per se, the hope is that the new concepts will allow drivers to follow their rivals much closer than before. To achieve that, F1 has had to move away from a reliance on downforce created by the front and rear wings and instead the cars will generate much more performance from channelling air through venturi tunnels underneath the car. By doing that, it is hoped that pursuing cars will not suffer as much from the wake of rivals in front, which should also help reduce sliding and minimise tyre overheating. One of the consequences of the change in rules was expected to be a dramatic increase in lap times – with initial talk being that the cars could be as much as five seconds per lap slower. However, with teams rapidly understanding the details of the rules, the suggestion is that the cars could be as little as 0.5 seconds adrift of where F1 lap times are right now. But even with the lap times being similar, one common theme that has cropped up in recent weeks has been how different the cars feel for the drivers. For beyond the loss of downforce, drivers who have tried the cars in the simulators have talked of the cars not feeling as settled. As McLaren’s Lando Norris said: “I don't think it'll be as nice to drive in a way. I think it'll be a little bit more on the limit in terms of pushing and so on. A little bit like F2 in a way, I think, where you see more fighting the car and stuff.” Image Unavailable, Please Login The 2022 Formula 1 car launch event on the Silverstone grid Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images Such comments, at a time when F1 has moved towards cars that are aimed to make them more stable when following others, appears to suggest something has gone awry. However, as the FIA’s head of single-seater technical matters Nikolas Tombazis explains, what the drivers are experiencing is a consequence of a move to make the aerodynamics of the cars simpler. For, whereas teams previously honed the airflows of the old generation of cars to ensure consistent airflow over the bodywork through a corner, such an outcome is not possible now. “There's quite a few challenges in driveability terms nowadays,” explained Tombazis. “Teams had developed the through-corner performance from a driveability point of view and for stability, and they did a lot of work in the simulator. “They also did a lot of work on the aerodynamics to make sure the car didn't have quick changes of characteristics through the corner that would unsettle the driver. “To my understanding, the new rules make that a bit more difficult. So therefore, the cars I think will be a bit more difficult to drive: which I think is a good thing.” Image Unavailable, Please Login The 2022 Formula 1 car launch event on the Silverstone grid. Front detail Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images Tombazis said the areas that teams had honed the most – like airflow from the front wing to the bargeboards and under the floor – was no longer possible because of rule restrictions. “It was previously achieved on the front wing and on the bargeboard area by playing very carefully with the various vortices, and how they travel through air,” he said. “That is more limited now in what is possible.” The consequence of the limitations on what teams can do, allied to the change in car characteristics, should put a bigger emphasis on driver talent – something Tombazis is happy about. “I think it's a good thing for the skill of the drivers that the car isn't as predictable,” he said. “I think it's going to be potentially more difficult to drive because they may be not as refined in some of the characteristics.”
sigh....they just don't get it do they. Run off at corner entry, past apex, have gravel. Simple as that!
https://www.racefans.net/2021/11/02/new-2022-f1-cars-only-0-5-2-seconds-slower-despite-40kg-weight-rise/ New 2022 F1 cars only ‘0.5-2 seconds slower’ despite 40kg weight rise 2022 F1 season Posted on 2nd November 2021, 8:13 | Written by Keith Collantine and RJ O'Connell Cars built to new technical regulations for the 2022 Formula 1 season could be as little as half a second slower than their predecessors despite being much heavier. On top of a 40kg increase in the minimum weight limit, to 792kg, next year’s rules will also simplify the cars’ suspension and radically alter their aerodynamics. Upper aerodynamic surfaces will be simplified, while teams are being given greater freedom to generate downforce using their cars’ floors. Despite these changes, F1’s technical director Pat Symonds recently suggested the new cars could lap as little as half a second slower than this year’s machines. When the new regulations were first confirmed in 2019, Aston Martin (formerly Racing Point) CEO Otmar Szafnauer predicted it would slow cars by around five to seven seconds. He now concurs with Symonds’ view about the performance of next year’s machines. “It’s going to be track dependent. I think at some of the tracks we’ll be on par with this year and other tracks we will be slower,” Szafnauer told RaceFans. “But my five-to-seven second estimate at the time was before we delved deep into our development programme. “I think we’re going to be a lot closer – even on the tracks where it’s going to be slower – to this year, than five to seven seconds. It might be at some places a half a second difference, and other places one-to-two seconds.” The new technical regulations were originally slated for introduction this year, then delayed by a season due to the pandemic. Teams were allowed to carry their 2020 cars over with some modifications to limit performance gains this season. As a result lap times have risen by around one to two seconds year-on-year.
Update Spa - Eau Rouge area Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login This is in a separate area of the track......Combes(T6) and Malmedy.(T7). Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-f1-wheel-rim-covers-work-why-they-were-banned-and-why-theyre-back/7084874/ How F1 wheel rim covers work, why they were banned and why they’re back By: Matthew Somerfield Co-author: Giorgio Piola Jan 5, 2022, 4:46 AM The changes to Formula 1’s regulations for 2022 are extensive and as well as introducing exciting new elements there is also a sense of reincarnation that draws inspiration from design features of the past. Image Unavailable, Please Login Alongside the much-vaunted return of the ground effect concept is the revival of wheel rim covers. F1 hopes these will help smooth out the turbulence ordinarily created by the wheel and tyre, and thus help reduce the overall wake generated by the lead car when another is chasing. The rim covers used in 2022 will be a far cry from the complexity of what we’ve seen in the past though, as teams will have little influence in their design – in order that they don’t use them to damage the overall intent of their inclusion. However, that won’t stop us taking a trip down memory lane to see how and why wheel rim covers have been deployed by teams in the past… The first use of wheel rim covers in F1 Image Unavailable, Please Login As can be seen from Giorgio Piola’s illustration (above), the roots of the wheel rim cover can actually be traced much further back than you might expect. Ferrari experimented with them at Monza in 1990 to reduce drag at the ‘temple of speed’ during qualifying. The team was unable to use them under race conditions, however, as the brakes would have overheated, given there was nowhere for the heat generated under braking to escape. To make life even more difficult, not only in terms of regulating temperatures but also when needing to change tyres, a retractable panel was installed over the wheelnut. Image Unavailable, Please Login It would take over a decade for another solution to reappear but, unsurprisingly, it was at Ferrari again. This time it came with a slight twist, as the team introduced a design for the rear wheel of 248 F1 that featured a shallow rim fairing. Like the covers reintroduced for 2022, the fairing rotated with the wheel – something that was expanded upon later in the season with a cover that took up all but the central section in order to grant access to the wheelnut at pitstops. Image Unavailable, Please Login This idea didn’t go unnoticed though, as can be seen here, with Toyota and Toro Rosso deploying their own variants at Imola and Silverstone respectively. Having previously protested the design, Renault also went on to introduce its own version of the rear wheel rim fairing in 2007 but it was Ferrari who continued to see the merits of using these rim covers to assist its aerodynamic endeavours. Ferrari debuts static wheel rim cover at 2007 British GP Ferrari introduced an altogether more complex wheel rim cover at the British Grand Prix, one that was static, rather than rotating with the wheel. The cover being static opened up many new opportunities for the team in terms of rerouting the airflow passing through the brake duct assembly, with an aperture created in the lower rear portion of the cover designed to direct the airflow and influence the turbulence created by the wheel and tyre. Image Unavailable, Please Login This was by no means the simple rim fairing that the team had been using at the rear of the car and had been copied by others. This was a complex system that incorporated several components to help route the internal airflow, including a row of guide vanes, while the entire axle, wheelnut and wheel gun all had bespoke designs to accommodate the new system. The cover was convex in shape, rather than flat, in order that the airflow passing around the outside of the wheel didn’t have an adverse effect on what the team was trying to do internally. It didn’t make any dramatic changes to the arrangement going into 2008 but did add a small guide vane across the upper section of the cover to help direct the airflow in that region more effectively. While Ferrari hadn’t felt the need to alter the design too dramatically, others had taken note and a slew of new designs arrived up and down the grid… Image Unavailable, Please Login 2008 welcomes further wheel rim cover developments McLaren’s design featured an outlet in the front lower quarter of the wheel rim cover, not the rear. This was obviously a choice based on its different aerodynamic demands and also resulted in designers looking at a variant which also included a forward deflector fence to help direct the turbulence. Honda’s version included the rearward outlet position, albeit a little larger but, interestingly, had a small overlapping deflector in the lower forward corner too. Image Unavailable, Please Login Toyota turned things up from a design perspective at the rear of the TF108 when it introduced a fan-like cover at the Spanish Grand Prix. How wheel rim covers escaped 2009 aero overhaul The regulation changes introduced in 2009 didn’t overturn the teams’ ability to use wheel rim covers and, despite the overall aerodynamic overhaul that ensued, they opted to use them as a means of altering the wheel wake turbulence. Those aerodynamic changes did result in the teams having to optimise their pre-existing designs, while others developed new, more complex versions... Image Unavailable, Please Login For Ferrari, that resulted in the outlet being adjusted to take a more dominant location at the front of the wheel cover, while a deflector was added in the top corner. When thinking of wheel rim covers, perhaps the Brawn BGP001 is the car that first springs to mind – its fluorescent yellow rim covers truly stood out, whereas everyone else tended to leave theirs blank or simply replicate the wheel rim design beneath. Image Unavailable, Please Login Force India’s front wheel rim cover was more of a wedge-shaped affair that had a forward projected deflector. At the rear of the Force India, a fan-like wheel rim cover was deployed – similar to the one we’d already seen on the Toyota the previous year. Image Unavailable, Please Login The end for wheel rim covers F1 opted to ban wheel rim covers from 2010 onwards, as not only had they contributed towards the overall failure to improve overtaking that the 2009 regulations had set out to accomplish, they were also an extremely costly solution, which seemed far too lavish to ignore at a point when teams were looking to rein in spending. Even without those misgivings, there had also been several failures and pitstop incidents that contributed to their demise on safety grounds. Image Unavailable, Please Login Ferrari wasn’t entirely done with trying to improve flow around the front wheel assembly though, as even without the rim covers it found a way to adjust the airflow’s behaviour. It added a pair of hoops on to the wheel rim design for 2010 (above), which other teams were unable to copy as the wheels were a homologated component. Wheel rim covers to return from 2022 Seen below on the Mercedes W10 mule car, which was designed to accept the larger 18-inch rims that will feature on the 2022 cars, these are the wheel rim covers that teams will use going forward. The dished design is a compromise that erodes some of the aerodynamic inefficiencies created by the wheel and tyre, while also making them as easy as possible for the mechanics to handle during pitstops. Image Unavailable, Please Login George Russell, Mercedes W10 mule Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Catalunya update: Hardworking at the paddock and turn 4, where the former protection wall has been demolished!. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Spent the day with Jenson Button and Alex Albon karting. This was my first time meeting Alex Albon, what great guy. Very down to earth and spent quite a bit of time taking to him. He has driven both the Redbull and Williams 2022 simulators. Redbull of course faster, however the 2022 cars this season will be about 3.5 seconds slower from the start and will improve throughout the season. Doesn’t know by how much, the issue with the budget caps it will be very hard to close the gap. He said the crappy part this year is how big of a gap in lap times will be between the fast and slower teams. 2021 was the first in a while where all the teams lap times were so close.
Front pull rod suspension is back on 2022 cars ? Interesting article as always by them. https://www.formu1a.uno/vetture-f1-2022-pance-piu-basse-e-sospensioni-anteriori-anche-pull-rod/
Both proper gentlemen. Alex is mature way beyond his years. Interesting to see that Alex says there'll be a big gap between the front runners and back. F1 is aiming for 1.5 seconds....
