Schumacher just showed up at Magny-Cours to pay a visit.
Ferrari are using a third small pedal to activate their DRS http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/f1-technik-ferrari-trick-mit-dem-drs-pedal-5651526.html
And there he is. Pic taken just a little while ago today. Talk about being obsessed with F1. Michael is the only team non-test driver there, of any team. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thats why he is so great and his passion has not faded one bit. As a side note not related to this test session I would love to see the original layout of Circuit Paul Ricard brought back.
re Ferrari: Bianchi had praises for F2012 yesterday, said he was immediately comfortable. Ferrari tried a few small things which I suspect are just ideas for next year's car. Bianchi was going to really 'go' for it but they had a small electrical problem which prevented him from doing so. I've no idea how their new cooling fluid worked out but I'm certainly curious. re Merc: Bird tweeted (haha, pun) this morning that it's too early to tell what the Mercedes upgrades have done yet as obviously yesterday they will simply acquiring data. Today however they are looking for a bit more performance and will tune setups quite a bit more with the data acquired yesterday. I hear the array of sensors is not longer on the car and they concentrated this morning on their 'device' tuning. I suspect Merc's primary concern now lies with static rake and how much to run as the back end has a good bit more downforce. Or they could leave the rake setting as is and just run more front wing angle, I wish I knew more about aero vs drag calculations!
I like that last pic of Schumi looking at the Ferrari from the background with a satisfied grin. With all the driver changes being discussed, you can't help wonder what he's thinking ' ' ' ' ...Hamilton... Mercedes... Massa................... Ferrari ????
Just awesome. Makes me think he's not retiring if he is still taking the time to do things like this.
I enjoy seeing his relationship with Ferrari, that Ferrari share. They obviously still have a close connection.
I'm no guru - probably know just enough to be dangerous - But where did you get 25% from? A WAG is obviously OK, as that's what I'm about to do..... I think it depends very much on what wing they're running; - A High DF Monaco style thing, you may be about right - The bulk of the DF is coming from the main plane and is still there even with the DRS open. - OTOH, Monza wings are tiny - Open the DRS with these and I guess you're gonna loose at least 50%, maybe more. Think flaps on airplanes; Give a big increase in lift but make it "dirty". We're pretty sure they want the flow as clean as possible with DRS closed (the opposite of airplanes) - The two elements effectively make a single (slotted, good for efficiency) wing. I think There are many - Some even agree with each other! Trouble is, in the models you're making all kinds of assumptions (steady state, or at least steady acceleration, no yaw or crosswinds, no dirty air, etc etc). If this doohickey only "comes alive" above XXXmph I suspect XXX could vary a *lot* based on conditions. Not what they want. I admire their efforts, but for the tiny gains that you postulated? I dunno - Could very well be yet another blind alley and they'll all move on to the next "hot" trick shortly. Cheers, Ian
I wonder why? What's wrong with the button I wonder? [Kimi; "I think so DRS is simple, you push a button and you go faster...."] Interesting - I wonder if it's doing more than just opening the DRS?.... "Moveable aerodynamic aid" anyone? Cheers, Ian
I read 20-25% forever ago IIRC when DRS first came out. I suspect that's obviously a non-Monza spec standard config rear wing. Oh and you're completely spot-on with all these nutty assumptions and random factors which could make this thing fall on its face. Mercedes and Lotus chasing down a tenth with this thing makes it seem perhaps futile because of all the possible conditions which could nullify its benefit?? I suppose if the drag reduction factor were say 5-6% and its gain were a couple tenths then it would be obvious that further exploration and implementation would be a must, and who knows perhaps it would yield such a gain! This is very difficult to say. We also must factor in that the front wing also runs a passive drag reduction system based on a fluidic switch. Perhaps because of their front wing also losing drag they would be able to active the rear wing at an early pressure factor/speed than other teams as balance would not be as much of an issue. Makes sense I guess.
I think we should note that of the tracks remaining, most have very long straights. Doesn't Korea have the longest in F1?
Coanda effect CFD model of EBD. I love this model which a poster on f1tech posted quite some time ago, brilliantly done, wish I could do this. This models Mclaren's EBD and it's purpose was to essentially show the difference in thrust from the current exhaust positions compared to if they were coming directly from the top to the diffuser as they did last year. Thrust lost is to the tune of about 1/2 to 2/3, but it's still quite effective at sealing the diffuser sides. EBDs last season accounted for 20-25% for most teams with Red Bull claiming over 25%. This season it's obviously substantially less and it has been argued that the bulges on the sidepods required for this configuration ruin a great deal of laminar flow which is why we didn't see everyone immediately swap to this system. I'd say the current EBD is maybe 10% as effective as the previous, but the loss of laminar flow probably shaves another few points off the effectiveness it yields. So, if a team implements this and sees 6%+ more rear end DF then they have a winner of an upgrade. That's something like 25-30 points of DF there. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just think what could be accomplished if all this effort was put to good purposes and not the evil that is DRS
Bianchi fastest again today, only this time in the Force India. I can't think of any driver who has driven two different teams contenders for that season. I'd love to hear his insight regarding difference of the two cars.
In fairness, this latest stuff (what Fauxtus are calling their "device", dunno what Ferrari have named it?) isn't DRS related as such - Seems to me they're trying to duplicate pretty much what the F-ducts were doing; At a specified speed air starts flowing to the underside of the wing hence "stalling" it and reducing DF & therefore also drag. No driver intervention and no moving aids - Just "clever" management of the flow. I think...... Cheers, Ian
Gotcha. They seem to spend a lot of time and money just circumventing the rules. Time that may, or may not, be wasted when the innovation is banned. Rule stability might be a better source of economy than testing bans and the like.
From today. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=juilQ4-f7r4#! I can't get over what a great job Ferrari have done with F2012, it looks like a different car out there. Nicely early on the throttle and it just goes very cleanly. Ragged through the chicane though, you can tell it's very high strung and tight on the front end. W03 looks very fast but also nervous. Very quick chicane, opposite of the Ferrari. This car must be the anti-Ferrari. FI looks mostly clean, little bit ragged in the esses.
And just when we thought Merc couldn't throw anything else at W03, they do. Shark fin testing and further sidepod sensor arrays testing downwash flow towards the EBD. I'm shocked with how much they've slapped on the thing. The shark fin help with yaw movement and airflow towards the rear wing. This is clearly a Willis development as he put this on an HRT last season, and Ferrari have a quasi-shark fin this season. Red Bull tested with one shortly after but never saw race action. Shark fins were outlawed, but this pushes to the edge of what the rules allow, so call it a partial shark fin if you want. but it's legal. Does that really look like a young driver under that helmet? Looks an awful lot like a Schu helmet, he seemed awfully antsy yesterday just standing around. Ferrari still out there today testing something or other, they have a testing box mounted over the engine cover on the left side. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
