http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/02/03/domenicali-f2012-pretty-count/ Domenicali: "Well, actually, its not really so pretty from my personal perspective."
I have come to the conclusion that the Europeans are the most beaucratic people on earth. All these crazy rules are ridiculous. It stifles creativity while having engineers just look over pages of legal documents to find an answer. This is the worst time if the year. It shows the stupidity of rules makers at the expense of everything else. Frankly, I'm disgusted.
I do to a certain degree agree that F1 is becoming over-regulated. Certainly I am no fan of the FIA in general (a bunch of motorsport-communists IMHO). But without rules F1 would maybe have 2-3 teams capable of putting on a show. That would be those with history and knowledge of the sport. We would have 2-3 Red Bull X2011-style cars with very few other teams because no one could find the knowledge or funding to establish in F1. Teams that would have been running for maybe 10 years or more unregulated would have an unprecedented knowledge of what works and what wouldn't. Even though the FIA make a lot of (mostly) stupid sanctions, most of them are for safety reasons. F1 is becoming so safe, I guess drivers are happy for that. However, where does the limit go, before it becomes just too safe and boring (many believe this limit has already been treaded over). In the 60's, I think you had a 2/3 chance of dying within your first 5 years of F1. Giving F1 a set of rules will show and has shown who is able to pull the longest straw, pushing the limit to the maximum. F1 should be the pinnacle of motorsport techno-wise, I'm not sure I agree on that anymore due to the silly ban on testing and development. But certainly the same new set of rules keeps it as competitive as it can humanly be with newer and well-established teams. Red Bull for instance, would never be where they are today in an unregulated sport, it would be rules by Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and the likes. I think as long as the rules don't mess with the basic sound of F1 and are there to get it more competitive, that's fine. But the FIA need to change their circuit protocol which paralyzes people like Tilke from designing anything but dull drones. From a personal point of view I think it's sad that F1 today is all about aerodynamics, and not so much about engine and the purely mechanical development. The golden era of the sport is gone, and I think we will never have golden moments like those from the past millenium due to all the crazy eco-mentalists and as you say, bureaucrats out there....
Finally found a pic showing the exhaust exit itself. Yes, definitely appears to be at least in accordance to the degree rule. However the sidepods are a real gamble on Ferrari's part....... Image Unavailable, Please Login
IMO incorrect, and this was proven by the quality of advancements before the rules became over regulated. Basically what happens is somebody comes up with a good idea and everybody else copies and some as they copy learn how to improve the design and thus do it better (William's for example did ground effects better than Lotus, but Lotus introduced the technology), and the cycle continues. Over regulated rules simply means the teams with the most money win, as they are able to search for holes in the rules or over develop something better than others. There is a reason why RedBull is now winning, and that is $'s. They bought the best designer and gave him everything he wanted. In the days when rules allowed for creativity you would, and we have seen, designers have their day in the sun and then fade. Newey has been around for ages because he is a whiz with aerodynamics, the only thing that still confuses the FIA so loop holes can be found. Just imagine the advancements F1 could have contributed without the "make a good TV show" rule concept. Pete
Agree, but it´s not possible to copy and build a new car in a few months, so if someone comes with a winning idea, they most probably will get the title with 6 or 7 races to go and TV audiences will go down----> no money for Bernie and the teams.
This is a wild guess, but what if the exhaust pipe follows the rules and is pointed upwards, but the sidepod creates enough airflow that points downwards that it forces the exhaust gasses downwards anyway?
I'm thinking that's what it will do at speed, but the major issue with that is that effect would work better if it were slightly more inward on the sidepods, perhaps close to where Mercedes W02 originally had theirs exiting at the beginning of the season
Ye we are, and Portugal is probably the worst example!!!! ...on the ather hand, we are very good at bending rules and burocracy....
I definitly agrre with your comments on how stupid these rules are....ok, i understand that things can´t be like in the can-am days, when the rule was "no rules" although the series were pretty spectacular but, now it´s simply too much...one of this days all the cars are going to be exacly the same...how can you freeze engine development?? it´s simply ridiculous!!! and now, even drivers are being told how to drive!!! They can no longer defend positions, they have to be siting ducks while the others pass them...it´s plain stupid, and i for once am getting really tired of f.1...last year for the first time in my life i missed a couple of races, and i started to watch a lot more gt racing....The DRS to me as no place in racing, it´s a farse, and so are many of the new g.p circuits.
And that is the problem. F1 is now focused on the money instead of the racing. It is ruined and quite honestly so contrived that it is not worth watching. I now only have a passing interest in F1. Amazing how Bernie has sucked the life out of the sport. Pete
I'm of a similar mind as you but am a bit amazed by the that I still find F1 fascinating and follow it closely. I suspect that the expansion of F1 is unsustainable and that one day the commercial bubble will burst. Maybe then we can get back to the authentic sporting ethos and technical innovation that made it great.
Thanks for the info. Also their nose is longer than the Ferrari as you can see in the comparison picture in post #53. -F
Yep. But in the end, everybody loves a good show. When Ferrari was kicking ass in 2002, you were always ranting about the lack of competition, that Ferrari was killing the sport not allowing Barrichello to fight, etc... Why they should care about entertaining the crowds? They were racing, and when your´re racing, winning is everything. Who cares about the show? Besides, that, if they gave freedom to the desginers, cars would be computer controlled and the drivers just passengers, and then all the "purists" would be moaning about it. As everything in life, happiness is in the middle. The problem is Bernie does not always find that equilibrium. Although we must admit that he needs the money for the banks who now own the business and for his divorce, etc... Life ain´t easy for the poor bastard.
I was trying to figure out why winged brake ducts are legal. So I read FIA article 11.4 several times over with a calculator in hand. Although ducts may not protrude beyond the OUTER face of the wheel fastener period, it seems the designers have some space inside the wheels to work with when shaping brake ducts. This space is like a cylinder with two flat sides and is limited to nothing... beyond a distance of 4.7 inches from the center of the wheel inward beyond a radius of 13 inches from the center of the wheel forward, beyond a radius of 7 inches from the center of the wheel backward, beyond a distance of 6.3 inches from the center of the wheel upward beyond a distance of 6.3 inches from the center of the wheel downward Because the rear brakes make less energy/heat than the fronts, the F2012 exhaust probably IS blowing those duct winglets. As long as the winglets are proportioned to the demnsions limits they are not considered bodywork. We will see if it works.
