I read that it had to do with whether the driver was "on the torque" or "off the torque" as a warning to those behind until the field gets used to the on-throttle versus off-throttle response of the new powertrains. I forget whether the light signified that the driver was speeding up or slowing down. And there's one flashing green light denoting a rookie driver without a superlicense. JP
Probably the only f1 driver I would want to hang out with off the track. He's already said that there are too many buttons on the steering wheel, but he knows what he is doing lol.
I've seen the light flash under braking, during acceleration out of corners, in mid-corner throttle liftoff and even seen it flicker two-three times on the main straight... That's what doesn't make sense to me, it seems to flash in all the situations you mention, but at random. Why would the light flash on the main straight during what sounds like full throttle? Why does it flash into braking of a corner, but not through the corner, and then flashes on the later stages of the corner exit? You can see a few of these situations in the video CRG125 posted.
Maybe this has been addressed elsewhere, but what is the purpose of the tall spar on Kimi's car? Instrumentation?
When teams test they don't have to comply with regulated dimensions of the cars, so they add the extra "sensor towers" on places on the car to collect additional aero information.
The Renault power unit sounds physically ill, it's shifting audibly slower as well. The issue has been stated to be battery related, but that can't be the only issue.
As I said earlier, people/media seem to expect Red Bull to just pull it together and be fastest on the grid. However, "to finish first you must first finish" and it's looking dicey for the Renault powered cars right now. That "dicey-ness" is forcing them to lose precious track time. Vettel leaves Jerez with only 11 laps under his belt.
This Mclaren rear suspension thing is looking perilous for everyone else. Their setup is not one that is easily copied, this may be a very good year for them.
+1 The airplane guys would call it a 'pitot static tube'. Gives them accurate airspeed data without being influenced by the cars aero. I'd guess it also senses yaw angle, but certainly don't know about that. They've been running it in testing for many years now. Cheers, Ian
I dunno about that.... Assuming no one protests, & Charlie decides it's not a 'moveable aerodynamic aid', how hard can it be to add some 'fairings' to yer suspension bits?..... I get the theory, but also question how effective it could be overall. I guess there's a few places it may buy them a little, but a silver bullet? I very much doubt that. Cheers, Ian
Renault's technicians are apparently rebuilding each battery package overnight, cell by cell. Renault battery failures stop teams testing | Racecar Engineering "It is thought that the problem lies with the battery internals as comments made by Taffin (Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1′s Head of Track Operations) appeared to rule out both overheating and electromagnetic interference issues. The energy store or battery on a 2014 Formula car is made up of a large number of cells all managed electronically by the BMS (battery management system). It seems likely that the Renault Sport battery pack has some kind of issue (perhaps vibration related) that is causing the individual cells to drop out, this can be a major problem in multi cell battery packs, which can in some cases lead to thermal run-away. The BMS is likely to shut the battery down in order to prevent this happening. The teams have had to dismantle their cars (which in the case of both Caterham & Red Bull had only just been completed. Overnight Renault technicians will rebuild the battery packs with a fix applied, a tricky and specialist task."
Here ya go; Pitot tube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I'd also guess there's an accelerometer or two in there measuring roll/pitch angles. Much easier to do with a substantial 'fulcrum'. Cheers, Ian
Same guys who did the Boeing 787 packs maybe? If true, and given where these things are buried this year (inside the bottom of the gas tank) I'm sure glad I'm not in the pit lane right now!.... You've got to pull the whole rear end off (not a huge deal), open the back of the tub, pull the tank & open that sucker before you even get access! Long night ahead for a few people I guess...... Cheers, Ian
VERY HAPPY I'm not a Renault technician. They've got a tough night and for sure a few heavy days to come!
Another post of the month candidate! Good job I'm not using another real keyboard.... The IPad cleans up real easy! Cheers, Ian
Tnx, fascinating. I thought the fins on top of the cars could read aero pressure for all their lengths and not just at a couple of points where the tubes are.
Ferrari might have a problem of their own too. Apparently their engine is causing some minor controversy regarding he technical regulation article 5.18.5; "Measures must be taken to ensure that in the event of failure of the turbine wheel any resulting significant debris is contained within the car." Mercedes and Renault have a 3kg "ballistic cover" surrounding the turbo. Ferrari does not. Ferrari have, to quote the article; "(...)it has designed the turbine housing in such a way that if the turbine wheel fails the turbo housing itself contains any debris." Renault Sport claim they have not complained about it, with Rob White from RS F1 being quoted in saying "I don’t know anything about the Ferrari so I couldn’t be unhappy about it even if I wanted to be.” This leaves only Mercedes to be the ones sourced as the people who are "unhappy about Ferrari's approach". Worst case scenario Ferrari have to redesign the engine if the FIA increases the weight limit by 3-4 kg, and decide the turbos require an external protection and not only an internal solution. http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/ferrari-f1-turbo-housing-safety-debated/
