Is David Coulthard right? I think not.

Is David Coulthard right? I think not.

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MGJohn

Original Poster:

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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BBC's David Coulthard said:
.
But life isn't fair. The days of a driver influencing the mechanical reliability of the car are virtually gone. The racing gods decide on reliability, and the drivers just have to deal with that.
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"virtually gone" "racing gods" ?

If he fails to see how a driver's actions can influence car components' reliability, I think he needs to go back and think again.

Modern F1 cars are very reliable compared to the past but, no matter how reliable they are or become, driver input can always have the final say and upset things.

Even Rosberg had his card marked by his team in Germany to change the way he drove the car with reliability and less stress in mind. Wisely and rightly so.

Eric Mc

121,775 posts

264 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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It's all about making sure they press the right buttons on the steering wheel.

deadslow

7,960 posts

222 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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'I think not' about sums it up.

Floor Tom

406 posts

184 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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I think they may not be gone but are very much reduced. Gear shifts can't be messed up any more which will take a fairly large chunk of the driver induced failures out I would have thought.

Speedy11

516 posts

207 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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MGJohn said:
"virtually gone" "racing gods" ?

If he fails to see how a driver's actions can influence car components' reliability, I think he needs to go back and think again.

Modern F1 cars are very reliable compared to the past but, no matter how reliable they are or become, driver input can always have the final say and upset things.

Even Rosberg had his card marked by his team in Germany to change the way he drove the car with reliability and less stress in mind. Wisely and rightly so.
So tell us how exactly Nico killed his gearbox in Silverstone, or Lewis his spark plug in Australia, or his new FR brake disc in Germany?

RemarkLima

2,366 posts

211 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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Speedy11 said:
So tell us how exactly Nico killed his gearbox in Silverstone, or Lewis his spark plug in Australia, or his new FR brake disc in Germany?
Agreed, no driver is *that* much harder on the brakes, or runs a vast bias difference, no one revs higher or presses the throttle less... The only time the driver really can influence reliability is burping the kerbs or hitting other cars IMHO.

When a component fails it's either manufacture issue, or setup such as brake ducts being marginal.

Speedy11

516 posts

207 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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Or Lewis setting fire to his car

rofl

johnfm

13,668 posts

249 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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John

I think I will place more weight on DC's opinion that yours.

MGJohn

Original Poster:

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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So, I get it. Driver has nothing to do with it. Ever! Got it.

entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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Depends how hard you use the kerbs. The 'shock' can damage wiring looms and the hydraulics - this was especially the case when seamless gearboxes came to the fore.

MGJohn

Original Poster:

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
Rain Gods can play a part though!

"Jenson Button real savvy guy" ... spot the differebnce.,

MGJohn

Original Poster:

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
entropy said:
Depends how hard you use the kerbs. The 'shock' can damage wiring looms and the hydraulics - this was especially the case when seamless gearboxes came to the fore.
Maybe fuel line unions loosen or pipes fracture even. No problem with so little pressure involved ... smile

Stoney ground with some here entropy I believe.

No matter how improved, strong and reliable components are, they all have finite stress levels. Exceed those and ......

MGJohn

Original Poster:

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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Just thrown away a few quid on Vettel for Q3. 6-1.

entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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MGJohn said:
Maybe fuel line unions loosen or pipes fracture even. No problem with so little pressure involved ... smile

Stoney ground with some here entropy I believe.
TBH I'm not that mechanically minded. My first thought would be lax fingerwork.

I am a bit surprised with DC's comments because back when he was team mates with Mark Webber at RBR Webber was regarded as a car breaker because he was too aggressive over kerbs which led to gearbox/hydraulics failures. Then again seamless 'boxes have moved on since DC retired.

stephen300o

15,464 posts

227 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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Can still drive aggressively. This is harder on a car than being more swooshy tender tm.

RemarkLima

2,366 posts

211 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
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stephen300o said:
Can still drive aggressively. This is harder on a car than being more swooshy tender tm.
But given the fractions of seconds between the grid, is anyone really that much harder than anyone else? If you miss every kerb you'll be so much slower, if you're gentle on the brakes, you'll be slower... So with a few thousands to play with, how much gentler on a car can you be?

stephen300o

15,464 posts

227 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
RemarkLima said:
stephen300o said:
Can still drive aggressively. This is harder on a car than being more swooshy tender tm.
But given the fractions of seconds between the grid, is anyone really that much harder than anyone else? If you miss every kerb you'll be so much slower, if you're gentle on the brakes, you'll be slower... So with a few thousands to play with, how much gentler on a car can you be?
They say Jenson is silky smooth, although that might be bks. .

entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
RemarkLima said:
But given the fractions of seconds between the grid, is anyone really that much harder than anyone else? If you miss every kerb you'll be so much slower, if you're gentle on the brakes, you'll be slower... So with a few thousands to play with, how much gentler on a car can you be?
Depends how fragile the car is. Newey cars have been regarded as being fragile. In the previous decade the hydraulics took a pounding, in recent years the tight packaging and lack of cooling have led to KERS failures.

I remember reading about teams take into account the abuse it will take. There was something that is/was being done in the rear to protect the diff.

RemarkLima

2,366 posts

211 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
entropy said:
in recent years the tight packaging and lack of cooling have led to KERS failures.

I remember reading about teams take into account the abuse it will take. There was something that is/was being done in the rear to protect the diff.
And with both of those, how can a driver influence the reliability, other than running at the front in clear air, or not using full throttle? For the diff, if it needs to be protected for the fastest way round a lap, then it's a design challenge surely?

RemarkLima

2,366 posts

211 months

Saturday 26th July 2014
quotequote all
stephen300o said:
They say Jenson is silky smooth, although that might be bks. .
They said that with button and Hamilton as team mates, but both had largely the same tyre life, and a comparable pace... So, in terms of getting round a lap, I doubt there's a rizla between the salaried end of the grid. Where the driver makes the difference is race craft, opportunity, and consistency IMHO