Ask an F1 Engineer anything

[Halmyre]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It's an electromagnetic (radio) signal, not an acoustic signal.

Have I just been whooshed?

[Sandpit Steve]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Good video. That says that the teams worked out the light sequence by listening to radio signals and reverse-engineering the gantry system, and were able to give the driver an audio signal in his earpiece 100ms *before* the lights went out - as opposed to anything that might make the car go automatically, in response to the start signal.

That start where the organisers changed the system was hillarious, where the lights held a little longer than they expected but the front two or three rows all went anyway!

The delay these days is very much variable, from almost nothing to several seconds.

[AnonymousF1]

CedricN said:

Interesting, do you guys work with of the shelf software like GT suite etc for engine and dynamic simulations etc or is it in house developed? Or maybe both?

Yes I've seen off the shelf stuff used, particularly in the early days of simulation. Over time most teams have moved to in-house or opensource based codes now, I believe.

[AnonymousF1]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

entropy said:

rear weight distribution

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The introduction in the regulations that gearboxes had to last a certain number of races drove the improvement in reliability.

[AnonymousF1]

Gillard36 said:

How do you feel about refuelling in F1?

I don't think we will ever see it again because cars re fueling is a "bad image" for the environment. I think it is a shame as it takes away so many tactical opportunities.

I'm personally all for it, as it adds another variable to the pitstop process, and more pitstops, I think. I suspect it's fallen out of favour for safety reasons mainly.

[AnonymousF1]

andburg said:

Why do teams use black paint instead of something like vantablack paint in high detail areas to hide aspects of design?

Not aware they do. Are you talking about parts that are unpainted/in their native composite finish? EG, carbon fibre.

[AnonymousF1]

jimPH said:

Do you think drivers asking for lots of money could be better spent on the car/team, especially with budget caps coming in. Has your team felt the pinch?

It's a marketplace - the drivers can ask, it's up to the teams what they want to pay. I'm not sure what the current grid of drivers earn, but since the end of the noughties salaried drivers have become the minority.

Driver's pay is outside of the new cost caps I believe.

jimPH said:

Have you ever successfully cheated pushed the limit of the regs?

Pushed to the limit, of course. Cheated absolutely not.

[AnonymousF1]

shirt said:

have your team started on the 2022 car yet and, if so [i'd hope so!] how far along is it?

All teams were allowed to recommence 2022 car dev from the 1st Jan, after a hiatus in place since April last year.

[Megaflow]

AnonymousF1 said:

All teams were allowed to recommence 2022 car dev from the 1st Jan, after a hiatus in place since April last year.

How much design freedom is there in the 2022 regulations?

Part of me hopes it is not a lot, because the car we have seen to date looks really cool. But, then another part of me finest think that is very F1.

[Chebble]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You don’t need an engineer to tell you a normal bloke would be absolutely nowhere near an F1 drivers time.

Even racing drivers from other classes would likely struggle.

[resolve10]

It's difficult because there's no such thing as a 'regular' human, but I would suspect that 99% wouldn't be brave enough to go quicker than motorway speed and the 1% that were brave enough wouldn't have the skill, neck/upper body strength or even co-ordination to put together a hot lap.

[TheDeuce]

resolve10 said:

It's difficult because there's no such thing as a 'regular' human, but I would suspect that 99% wouldn't be brave enough to go quicker than motorway speed and the 1% that were brave enough wouldn't have the skill, neck/upper body strength or even co-ordination to put together a hot lap.

Motorway speed is 70 mph, just saying... way more than 1% routinely break that speed without a second thought!

I would expect that the average person (or at least a person that actually is inclined to do so) with some coaching should be able to get vaguely close to a typical F1 race lap time with some good coaching and several days practice. Far less than 1% could ever be at all competitive, but probably far more than 1% could easily master the machine at least well enough to get somewhere close for the sake of a single lap.

I'm not saying close in terms of F1 driver closeness... But if an average race lap at a circuit was, say, 1:14 it wouldn't really surprise me if a well tutored and passionate fan could get within 10% of that with several days practice/training. The struggle with come to maintain that over several laps due to fatigue and obviously in terms of quali pace and g-force, without training and great skill the average human would be hopeless.

[anonymous-user]

Physical strength and fitness would be the issue for most good drivers, even at 2G seen on Historic cars you have issues with the pounding the driver takes. 5G braking would be the hardest issue for most to cope with, cornering G you could just rest your head on the side and drive through the corner with a wonky head position.

[TheDeuce]

AnonymousF1 said:

andburg said:

Why do teams use black paint instead of something like vantablack paint in high detail areas to hide aspects of design?

Not aware they do. Are you talking about parts that are unpainted/in their native composite finish? EG, carbon fibre.

Vantablack is a remarkable product - or more accurate 'process'. But I know first hand that it's ruinously expensive and hopelessly delicate. On a hard surface you can't even lightly brush the finish without effectively polishing it. So I don't think the finish on an F1 car would survive the assembly effort, let alone a single lap with high speed airflow over the surfaces you seek to conceal.

[resolve10]

TheDeuce said:

Motorway speed is 70 mph, just saying... way more than 1% routinely break that speed without a second thought!

I would expect that the average person (or at least a person that actually is inclined to do so) with some coaching should be able to get vaguely close to a typical F1 race lap time with some good coaching and several days practice. Far less than 1% could ever be at all competitive, but probably far more than 1% could easily master the machine at least well enough to get somewhere close for the sake of a single lap.

I'm not saying close in terms of F1 driver closeness... But if an average race lap at a circuit was, say, 1:14 it wouldn't really surprise me if a well tutored and passionate fan could get within 10% of that with several days practice/training. The struggle with come to maintain that over several laps due to fatigue and obviously in terms of quali pace and g-force, without training and great skill the average human would be hopeless.

Yes but 70mph in a Ford Focus is one thing. 70mph when you're pretty much laying down in a carbon fibre bathtub with your backside inches from the floor is another thing entirely.

I think within 10% of race pace is dreamland for the majority of people. Perhaps experienced amateur racers, but I wouldn't back myself to get anywhere near that.

Edited by resolve10 on Wednesday 3rd March 23:09

[TheDeuce]

jsf said:

Physical strength and fitness would be the issue for most good drivers, even at 2G seen on Historic cars you have issues with the pounding the driver takes. 5G braking would be the hardest issue for most to cope with, cornering G you could just rest your head on the side and drive through the corner with a wonky head position.

How close do you reckon a well tutored and practised driver could get to a race lap time after a week? Allowing for the lack of physical fitness?

I'd have thought that within 10% should be possible for a one lap push. 10% off an average GP lap time sounds small but would account for a massive reduction in corner and braking force.

[anonymous-user]

TheDeuce said:

How close do you reckon a well tutored and practised driver could get to a race lap time after a week? Allowing for the lack of physical fitness?

I'd have thought that within 10% should be possible for a one lap push. 10% off an average GP lap time sounds small but would account for a massive reduction in corner and braking force.

2 seconds off is a big gap for a top driver, I would expect some of the really good guys to be within 1 second without too much bother.

[TheDeuce]

resolve10 said:

TheDeuce said:

Motorway speed is 70 mph, just saying... way more than 1% routinely break that speed without a second thought!

I would expect that the average person (or at least a person that actually is inclined to do so) with some coaching should be able to get vaguely close to a typical F1 race lap time with some good coaching and several days practice. Far less than 1% could ever be at all competitive, but probably far more than 1% could easily master the machine at least well enough to get somewhere close for the sake of a single lap.

I'm not saying close in terms of F1 driver closeness... But if an average race lap at a circuit was, say, 1:14 it wouldn't really surprise me if a well tutored and passionate fan could get within 10% of that with several days practice/training. The struggle with come to maintain that over several laps due to fatigue and obviously in terms of quali pace and g-force, without training and great skill the average human would be hopeless.

Yes but 70mph in a Ford Focus is one thing. 70mph when you're pretty much laying down in a carbon fibre bathtub with your backside inches from the floor.

I think within 10% of race pace is dreamland for the majority of people. Perhaps experienced amateur racers, but I wouldn't back myself to get anywhere near that.

Just saying, that the 10% within race pace is actually a MASSIVE shortfall from what would be considered acceptable race pace. But probably achievable by most people that really cared to apply themselves. I'm sure most wouldn't want to try in the first place... But of those that did I expect easily more than 1% would get up to speed fairly quickly. F1 drivers are superhuman in the final couple of % of what the machine they drive can do. In terms of achieving just 90% of what that machine can do, most people that really applied themselves would be capable for the sake of a single lap.

imo of course..

[TheDeuce]

jsf said:

TheDeuce said:

How close do you reckon a well tutored and practised driver could get to a race lap time after a week? Allowing for the lack of physical fitness?

I'd have thought that within 10% should be possible for a one lap push. 10% off an average GP lap time sounds small but would account for a massive reduction in corner and braking force.

2 seconds off is a big gap for a top driver, I would expect some of the really good guys to be within 1 second without too much bother.

No but joe bloggs standard with a vague interest in cars and racing, and a little passion to learn and experience...

If an average GP lap time at a circuit was 60 seconds.. could joe bloggs within a week of tutoring get to within 10% of that (54 seconds)?

I'm not confident one way or another but it wouldn't surprise me if it did happen. 6 seconds slower would equate to massively lower G and lower risk of accident.

[HardtopManual]

If Joe could knock off 6 seconds a lap, he'd get a seat in the best car and be a multiple WDC before you could explain the difference between multiplication by 0.9 and division by 0.9...