LeMans cars vs. F1
Discussion
d-man said:
Nope, just the ACO twiddling with the rules every now and then to try and give France a victory. Except this time the French teams couldn't make a car that'd last the distance.
Fair point, but surely that's half the fun / challenge.
When was the last time a french car won anyway?
FourWheelDrift said:
cars raced on)
GpC Pole Position - Sauber C9, Mauro Baldi - 1m22.571s
F1 Pole Position - McLaren-Honda, Ayrton Senna - 1m17.876s
A lot closer than i would have thought , also a F1 quali lap is way faster than a race lap
hmm 1989 was hat in the turbo days , cant remember
917s were quicker round Spa than F1 cars in 1971, when F1 was on the 3.5 litre formula. I'd like to see a modern GP car built to last 24hrs - it'd weigh a fair bit more than 600kg... These days it's like comparing apples with oranges. An F1 car is clearly so much faster than an LMP car, but it wasn't always thus. If F1 cars weren't 20 seconds faster around Silverstone these days than LMPs then you'd have to wonder about their up to £400m yearly investments.
I wonder about teams like Minardi and Jordan in F1. They spend way more, every year, than Audi ever spent on the five-time Le Mans winning R8, yet they just tool around at the back of every GP, knowing that they will never, ever have any chance of real success. Those teams have the resources to go into sportscar racing and clean up - until the factory Audis return, at least. Even Minardi's resources outstrip those of a top LMP team like Pescarolo many times over, yet the heroine-like addiction keeps them in F1. The Concorde Agreement probably ties them into some sort of long term deal, I suppose.
Someone commented earlier about the French car not lasting the distance - well it came second and made up five laps over the course of the race. Even at Rollcentre we were willing them on (after our problems) and they only just missed out, sadly.
It's complete rubbish to suggest that the ACO are trying to change the rules to make a French car win. The current ACO aero rules were formulated by an independent designer in Britain, as far as I remember. Audi could've built a hybrid this year just like Pescarolo did, but decided to channel their efforts into '06 instead. There were other cars in it too, like the Japanese Dome, that were in with an equal chance, but Pesca happens to have built a very good car that was demonstrably the fastest thing out there this year. But for a gearbox problem they would've walked it.
I wonder about teams like Minardi and Jordan in F1. They spend way more, every year, than Audi ever spent on the five-time Le Mans winning R8, yet they just tool around at the back of every GP, knowing that they will never, ever have any chance of real success. Those teams have the resources to go into sportscar racing and clean up - until the factory Audis return, at least. Even Minardi's resources outstrip those of a top LMP team like Pescarolo many times over, yet the heroine-like addiction keeps them in F1. The Concorde Agreement probably ties them into some sort of long term deal, I suppose.
Someone commented earlier about the French car not lasting the distance - well it came second and made up five laps over the course of the race. Even at Rollcentre we were willing them on (after our problems) and they only just missed out, sadly.
It's complete rubbish to suggest that the ACO are trying to change the rules to make a French car win. The current ACO aero rules were formulated by an independent designer in Britain, as far as I remember. Audi could've built a hybrid this year just like Pescarolo did, but decided to channel their efforts into '06 instead. There were other cars in it too, like the Japanese Dome, that were in with an equal chance, but Pesca happens to have built a very good car that was demonstrably the fastest thing out there this year. But for a gearbox problem they would've walked it.
francisb said:
ah but screw the revs down to 15,000 max and the F1 engine reliability goes way up.
...
round Le Mans, the F1 car could probably build up so much of a lead that it could pit, change tyres and brakes and still easily rejoin in the lead.
cool thx for so many answers.
but begs the question, why bother developing a new lm prototype. just buy a ferrari 2004 f1, turn the revs down and bolt on a sexy composite body
The rules would kind of stop you. You'd have to modify the tub to make it a two-seater (side by side), you'd have to try to make the engine give decent power when the restrictors would limit it to around 12,000rpm at the most. Those are just for starters...
Having worked with both F1 and Lmp900 cars i would take the Lmp everytime from a work point of veiw you get more involved and have more fun.
(F1) there is no fun in looking after only 12 nuts and bolts trust me on that one.
(LMP)you get a real good chance of getting the car back out to race they can take alot of stick.
(f1 is a little more advanced but not much)
(F1) there is no fun in looking after only 12 nuts and bolts trust me on that one.
(LMP)you get a real good chance of getting the car back out to race they can take alot of stick.
(f1 is a little more advanced but not much)
Can't get a bag of groceries in the back though! and you'd have to leave all the kids and the wifee in the pit lane! Around London Le Mans cars might at least get over few sleeping policemen. F1, cars awfull turning circles. Chiswick roundabout (west) would be a hoot in either, but the flyover forget it! If you could d send your luggage the wifee off ahead of you you could get free parking at Heathrow express parking, simply drive under the entry barriers and find a space under a tree. In a week you'd save about £80 quid in parking fees! Leave as you came! Result!
Just thought a different perspective was needed here!
Just thought a different perspective was needed here!
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