With the mid-point of the season fast approaching, it seems that the discussions and regulation changes surrounding hot blown diffusers has finally come to an end. The system requires unburnt fuel to be passed through the engine and ignited in the exhaust while the driver is off the throttle in order to power the rear diffuser and create extra downforce. The FIA regard this as a form of changeable aerodynamic device which is against the technical regulation and so they have been looking for a way to ban the systems for the past couple of months.
As the systems were investigated, it became clear that some teams were using very aggressive engine mapping during qualifying, and then changing the Control unit settings for more reliability during the race. At the Valencia GP this sort of change was outlawed and all teams accepted this change gracefully. This allowed the FIA further time to decide on the exact changes required for the next race to stop hot blowing altogether.
When Silverstone started the FIA had already made the new regulations known and this is where their problems really started. Some teams claimed that differences between their engines meant that they could not stick to the new rules without damaging their engine. Coupled with differences between throttles (butterfly versus barrel) and some need to keep fuel flowing while off throttle to maintain crankcase pressure, there was now pressure on the FIA to make certain concessions to the regulations. This was done and it lead to a complaint from Renault that now they were being unfairly penalised. After being presented with more evidence the FIA allowed slightly different rules for the Renault engines. According to some, this actually allowed them slightly more freedom than they had before the whole sorry saga started!
After a last minute complaint, discussion and decision on the Saturday morning of the British Grand Prix, all the cars were allowed to run as they had at Valencia. More discussion after the event lead to the final decision which all the teams have agreed to run under. This means that engine mapping is free but no changes are to be made between qualifying and the race. In other words, nothing has changed since Valencia. The biggest difference is that all the teams have agreed, which means no more changes before the end of the year.
Next year however, exhaust positions are to be changed. The pipes must exit well above the diffuser and the FIA believe that this will stop them being used as an aerodynamic device. They may even be right at first, but you can't help thinking that F1 engineers are a pretty clever lot and will take any advantage they can. It may be possible to use the exhaust gasses to heat the rear tyres or maybe affect the airflow around the rear spoiler. We are bound to see something clever and its a good bet that someone will find something to complain about.
This is a perfect example of why rules should not be changed mid-season. There is little chance that everyone will agree to any changes while a championship is underway. Someone will always feel hard done by, and they may well be right. Apart from making the FIA look a bit silly and indecisive, this won't have much effect on the racing in the end. Thank goodness for that, because if Ferrari really have pulled themselves up to match Red Bull, we might be in for a great end to the season. Motor sport punters at Luxbet Sports Betting would have been sure to find the odds quite even! Fingers are also crossed that McLaren's dismal performance at Silverstone was a one-off. A three-way battle for the remaining races would be great to watch. We might even start to get some answers this weekend at the Nurburgring. Looking forward to it!
Showing posts with label FIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FIA. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Dramatic Finish at Silverstone
Good old British weather and confusion over blown diffusers helped to make an exciting race for the Silverstone Grand Prix. The regulation change on fuel flow while off the throttle was being discussed right up until the start of the qualifying session. Concessions due to reliability issues were the main discussion point and nobody really seemed sure what the final result would be or indeed what the final effect on car set-up would be. The final meeting was over literally 5 minutes before the session began.
Qualifying
As Q1 began there were reports of rain starting at Copse which pushed everyone out of the pit nice and early. Alonso set the early pace but was quickly overshadowed by Vettel. The Spaniard then ran wide and was forced to drive around the outside of the gravel trap to get back on the track. The track was clearly drying rather than getting wetter and so the times quickly started to fall. Lots of drivers took a go at the top, including Pastor Maldonaldo, but it was Mark Webber who was in P1 as the rain started again with 6 minutes remaining.
The shower was over by the start of Q2 so again everyone was keen to make the most of the time available. It seemed to be only Copse that was wet while the rest of the track was very dry, so many of the cars decided to go back into the pits and wait for some improvement. There weresome runs after 5 minutes or so which saw Adrian Sutil at the top of the time sheet then another patch of quiet while everyone prepared for the last attempt. With 4 minutes left those attempts began again. After the dust cleared it was Felipe Massa on top with Webber and Alonso behind. Paul di Resta made it into P9 and through to the final session.
Another early start to Q3 again. The uncertain weather pushed the drivers out early which is always good for the excitement. Unfortunately it seemed that McLaren didn't have any performance in this session. Was it a consequence of the last minute discussions on blown diffusers? Paul di Resta made a great effort to put himself into 6th with 5 minutes to go. The rest of the drivers kept trying, but ran out of steam before the end. The final grid ended with Webber on pole, Vettel second and Alonso in third. Di Resta held on to his 6th place just behind Button, but Lewis couldn't manage anything better than 10th. A dissapointing end to the session for McLaren but a great result for di Resta.
Race
As the drivers prepared for the race, the track was half wet and half dry. So much so that there were spins on the way to the grid. This meant that everybody decided to start on the intermediate tyres. As the lights went out it was Vettel who got the best start and took Webber on the way into turn 1. Button and Hamilton also got good starts with Button taking Massa and Hamilton firing himself into seventh by the time the first lap was settling down. He carried on and by lap 2 was overtaking Button.
Vettel and Webber were (as usual) making themselves a gap over the rest of the field at this point. Lewis meanwhile was out braking himself and running wide at Brooklands. Thanks to Jenson not actually having any pace at all, Hamilton managed to maintain his position and set off once again. The DRS was left off by race control until lap 6 due to the wet conditions.
Lap 9 and Alonso was gaining back some lost ground on Mark Webber. Schumacher tried to take advantage of DRS to get past Kobayashi but misjudged it badly and took his front wing off and spun the Japanese driver. He was given a penalty for that, at this track it was a 10 second stop due to the pit lane configuration making a drive through faster than completing a lap. Lewis was now gaining time Massa who was sliding about through Becketts, but not enough for Hamilton to make the pass.
Lewis continued hounding Massa as, on lap 12, Button pitted to change to dry tyres. It was clear that the intermediate tyres were running out of grip and the track was drying out fast. That was proved as Schumacher, who had changed to dry tyres with his front wing change, set the fastest lap of the race. This triggered pit stops for everyone else and Hamilton won out against Massa in the changes.
It was Jenson's turn to be fast now, and he set a new fastest lap and caught up to Felipe Massa. He couldn't do anything about it in the wet part of the track though. Lewis was now right behind Alonso. Jenson finally got into Massa's slipstream but was forced to the outside of the turn. He kept his foot in though and braved it out to get him on the way through Club. Lewis used his DRS to get close to Alonso and then got a good run onto the old pit straight where he put his car in the wet part of the track and out braked the spaniard into turn 9.
Kobayashi came into the pits a short while later and after a hesitation on release had to take avoiding action from another car. He ran into the Force India wheel gun hoses and pulled a couple of them down earning himself a penalty for an unsafe release. Meanwhile Alonso had caught back up to the back of Hamilton as his tyres were wearing, forcing the British driver to go on the defensive. Alonso got past using his DRS and Hamilton pitted on lap 25 as Alonso set another fastest lap.
Paul di Resta's luck ran out as he pitted to find the wrong set of tyres waiting for him and causing him a massive delay. Webber, Button and Massa all pitted on lap 27 while Alonso kept on increasing the pace. Vettel and Alonso headed for the pits on the next lap but the Red Bull team got a stuck wheel and Alonso got out in front. Hamilton made it through before Vettel could get out of the pit and Webber was right behind him.
The top 6 were only 11 seconds apart on lap 29 but it was clear that Alonso was going faster than the chasing Hamilton. By lap 33 Vettel was right behind Lewis. Webber was chasing him hard as well but he made an error and ran wide, bouncing across the kerbs and losing some time. Vettel mounted an attack on Hamilton but his defensive driving kept the German behind. He had to wait for his next pit stop on lap 37 before he got the chance to get past Hamilton. Button pulled into the pit for his final stop but in the rush an engineer reaching for a new gun was mistaken for the all clear signal. Jenson made it halfway back to the track with the wheel wobbling furiously before he pulled over to the side of the track.
Hamilton was being told on the radio that he needed to save fuel. This probably wasn't good news as Webber was catching him fast. It took a few laps to get there, but by lap 46, Webber managed to use his DRS to get past and into third. Alonso was now 17 seconds ahead of Vettel and safe, Webber was faster than his team mate though and set off to catch him. Massa suddenly seemed to come alive as well and despite being quite a way behind Hamilton, was closing down the gap by well over a second a lap.
Mark Webber caught up to Vettel on lap 51 and despite a good try he couldn't make it past his team mate. A radio message was sent telling Webber to hold the gap but it didn't look like he was taking much notice. On the last lap Massa had caught Hamilton and tried to outbrake him on the outside, Lewis held on and hit the Ferrari in the side. Massa was in front on the way into the last turn but couldn't get the power down and ran wide trying to save a slide. Hamilton kept his head and just managed to get in front on the way over the line. It finished up with Alonso first, Vettel second and Webber in third. Hamilton took fourth from Massa with Perez taking sixth.
It later came out the Webber had been told several times over the closing laps not to overtake Vettel but had decided to ignore the orders and carry on. Fair play to the Aussie but he can't be making himself popular in the team with moves like that. It can't be forgotten that team orders are allowed this year, Red Bull were perfectly justified in asking him not to overtake. Of course its Webber who has the wheel in his hand and thank goodness he's not the kind of guy to settle for just any old position.
Lewis Hamilton's last ditch attempt to keep his place was a great demonstration of why he is always in the news. It was surprising hearing the talk before the race how many people talked up his chances despite there being two other Brits on the grid in front of him. (Scotland still counts as long as they're doing well right?) Hamilton's sheer passion and drive to do well really puts some people off. But for others, its the whole reason he's popular. I'm can see why he turns people off, but he has to have that kind of self belief and passion to get himself into his position, never mind get the results he does. He doesn't take any prisoners and when it pays off, like today, its a heroic move. But when it doesn't, well we all saw what happened after Monaco.
The blown diffuser confusion was the oddest news of the weekend though. It had seemed as though everything was decided well before the event began, but F1 is a complicated business and things are never quite that straightforward. Most of the complaints seemed to be arguing that reliability would be hurt by the regulations, followed by a fair bit of, 'well if they can do that, we should be able to do this.' Some of it may well even be true, but it certainly doesn't look well organised from here. There were assurances from various people that its all sorted out now, but is it? I guess we'll find out very soon. It does seem that McLaren lost out, Ferrari gained and Red Bull probably stayed where they were. Again we'll find out if there is a way to even the score very soon.
Bring on the next race!
Qualifying
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| Photo Courtesy of Force India |
The shower was over by the start of Q2 so again everyone was keen to make the most of the time available. It seemed to be only Copse that was wet while the rest of the track was very dry, so many of the cars decided to go back into the pits and wait for some improvement. There weresome runs after 5 minutes or so which saw Adrian Sutil at the top of the time sheet then another patch of quiet while everyone prepared for the last attempt. With 4 minutes left those attempts began again. After the dust cleared it was Felipe Massa on top with Webber and Alonso behind. Paul di Resta made it into P9 and through to the final session.
Another early start to Q3 again. The uncertain weather pushed the drivers out early which is always good for the excitement. Unfortunately it seemed that McLaren didn't have any performance in this session. Was it a consequence of the last minute discussions on blown diffusers? Paul di Resta made a great effort to put himself into 6th with 5 minutes to go. The rest of the drivers kept trying, but ran out of steam before the end. The final grid ended with Webber on pole, Vettel second and Alonso in third. Di Resta held on to his 6th place just behind Button, but Lewis couldn't manage anything better than 10th. A dissapointing end to the session for McLaren but a great result for di Resta.
Race
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| Photo Courtesy of Team Lotus |
Vettel and Webber were (as usual) making themselves a gap over the rest of the field at this point. Lewis meanwhile was out braking himself and running wide at Brooklands. Thanks to Jenson not actually having any pace at all, Hamilton managed to maintain his position and set off once again. The DRS was left off by race control until lap 6 due to the wet conditions.
Lap 9 and Alonso was gaining back some lost ground on Mark Webber. Schumacher tried to take advantage of DRS to get past Kobayashi but misjudged it badly and took his front wing off and spun the Japanese driver. He was given a penalty for that, at this track it was a 10 second stop due to the pit lane configuration making a drive through faster than completing a lap. Lewis was now gaining time Massa who was sliding about through Becketts, but not enough for Hamilton to make the pass.
Lewis continued hounding Massa as, on lap 12, Button pitted to change to dry tyres. It was clear that the intermediate tyres were running out of grip and the track was drying out fast. That was proved as Schumacher, who had changed to dry tyres with his front wing change, set the fastest lap of the race. This triggered pit stops for everyone else and Hamilton won out against Massa in the changes.
It was Jenson's turn to be fast now, and he set a new fastest lap and caught up to Felipe Massa. He couldn't do anything about it in the wet part of the track though. Lewis was now right behind Alonso. Jenson finally got into Massa's slipstream but was forced to the outside of the turn. He kept his foot in though and braved it out to get him on the way through Club. Lewis used his DRS to get close to Alonso and then got a good run onto the old pit straight where he put his car in the wet part of the track and out braked the spaniard into turn 9.
Kobayashi came into the pits a short while later and after a hesitation on release had to take avoiding action from another car. He ran into the Force India wheel gun hoses and pulled a couple of them down earning himself a penalty for an unsafe release. Meanwhile Alonso had caught back up to the back of Hamilton as his tyres were wearing, forcing the British driver to go on the defensive. Alonso got past using his DRS and Hamilton pitted on lap 25 as Alonso set another fastest lap.
Paul di Resta's luck ran out as he pitted to find the wrong set of tyres waiting for him and causing him a massive delay. Webber, Button and Massa all pitted on lap 27 while Alonso kept on increasing the pace. Vettel and Alonso headed for the pits on the next lap but the Red Bull team got a stuck wheel and Alonso got out in front. Hamilton made it through before Vettel could get out of the pit and Webber was right behind him.
The top 6 were only 11 seconds apart on lap 29 but it was clear that Alonso was going faster than the chasing Hamilton. By lap 33 Vettel was right behind Lewis. Webber was chasing him hard as well but he made an error and ran wide, bouncing across the kerbs and losing some time. Vettel mounted an attack on Hamilton but his defensive driving kept the German behind. He had to wait for his next pit stop on lap 37 before he got the chance to get past Hamilton. Button pulled into the pit for his final stop but in the rush an engineer reaching for a new gun was mistaken for the all clear signal. Jenson made it halfway back to the track with the wheel wobbling furiously before he pulled over to the side of the track.
Hamilton was being told on the radio that he needed to save fuel. This probably wasn't good news as Webber was catching him fast. It took a few laps to get there, but by lap 46, Webber managed to use his DRS to get past and into third. Alonso was now 17 seconds ahead of Vettel and safe, Webber was faster than his team mate though and set off to catch him. Massa suddenly seemed to come alive as well and despite being quite a way behind Hamilton, was closing down the gap by well over a second a lap.
 |
| Even Patrick Stewart Couldn't 'Make it so' for Di Resta. |
It later came out the Webber had been told several times over the closing laps not to overtake Vettel but had decided to ignore the orders and carry on. Fair play to the Aussie but he can't be making himself popular in the team with moves like that. It can't be forgotten that team orders are allowed this year, Red Bull were perfectly justified in asking him not to overtake. Of course its Webber who has the wheel in his hand and thank goodness he's not the kind of guy to settle for just any old position.
Lewis Hamilton's last ditch attempt to keep his place was a great demonstration of why he is always in the news. It was surprising hearing the talk before the race how many people talked up his chances despite there being two other Brits on the grid in front of him. (Scotland still counts as long as they're doing well right?) Hamilton's sheer passion and drive to do well really puts some people off. But for others, its the whole reason he's popular. I'm can see why he turns people off, but he has to have that kind of self belief and passion to get himself into his position, never mind get the results he does. He doesn't take any prisoners and when it pays off, like today, its a heroic move. But when it doesn't, well we all saw what happened after Monaco.
The blown diffuser confusion was the oddest news of the weekend though. It had seemed as though everything was decided well before the event began, but F1 is a complicated business and things are never quite that straightforward. Most of the complaints seemed to be arguing that reliability would be hurt by the regulations, followed by a fair bit of, 'well if they can do that, we should be able to do this.' Some of it may well even be true, but it certainly doesn't look well organised from here. There were assurances from various people that its all sorted out now, but is it? I guess we'll find out very soon. It does seem that McLaren lost out, Ferrari gained and Red Bull probably stayed where they were. Again we'll find out if there is a way to even the score very soon.
Bring on the next race!
Friday, 1 July 2011
2014 Engine Rules Confirmed
The World Motor Sport Council voted on the engine regulations for 2014 on Thursday and the proposed changes have now been ratified and accepted. This means that the proposed rules are now accepted by everybody who has a choice about them and so are highly likely to go ahead. But what are the new changes all about?
The Engine
The new engine configuration will be a 1.6 litre V6 using a single turbocharger and energy recovery systems. This layout is a compromise on the original suggestion of an inline 4 to help keep Formula 1 more appealing to sports car manufacturers (read Ferrari mostly!) It also allows the engine to be used as a stressed part of the chassis which helps the manufacturers to build a better car around it.
Direct fuel injection will be used at up to 500bar along with a fuel flow control system to help limit maximum power. The engine speed has been raised to 15000rpm, apparently to allow engineers more flexibility in power and energy management. Because the fuel flow has remained the same this should lead to even more efficient engines than the previous proposals.
There will also be two energy recovery systems. First, a beefed up KERS with twice the current energy storage. It has not been made clear exactly how this will affect its operation during a race yet. It could be the same time allowed to use it with double the power boost, double the time allowed at current power levels or some variation in between. Second will be an exhaust energy recovery system linked to the turbocharger. Turbos are normally run by exhaust gases anyway so exactly what this will turn out to be is still a little unclear.
The Effects
One of the complaints about the new regulations is that the noise will not be the same. Formula 1 cars are incredibly noisy things and it is thought that this is one of the big selling points of the championship. Personally I'm not so sure. No doubt the noise is one of the things that you always remember about seeing a Formula 1 car in person, but its not as if there is suddenly a need to use silencers. It will sound different of course, but you can be sure that it will still be very loud indeed.
Formula 1 has used inline 4 cylinder engines in the original turbo era during the 1980's. Although there was a lot of talk about how fair the turbos were compared to normally aspirated engines, I don't seem to recall any talk at all about the noise.
Efficiency
The efficiency of the engines has been talked about a lot and this is something where I think the FIA are moving in the right direction. The rev limit on the engines has been raised, but in order to take advantage of those extra power cycles you need to fill the engine with fuel. The flow rate has not been raised so that means you absolutely must have a more efficient engine. The only ways around this simple equation is to use more of the wasted power and this is where the energy recovery comes into play. If we assume that the exhaust system will be used for more than just spinning the turbo, this is where the engineers get to start being clever and think up new ways to increase the amount of forward motion from a set amount of fuel. It seems that, as long as a little freedom is given in this area, we might actually see some interesting technology start to appear from F1 again.
I have seen it mentioned that Formula 1 would save more fuel by rearranging the logistics of the races than by reducing the fuel used in the race cars. In purely mathematical terms that is absolutely true, but it does miss the point a little. Fuel prices are not going to go down at any point and it makes no sense for F1 to continue along what is essentially a dead end in car development. The current engines are way beyond what can be responsibly put into a road car already. Changing the rules will bring them back into the area where they have some connection to the cars ordinary people use. A pretty tenuous connection yes, but it is there. Efficiency is the new feature that all cars must have, in much the same way as safety was before it. For Formula 1 to be lagging behind won't be good for its image, and for the manufacturers that image, and the sales it generates, is everything.
The Engine
The new engine configuration will be a 1.6 litre V6 using a single turbocharger and energy recovery systems. This layout is a compromise on the original suggestion of an inline 4 to help keep Formula 1 more appealing to sports car manufacturers (read Ferrari mostly!) It also allows the engine to be used as a stressed part of the chassis which helps the manufacturers to build a better car around it.
Direct fuel injection will be used at up to 500bar along with a fuel flow control system to help limit maximum power. The engine speed has been raised to 15000rpm, apparently to allow engineers more flexibility in power and energy management. Because the fuel flow has remained the same this should lead to even more efficient engines than the previous proposals.
There will also be two energy recovery systems. First, a beefed up KERS with twice the current energy storage. It has not been made clear exactly how this will affect its operation during a race yet. It could be the same time allowed to use it with double the power boost, double the time allowed at current power levels or some variation in between. Second will be an exhaust energy recovery system linked to the turbocharger. Turbos are normally run by exhaust gases anyway so exactly what this will turn out to be is still a little unclear.
The Effects
One of the complaints about the new regulations is that the noise will not be the same. Formula 1 cars are incredibly noisy things and it is thought that this is one of the big selling points of the championship. Personally I'm not so sure. No doubt the noise is one of the things that you always remember about seeing a Formula 1 car in person, but its not as if there is suddenly a need to use silencers. It will sound different of course, but you can be sure that it will still be very loud indeed.
Formula 1 has used inline 4 cylinder engines in the original turbo era during the 1980's. Although there was a lot of talk about how fair the turbos were compared to normally aspirated engines, I don't seem to recall any talk at all about the noise.
Efficiency
The efficiency of the engines has been talked about a lot and this is something where I think the FIA are moving in the right direction. The rev limit on the engines has been raised, but in order to take advantage of those extra power cycles you need to fill the engine with fuel. The flow rate has not been raised so that means you absolutely must have a more efficient engine. The only ways around this simple equation is to use more of the wasted power and this is where the energy recovery comes into play. If we assume that the exhaust system will be used for more than just spinning the turbo, this is where the engineers get to start being clever and think up new ways to increase the amount of forward motion from a set amount of fuel. It seems that, as long as a little freedom is given in this area, we might actually see some interesting technology start to appear from F1 again.
I have seen it mentioned that Formula 1 would save more fuel by rearranging the logistics of the races than by reducing the fuel used in the race cars. In purely mathematical terms that is absolutely true, but it does miss the point a little. Fuel prices are not going to go down at any point and it makes no sense for F1 to continue along what is essentially a dead end in car development. The current engines are way beyond what can be responsibly put into a road car already. Changing the rules will bring them back into the area where they have some connection to the cars ordinary people use. A pretty tenuous connection yes, but it is there. Efficiency is the new feature that all cars must have, in much the same way as safety was before it. For Formula 1 to be lagging behind won't be good for its image, and for the manufacturers that image, and the sales it generates, is everything.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Rule Changes, Rule Changes and Changes to the Rules
The FIA have finally decided to implement the long discussed ban on blown diffusers from the British Grand Prix onwards. But of course, that on its own would be too easy, so an there is an extra change to the rules (effective immediately) which bans any change in engine mapping between qualifying and the race. Just to add a little more entertainment it has also been decided to postpone the major engine regulation changes to make Formula 1 greener, from 2013 to 2014.
The ban on hot blown diffusers has been talked about for a little while now and the FIA have finally got round to making a ruling on it. From Silverstone the teams must change their engine mapping so that when the throttle is closed no more than 10% of the maximum fuel flow is allowed into the engine. Some of the teams have been using a system where the fuel flow is kept high but the ignition is retarded so much that the fuel burns in the exhaust. This allows hot gas to exit the exhaust and create more downforce under the car. Now that this is to be restricted, we are left to wonder which cars will be most affected by the change. Its widely believed that Red Bull will see the biggest hit but nothing is certain until the British Grand Prix.
The teams have also been issued another ruling which will take effect this coming weekend in Valencia. Once qualifying is finished there are to be no changes to the engine mapping until the race is underway. Previously it was not regarded as a breach of Parc Fermé rules to plug in a laptop and make alterations to the ECU settings. This allowed the cars to use a far more aggressive mapping during qualifying, and then change the setting down for the race in order to stop the floor and exhaust from overheating. Again Red Bull are thought to be the biggest loser in this change. Their cars never quite seem to have the domination in the race that they show on Saturday.
It should be interesting to see if this has any noticeable effect during the European Grand Prix. Theoretically it is possible to change the engine mapping during a pit stop. But due to the time required, no-one seems to believe that it will happen, which means that the other cars may be a little closer to Vettel than normal. Some are unhappy that these changes weren't left until the end of the season but it does seem to slow down another (presumably) expensive line of research and may even help to close up the championship race. Which is never going to be a bad thing!
Finally the major engine changes that were to be introduced in 2013. It was believed that the FIA had secured agreement for a change to 4 cylinder turbo-charged engines to be introduced in 2013 but now, after a meeting with all the teams a new agreement has been reached. And this time that means that everyone agrees. This will see Formula 1 moving to 1.6 litre V6 turbo-charged engines instead of the current 3.5 litre V8. There will also be a reduction in fuel flow along with a rev limit reduction from 18,000 to 12,000 rpm which should see fuel usage drop by up to 35%. These changes should see the current power output of around 750bhp stay roughly the same. KERS will also be beefed up to twice its current output.
These changes are intended to make the sport greener, but how green can a sport like motor racing really be? These are cars that have no purpose other than moving one man around and around in a circle as fast as possible. Not going anywhere as quick as you can is, by its very nature, a waste of fuel and energy. It is hoped however that the turbo chargers and energy recovery systems may boost the use of the same technologies on road cars, which can only be a good thing.
In my opinion, the only real way to make F1 greener would be to limit the total amount of fuel used per race and drop that amount season by season. The teams would be allowed to use whatever other sources of energy they can (KERS, solar power, Mr. Fusion etc.) to make up the shortfall and increase the efficiency. Then we might see a technical battle worth watching and it might have a greater impact on the rest of the road-going world.
The ban on hot blown diffusers has been talked about for a little while now and the FIA have finally got round to making a ruling on it. From Silverstone the teams must change their engine mapping so that when the throttle is closed no more than 10% of the maximum fuel flow is allowed into the engine. Some of the teams have been using a system where the fuel flow is kept high but the ignition is retarded so much that the fuel burns in the exhaust. This allows hot gas to exit the exhaust and create more downforce under the car. Now that this is to be restricted, we are left to wonder which cars will be most affected by the change. Its widely believed that Red Bull will see the biggest hit but nothing is certain until the British Grand Prix.
The teams have also been issued another ruling which will take effect this coming weekend in Valencia. Once qualifying is finished there are to be no changes to the engine mapping until the race is underway. Previously it was not regarded as a breach of Parc Fermé rules to plug in a laptop and make alterations to the ECU settings. This allowed the cars to use a far more aggressive mapping during qualifying, and then change the setting down for the race in order to stop the floor and exhaust from overheating. Again Red Bull are thought to be the biggest loser in this change. Their cars never quite seem to have the domination in the race that they show on Saturday.
It should be interesting to see if this has any noticeable effect during the European Grand Prix. Theoretically it is possible to change the engine mapping during a pit stop. But due to the time required, no-one seems to believe that it will happen, which means that the other cars may be a little closer to Vettel than normal. Some are unhappy that these changes weren't left until the end of the season but it does seem to slow down another (presumably) expensive line of research and may even help to close up the championship race. Which is never going to be a bad thing!
Finally the major engine changes that were to be introduced in 2013. It was believed that the FIA had secured agreement for a change to 4 cylinder turbo-charged engines to be introduced in 2013 but now, after a meeting with all the teams a new agreement has been reached. And this time that means that everyone agrees. This will see Formula 1 moving to 1.6 litre V6 turbo-charged engines instead of the current 3.5 litre V8. There will also be a reduction in fuel flow along with a rev limit reduction from 18,000 to 12,000 rpm which should see fuel usage drop by up to 35%. These changes should see the current power output of around 750bhp stay roughly the same. KERS will also be beefed up to twice its current output.
These changes are intended to make the sport greener, but how green can a sport like motor racing really be? These are cars that have no purpose other than moving one man around and around in a circle as fast as possible. Not going anywhere as quick as you can is, by its very nature, a waste of fuel and energy. It is hoped however that the turbo chargers and energy recovery systems may boost the use of the same technologies on road cars, which can only be a good thing.
In my opinion, the only real way to make F1 greener would be to limit the total amount of fuel used per race and drop that amount season by season. The teams would be allowed to use whatever other sources of energy they can (KERS, solar power, Mr. Fusion etc.) to make up the shortfall and increase the efficiency. Then we might see a technical battle worth watching and it might have a greater impact on the rest of the road-going world.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Bahrain Race Won't Go Ahead (Possibly)
After the FIA announcement last Friday it appears that they forgot an important point about moving the Bahrain Grand Prix. This would be that the rules require unanimous agreement from from all competitors in order to change the championship calendar. This agreement does not seem to be something the teams want to give.
FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) has written to the FIA telling them that they object to moving the race on purely logistical grounds. They apparently claim that this would essentially mean that their staff would get no break between the end of this season and the start of the next. An opinion which was mentioned before the FIA announced the reinstatement of the race. It is in some ways disappointing that there is no mention of the political reasons to call off the race. Formula 1 is a pragmatic business, however, and these are solid grounds for not holding the event without needing to bring up the difficulties of international politics.
Bernie appears to have forgotten his previous enthusiasm for going back to Bahrain and is now saying that the region is not as stable as the authorities are claiming. He is apparently now trying to get the FIA to overturn their decision by calling for the race to be moved to the end of the season to allow more time for the situation to be assessed.
The confusion is no doubt already costing some people money as travel plans may or may not need to be changed. The one thing that is needed is a definite decision one way or the other. At the moment it would appear that the teams have the deciding vote and they do not want it to happen. Presumably the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix will be pleased with the way things appear to be turning out, trying to organise the country's first F1 race must be challenge enough without being unsure as to when, or indeed if, it will take place.
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| Photo courtesy of emifaulk |
FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) has written to the FIA telling them that they object to moving the race on purely logistical grounds. They apparently claim that this would essentially mean that their staff would get no break between the end of this season and the start of the next. An opinion which was mentioned before the FIA announced the reinstatement of the race. It is in some ways disappointing that there is no mention of the political reasons to call off the race. Formula 1 is a pragmatic business, however, and these are solid grounds for not holding the event without needing to bring up the difficulties of international politics.
Bernie appears to have forgotten his previous enthusiasm for going back to Bahrain and is now saying that the region is not as stable as the authorities are claiming. He is apparently now trying to get the FIA to overturn their decision by calling for the race to be moved to the end of the season to allow more time for the situation to be assessed.
The confusion is no doubt already costing some people money as travel plans may or may not need to be changed. The one thing that is needed is a definite decision one way or the other. At the moment it would appear that the teams have the deciding vote and they do not want it to happen. Presumably the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix will be pleased with the way things appear to be turning out, trying to organise the country's first F1 race must be challenge enough without being unsure as to when, or indeed if, it will take place.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Bahrain Race Will Go Ahead
The FIA have today decided that the Bahrain Grand Prix will now be held on the 30th of October. The race was originally scheduled to be the first race of the year but was cancelled due to civil unrest which started before the planned date. A decision was going to be made earlier in the year as to whether the race would be run but the deadline was extended until today.
The chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit said, "as a country we have faced a difficult time, but stability has returned." Not everyone agrees though. A state of emergency was lifted on Wednesday but there are reports of police using rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress protests today. Indeed some think that the state of emergency has been lifted, at least partly, in order to allow the race to go ahead.
The decision to reinstate the race is controversial. Mark Webber said, "When people in a country are being hurt, the issues are bigger than the sport." There is an online petition calling on the teams to withdraw from the race which already has over 350,000 signatures. Max Mosley suggests that sponsors will not be happy to be associated with the events in Bahrain, and the teams themselves are not keen on extending the season into December. This will be to accommodate the Indian Grand Prix which was to have been held in October.
The Formula 1 Teams Association may still not agree to moving the Indian race when they meet to discuss the FIA decision. It seems that returning to Bahrain may not be the best decision for Formula 1. It could be seen as condoning regime which has used highly questionable methods to repress protests.
The chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit said, "as a country we have faced a difficult time, but stability has returned." Not everyone agrees though. A state of emergency was lifted on Wednesday but there are reports of police using rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress protests today. Indeed some think that the state of emergency has been lifted, at least partly, in order to allow the race to go ahead.
The decision to reinstate the race is controversial. Mark Webber said, "When people in a country are being hurt, the issues are bigger than the sport." There is an online petition calling on the teams to withdraw from the race which already has over 350,000 signatures. Max Mosley suggests that sponsors will not be happy to be associated with the events in Bahrain, and the teams themselves are not keen on extending the season into December. This will be to accommodate the Indian Grand Prix which was to have been held in October.
The Formula 1 Teams Association may still not agree to moving the Indian race when they meet to discuss the FIA decision. It seems that returning to Bahrain may not be the best decision for Formula 1. It could be seen as condoning regime which has used highly questionable methods to repress protests.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Frustrated Hamilton Apologises
Lewis Hamilton has gone back to the FIA stewards at Monaco and to explain and apologise for his comments in live interview with BBC TV.
The Frustrated driver was being asked how his race went when he commented that he is the only driver being called in to the stewards after almost every race. He wondered if he was being victimised and when asked why he thought that was he replied, "I don't know, maybe its because of I'm black. That's what Ali G says."
Lewis was clearly fed-up with the way the race turned out for him but, apart from his poor qualifying, there is nowhere to place the blame but on himself. He claimed that Massa and Maldonaldo turned in on him deliberately as he tried to pass, but it was obvious from the TV coverage that he was nowhere near alongside at the point of contact. It was clear that Hamilton was trying far too hard to get a result from a race where he felt he had a chance of victory, and instead cost himself a good result.
Hamilton's post-race outburst could be the thing that costs him more though. His comments, although spoken in a humorous way, won't be taken that way by a lot of people and will surely turn some people against him. There is also the chance of a fine from the FIA for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Personally, I still think he is a great driver who really needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. Its great to hear someone speak their mind, but on live TV, not a good plan. Its a shame that he is likely to be attacked by the press over what was essentially an off-the-cuff, poor taste joke, but again there is only one person to blame. His best plan now is to get a public apology out, keep quiet and deliver the best race of his life at Canada.
The Frustrated driver was being asked how his race went when he commented that he is the only driver being called in to the stewards after almost every race. He wondered if he was being victimised and when asked why he thought that was he replied, "I don't know, maybe its because of I'm black. That's what Ali G says."
Lewis was clearly fed-up with the way the race turned out for him but, apart from his poor qualifying, there is nowhere to place the blame but on himself. He claimed that Massa and Maldonaldo turned in on him deliberately as he tried to pass, but it was obvious from the TV coverage that he was nowhere near alongside at the point of contact. It was clear that Hamilton was trying far too hard to get a result from a race where he felt he had a chance of victory, and instead cost himself a good result.
Hamilton's post-race outburst could be the thing that costs him more though. His comments, although spoken in a humorous way, won't be taken that way by a lot of people and will surely turn some people against him. There is also the chance of a fine from the FIA for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Personally, I still think he is a great driver who really needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. Its great to hear someone speak their mind, but on live TV, not a good plan. Its a shame that he is likely to be attacked by the press over what was essentially an off-the-cuff, poor taste joke, but again there is only one person to blame. His best plan now is to get a public apology out, keep quiet and deliver the best race of his life at Canada.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Dramatic Start to Monaco Grand Prix
The Grand Prix weekend in Monte Carlo got the excitement underway nice and early by providing some news before any of the cars had even turned a wheel. A maintenance truck caught fire in the middle of St. Devote and blazed away nicely before being bought under control. This lead to some damage to the tarmac which required emergency repairs less than 24 hours before the cars were due to take to the track. The pre-Grand Prix excitement didn't stop there however. Jenson Button had to take avoiding action from a fork lift truck whilst on foot in the pits, but avoided getting hit. The FIA settled another mystery as they announced that the DRS would not be used in the tunnel at any point during the weekend. The activation zone for the race will be on the start/finish straight with the detection point immediately after the swimming pool complex.
The first free practice sessions, as usual, start a day early in Monaco so the drivers took to the track today. Free practice 1 started slowly as the top teams waited for the backmarkers to clean up the track and start putting down some rubber for them to run on. Seemingly from nowhere water started to appear on the start line, running across the track towards the pits. This bought out the red flags for a while as water supply was turned off to allow the cars to complete the session safely.
Mark Webber had a start to forget as he suffered gearbox problems early on and had to sit out most of the session while it was repaired. Towards the end of the session the drivers started going out for faster runs. Except Schumacher who lost grip on the way into turn 1. He tried to save it by heading down the escape road but slid sideways into the tyre wall damaging his car. The session ended with Vettel quickest followed by Alonso and Rosberg. The McLaren's should have been closer but traffic stopped Hamilton at least from showing his full pace.
Free practice 2 later on in the day allowed the drivers to really start attacking the track. There were a few front wings lost, and a few hairy moments for several drivers. Massa was one showing his car control skills as he fought a very loose Ferrari inches away from the barriers. An exciting display, but not fast enough to worry the top spot on the scoreboard. Alonso was the driver who took that place with Hamilton chasing hard just one tenth behind. Rosberg and Button both got faster times than Vettel, with Massa and Schumacher squeezing in front of Webber.
The super-soft tyres seem to be lasting longer than the teams had feared which means there could be as little as two stops per driver in the race. But so far predictions have been a bit unreliable on that front, so we will have to wait and see. Red Bull, for once, don't seem to have the advantage as they have at all the other races this year. Were they running high fuel? Or is it possible that the lower speed here really isn't suiting their car? Whichever way it turns out, this must be giving Ferrari, McLaren and even Mercedes hope that they may not be invincible come sunday. Not to mention the hope that we won't see the wonky finger that gets on Jenson's nerves so much again this weekend.
The Drag Reduction System is the other unknown here. On a track that is famous for being a procession, anything that can be done to shake things up is a good thing. But is the straight long enough? The cars are coming from a very low speed as they open the flap, and the deciding factor for getting a pass done is going to be rear grip rather than top speed. There isn't a lot of space to play with either, so the chances of seeing a safety car are probably at their highest for the whole season. This could be the most exciting Monaco Grand Prix for years or it could be a damp squib in the middle of an awesome season. I can't wait to find out which!
Predictions are much more tricky than usual. I'd love to think that Jenson could do well here as he seems to have a safe smooth style that suits this track. I just don't think he has the raw speed though, so lets go for Alonso on pole, with a mistake in strategy spoiling his Sunday. Hamilton first, Button second and Vettel third. What do you think?
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| Photo Courtesy of Team Lotus |
The first free practice sessions, as usual, start a day early in Monaco so the drivers took to the track today. Free practice 1 started slowly as the top teams waited for the backmarkers to clean up the track and start putting down some rubber for them to run on. Seemingly from nowhere water started to appear on the start line, running across the track towards the pits. This bought out the red flags for a while as water supply was turned off to allow the cars to complete the session safely.
Mark Webber had a start to forget as he suffered gearbox problems early on and had to sit out most of the session while it was repaired. Towards the end of the session the drivers started going out for faster runs. Except Schumacher who lost grip on the way into turn 1. He tried to save it by heading down the escape road but slid sideways into the tyre wall damaging his car. The session ended with Vettel quickest followed by Alonso and Rosberg. The McLaren's should have been closer but traffic stopped Hamilton at least from showing his full pace.
Free practice 2 later on in the day allowed the drivers to really start attacking the track. There were a few front wings lost, and a few hairy moments for several drivers. Massa was one showing his car control skills as he fought a very loose Ferrari inches away from the barriers. An exciting display, but not fast enough to worry the top spot on the scoreboard. Alonso was the driver who took that place with Hamilton chasing hard just one tenth behind. Rosberg and Button both got faster times than Vettel, with Massa and Schumacher squeezing in front of Webber.
The super-soft tyres seem to be lasting longer than the teams had feared which means there could be as little as two stops per driver in the race. But so far predictions have been a bit unreliable on that front, so we will have to wait and see. Red Bull, for once, don't seem to have the advantage as they have at all the other races this year. Were they running high fuel? Or is it possible that the lower speed here really isn't suiting their car? Whichever way it turns out, this must be giving Ferrari, McLaren and even Mercedes hope that they may not be invincible come sunday. Not to mention the hope that we won't see the wonky finger that gets on Jenson's nerves so much again this weekend.
The Drag Reduction System is the other unknown here. On a track that is famous for being a procession, anything that can be done to shake things up is a good thing. But is the straight long enough? The cars are coming from a very low speed as they open the flap, and the deciding factor for getting a pass done is going to be rear grip rather than top speed. There isn't a lot of space to play with either, so the chances of seeing a safety car are probably at their highest for the whole season. This could be the most exciting Monaco Grand Prix for years or it could be a damp squib in the middle of an awesome season. I can't wait to find out which!
Predictions are much more tricky than usual. I'd love to think that Jenson could do well here as he seems to have a safe smooth style that suits this track. I just don't think he has the raw speed though, so lets go for Alonso on pole, with a mistake in strategy spoiling his Sunday. Hamilton first, Button second and Vettel third. What do you think?
Sunday, 22 May 2011
McLaren Nearly Catch Red Bull in Spain
Red Bull's qualifying pace deserted them in the main event in Barcelona as McLaren took the fight almost all the way to the front. The race was the best part of the weekend despite a DRS miscalculation by the FIA, which only proves that the Pirelli P Zero's are the biggest factor in Formula one's rediscovered excitement.
Qualifying
Saturday started badly for Nick Heidfeld after his car caught fire in the third practice session. Heidfeld pulled to the side of the track and got out safely but his car was severely damaged. The team worked as hard as they could but the limited time meant that it couldn't be repaired in time for Q1. Renault claimed that a cracked exhaust was the culprit but there seemed to be a huge amount of fire for that. It may well have been the start, but something a lot more flammable was involved to get the car burning that well.
This meant that there was one less car to beat in Q1 for the remaining drivers which should have taken the pressure off a little. But with a two second difference in performance between soft and hard tyres some of the teams were nervous enough to run the option tyre in the first session. Mercedes and Ferrari both used a set to get into Q2 which cut down on their supply for the race.
In Q2 the usual suspects quickly rose to the top of the time sheets, all of them using the softer tyres. As the end of the session closed in it became clear that Massa's time might not be enough to get to Q3 as he was pushed further and further down the order. The biggest news came from Heikki Kovalainen who put in a last minute lap to beat both Force India cars and take the last place in Q3. It was probably not the best move for the Lotus team from a race strategy point of view, but its great to see them moving up the field regardless.
Q3 was a relatively quiet session. The new tyres are forcing the teams to be very careful about using any when they don't have to. This meant that everyone would only try a maximum of one run, with Scumacher not even managing that. He went out on the hard tyre and came back in before setting a time, which gave him the choice of tyres to start the race on. Red Bull waited just long enough for McLaren to set some times before sending their drivers out. Vettel went first and embarrassed the silver cars by posting a time 0.8 seconds faster than Hamilton could achieve. Webber then went and did the unthinkable by beating his team mate by 0.2 seconds and proving once again that Red Bull are the toppest of the top teams this year. The only other real surprise came from Alonso who, this time out, got rid of his fifth place curse and beat Button to fourth on the gird.
Race
Nick Heidfeld was expected to start on soft tyres due to his lack of running in qualifying, so it was a surprise to seem him line up on the grid on hard tyres. There was speculation that Scumacher would start on hard tyres having saved his softs in qualifying but he stuck with the more standard softs for the first stint.
Off the line Fernando Alonso got a blinder as he brilliantly managed to find a gap and slide past both Red Bulls into the lead of the race in turn 1. In the confusion behind, Mark Webber dropped back behind Sebastien Vettel and Jenson Button lost out even more badly, finding himself in tenth as the smoke cleared. The end of the lap saw Kobayashi in the pit for a new front wing and the race was underway.
The top five cars were very close as the Drag Reduction System activated on lap 3. This showed that the zone was set wrongly as the cars closed in, but didn't get alongside with the rear wing flap open. Button started his fight back regardless, pushing Felipe Massa into a few mistakes early on.
The pit stops started early with some cars coming in on lap 9 and the majority following them in on the next laps. Vettel came in on lap 10 for the first of four stops and ended up behind Button. But not for long, even without the benefit of DRS. Lap 11 saw Alonso and Webber pit in order to stop Vettel gaining too much advantage. As they came out of the pit lane the German dispatched the last of his traffic and ended up directly behind Alonso once more.
By lap 12 almost everyone had completed their first stops, except for Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta who was now up to sixth. It seemed that Button would be trying a three stop strategy despite the lack of success last time it was tried. Lewis Hamilton seemed to have the fastest car at this stage of the race, consistently posting fastesr laps than the people ahead of him.
Jenson finally stopped for new tyres on lap 14 behind some traffic, which stood a good chance of spoiling his race already. Di Resta went longest of anyone though, stopping on Lap 16. Fernando Alonso was still holding his own at the front, with Vettel and Hamilton chasing him hard but not able to make any further progress.
Vettel stopped again on lap 19 putting the hard tyres on this time and cementing the fact that he was on a four stop strategy. As Webber caught the leaders the rest of them started to pit. Alonso failed to stay in front of Vettel after his stop this time around and it seemed that Red Bull would carry on in their usual manner and dominate the rest of the race. But Lewis Hamilton was still putting in fast laps, and even though he stayed out two laps longer than Alonso, he beat him out of the pits and took second place.
By this time Nick Heidfeld had moved onto a set of the brand new soft tyres he had available and started to charge up through the standings. Mark Webber was stuck behind Alonso after a very tight pit lane race and despite having the Drag Reduction System available, couldn't make it past the Spaniard. Despite having massive high speed cornering pace the Red Bull couldn't make enough difference to get past in the slower sections.
Hamilton was gradually closing the gap towards Vettel now. Jenson dropped into the pits again, the three stop strategy still seemed to be working so far. The new tyres also allowed him to start catching up with Alonso and Webber's fight. Webber eventually got close enough to throw himself down the inside and past, only for Alonso to switch back and regain the position at the next corner. Meanwhile Vettel dropped into the pits for yet another set of tyres.
Felipe Massa slowly slid down the order and now his afternoon got worse as he lost the back of his car and stopped sideways just off the track. The engine was still running though and so he continued. Hamilton got a fresh set of tyres to continue his hunt of Vettel. Throughout the afternoon the two Mercedes were fighting each other hard, Michael was making sure to stay in front of his younger team mate this time out.
As the race started heading towards the closin stages, Button's tyres were still surviving, and Heidfeld was climbing further up the score sheet. By lap 48 Webber was in the pits again for a second set of hard tyres, followed by the rest of the front runners. No change in position this time around but it became clear that Vettel was not using the Kers system on the Red Bull. As Hamilton slowly caught up, Vettel's team came on the radio telling him to start using it again.
Kovaleinen came off the track up ended up against the barriers bringing out the yellow flags. Vettel, Hamilton, Button and Alguersuari were put under investigation after the race for failing to slow down in the yellow zone. Hamilton's speed kept the gap to Vettel heading down and down, but the laps were also running out. As Hamilton got into the DRS activation zone it seemed that his car was faster, but the German's defensive driving was faultless. The McLaren looked more settled and much more comfortable holding the racing line than the Red Bull. Despite this Vettel had the better drive out of the last corner and could defend into turn 1.
Felipe Massa was suffering badly by now with what turned out to be gearbox troubles, and dropped out of the race. Jenson was still keeping Webber behind at this time and with the end of the race approaching fast, it was clear the Englishman would take the last place on the podium. Hamilton meanwhile, was getting more ragged behind Vettel and couldn't make up the difference to get past. The race ended with Vettel first and Hamilton only 0.6 seconds behind. Jenson finished third with Webber taking fourth. Alonso ended the race in fifth with Schumacher finally getting a decent result in sixth followed by Rosberg in seventh. Nick Heidfeld finished a great race for him in eighth place.
The steward's investigation after the race ended up with all the drivers involved receiving only a reprimand.
The FIA did get the DRS wrong here. Almost no overtakes came solely from the system but still the race was not another overtake-less bore as usually happens in Spain. From Canada onwards there will be two DRS zones to stop this problem despite the shorter straights. But its the tyres that are really creating the change now. Pirelli have almost single-handedly revitalised Formula 1 into an exciting, dramatic race series. And the only thing that can spoil that is Red Bull walking away with every race. McLaren are closing the gap in the races. But Hispania may fix that for us, if they follow through on their threat to lodge a formal complaint against the teams using blown diffusers in Monaco. The next week should be interesting to say the least. Could we possibly have overtaking at Monaco?!
Full Result
Championship Standings
Qualifying
Saturday started badly for Nick Heidfeld after his car caught fire in the third practice session. Heidfeld pulled to the side of the track and got out safely but his car was severely damaged. The team worked as hard as they could but the limited time meant that it couldn't be repaired in time for Q1. Renault claimed that a cracked exhaust was the culprit but there seemed to be a huge amount of fire for that. It may well have been the start, but something a lot more flammable was involved to get the car burning that well.
This meant that there was one less car to beat in Q1 for the remaining drivers which should have taken the pressure off a little. But with a two second difference in performance between soft and hard tyres some of the teams were nervous enough to run the option tyre in the first session. Mercedes and Ferrari both used a set to get into Q2 which cut down on their supply for the race.
In Q2 the usual suspects quickly rose to the top of the time sheets, all of them using the softer tyres. As the end of the session closed in it became clear that Massa's time might not be enough to get to Q3 as he was pushed further and further down the order. The biggest news came from Heikki Kovalainen who put in a last minute lap to beat both Force India cars and take the last place in Q3. It was probably not the best move for the Lotus team from a race strategy point of view, but its great to see them moving up the field regardless.
Q3 was a relatively quiet session. The new tyres are forcing the teams to be very careful about using any when they don't have to. This meant that everyone would only try a maximum of one run, with Scumacher not even managing that. He went out on the hard tyre and came back in before setting a time, which gave him the choice of tyres to start the race on. Red Bull waited just long enough for McLaren to set some times before sending their drivers out. Vettel went first and embarrassed the silver cars by posting a time 0.8 seconds faster than Hamilton could achieve. Webber then went and did the unthinkable by beating his team mate by 0.2 seconds and proving once again that Red Bull are the toppest of the top teams this year. The only other real surprise came from Alonso who, this time out, got rid of his fifth place curse and beat Button to fourth on the gird.
Race
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| Photo courtesy of Team Lotus |
Nick Heidfeld was expected to start on soft tyres due to his lack of running in qualifying, so it was a surprise to seem him line up on the grid on hard tyres. There was speculation that Scumacher would start on hard tyres having saved his softs in qualifying but he stuck with the more standard softs for the first stint.
Off the line Fernando Alonso got a blinder as he brilliantly managed to find a gap and slide past both Red Bulls into the lead of the race in turn 1. In the confusion behind, Mark Webber dropped back behind Sebastien Vettel and Jenson Button lost out even more badly, finding himself in tenth as the smoke cleared. The end of the lap saw Kobayashi in the pit for a new front wing and the race was underway.
The top five cars were very close as the Drag Reduction System activated on lap 3. This showed that the zone was set wrongly as the cars closed in, but didn't get alongside with the rear wing flap open. Button started his fight back regardless, pushing Felipe Massa into a few mistakes early on.
The pit stops started early with some cars coming in on lap 9 and the majority following them in on the next laps. Vettel came in on lap 10 for the first of four stops and ended up behind Button. But not for long, even without the benefit of DRS. Lap 11 saw Alonso and Webber pit in order to stop Vettel gaining too much advantage. As they came out of the pit lane the German dispatched the last of his traffic and ended up directly behind Alonso once more.
By lap 12 almost everyone had completed their first stops, except for Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta who was now up to sixth. It seemed that Button would be trying a three stop strategy despite the lack of success last time it was tried. Lewis Hamilton seemed to have the fastest car at this stage of the race, consistently posting fastesr laps than the people ahead of him.
Jenson finally stopped for new tyres on lap 14 behind some traffic, which stood a good chance of spoiling his race already. Di Resta went longest of anyone though, stopping on Lap 16. Fernando Alonso was still holding his own at the front, with Vettel and Hamilton chasing him hard but not able to make any further progress.
Vettel stopped again on lap 19 putting the hard tyres on this time and cementing the fact that he was on a four stop strategy. As Webber caught the leaders the rest of them started to pit. Alonso failed to stay in front of Vettel after his stop this time around and it seemed that Red Bull would carry on in their usual manner and dominate the rest of the race. But Lewis Hamilton was still putting in fast laps, and even though he stayed out two laps longer than Alonso, he beat him out of the pits and took second place.
By this time Nick Heidfeld had moved onto a set of the brand new soft tyres he had available and started to charge up through the standings. Mark Webber was stuck behind Alonso after a very tight pit lane race and despite having the Drag Reduction System available, couldn't make it past the Spaniard. Despite having massive high speed cornering pace the Red Bull couldn't make enough difference to get past in the slower sections.
Hamilton was gradually closing the gap towards Vettel now. Jenson dropped into the pits again, the three stop strategy still seemed to be working so far. The new tyres also allowed him to start catching up with Alonso and Webber's fight. Webber eventually got close enough to throw himself down the inside and past, only for Alonso to switch back and regain the position at the next corner. Meanwhile Vettel dropped into the pits for yet another set of tyres.
Felipe Massa slowly slid down the order and now his afternoon got worse as he lost the back of his car and stopped sideways just off the track. The engine was still running though and so he continued. Hamilton got a fresh set of tyres to continue his hunt of Vettel. Throughout the afternoon the two Mercedes were fighting each other hard, Michael was making sure to stay in front of his younger team mate this time out.
As the race started heading towards the closin stages, Button's tyres were still surviving, and Heidfeld was climbing further up the score sheet. By lap 48 Webber was in the pits again for a second set of hard tyres, followed by the rest of the front runners. No change in position this time around but it became clear that Vettel was not using the Kers system on the Red Bull. As Hamilton slowly caught up, Vettel's team came on the radio telling him to start using it again.
Kovaleinen came off the track up ended up against the barriers bringing out the yellow flags. Vettel, Hamilton, Button and Alguersuari were put under investigation after the race for failing to slow down in the yellow zone. Hamilton's speed kept the gap to Vettel heading down and down, but the laps were also running out. As Hamilton got into the DRS activation zone it seemed that his car was faster, but the German's defensive driving was faultless. The McLaren looked more settled and much more comfortable holding the racing line than the Red Bull. Despite this Vettel had the better drive out of the last corner and could defend into turn 1.
Felipe Massa was suffering badly by now with what turned out to be gearbox troubles, and dropped out of the race. Jenson was still keeping Webber behind at this time and with the end of the race approaching fast, it was clear the Englishman would take the last place on the podium. Hamilton meanwhile, was getting more ragged behind Vettel and couldn't make up the difference to get past. The race ended with Vettel first and Hamilton only 0.6 seconds behind. Jenson finished third with Webber taking fourth. Alonso ended the race in fifth with Schumacher finally getting a decent result in sixth followed by Rosberg in seventh. Nick Heidfeld finished a great race for him in eighth place.
The steward's investigation after the race ended up with all the drivers involved receiving only a reprimand.
The FIA did get the DRS wrong here. Almost no overtakes came solely from the system but still the race was not another overtake-less bore as usually happens in Spain. From Canada onwards there will be two DRS zones to stop this problem despite the shorter straights. But its the tyres that are really creating the change now. Pirelli have almost single-handedly revitalised Formula 1 into an exciting, dramatic race series. And the only thing that can spoil that is Red Bull walking away with every race. McLaren are closing the gap in the races. But Hispania may fix that for us, if they follow through on their threat to lodge a formal complaint against the teams using blown diffusers in Monaco. The next week should be interesting to say the least. Could we possibly have overtaking at Monaco?!
Full Result
Championship Standings
Friday, 20 May 2011
Friday in Spain, Business as Usual
The Spanish Grand Prix weekend got underway today under clear blue skies. The first two practice sessions were run with most of the teams running upgraded cars. McLaren had 10 updates alone and all the teams were claiming a step forward in performance. Whether or not it would result in a change in the running order remained to be seen.
First practice saw the Red Bulls staying at the top of the time sheets although not in the order to which we have become accustomed. Mark Webber was the fastest of the pair setting a time just over one second faster than Sebastien Vettel. Nico Rosberg continued to display his edge over his team mate by finishing up third with Schumacher only able to manage seventh. Alonso put in fourth fastest time, beating Massa by a massive 2.2 seconds. The mechanics spent most of the session working hard at the back Hamilton's car, and he could only manage sixth fastest. Button finished in ninth in a practice which didn't manage to reveal much about the relative performance of the updated cars.
The second session is where things start to get a little more serious and it was no exception this time. Ferrari started well but were soon eclipsed by the McLarens with Hamilton leading Button. The soft tyres came out to play in the second half of the session and Vettel was one of the first front runners to set a time. He ended up almost 2 seconds faster than Petrov who was fastest at that point. Webber was next to try and he put in an impressive lap to go three tenths faster than Vettel. By now everyone was running the soft tyre in earnest and Button went third and was promptly put down to fourth by his team mate. Hamilton put in an exceptional lap to end up 0.039 behind Webber. Alonso put himself in his favourite place of fifth followed by the Mercedes cars. The top of the time sheets didn't change for the rest of the session as traffic increased and the cars began to block each other. With long runs ending the session the fast stuff was well and truly over.
So far the running order doesn't seem to have changed much, unless McLaren really have got closer to Red Bull. I'm not counting on it myself though. There is a pretty good chance that Saturday will see normal service resumed with Vettel collecting pole and Webber taking up his usual place just behind. Perhaps this time we might see Hamilton split the Red Bulls on the grid but crossed fingers from most of the UK probably won't be enough to make it happen. Qualifying position may not be as vital this year, but it sure seems to be working out well for Vettel!
There are reports that the blown diffuser ban may be looked at after Monaco, not after Canada as reported earlier. Either way Red Bull's advantage (if that is what it depends on!) will be safe until then. The new, even-harder compound that Pirelli supplied for this weekend does appear to last a bit longer than the old one. Which could introduce some new strategy kinks. But it seems that the safe way is the only way to go with predictions this time out. So I'm going to go with Pole and a win for Sebastien Vettel. Mark Webber should be able to make second place but I'm hoping that Hamilton can make him work for it while taking third. Let me know in the comments if you think that will be completely wrong!
Bring on the rest of the weekend!
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| Photo Courtesy of Team Lotus |
First practice saw the Red Bulls staying at the top of the time sheets although not in the order to which we have become accustomed. Mark Webber was the fastest of the pair setting a time just over one second faster than Sebastien Vettel. Nico Rosberg continued to display his edge over his team mate by finishing up third with Schumacher only able to manage seventh. Alonso put in fourth fastest time, beating Massa by a massive 2.2 seconds. The mechanics spent most of the session working hard at the back Hamilton's car, and he could only manage sixth fastest. Button finished in ninth in a practice which didn't manage to reveal much about the relative performance of the updated cars.
The second session is where things start to get a little more serious and it was no exception this time. Ferrari started well but were soon eclipsed by the McLarens with Hamilton leading Button. The soft tyres came out to play in the second half of the session and Vettel was one of the first front runners to set a time. He ended up almost 2 seconds faster than Petrov who was fastest at that point. Webber was next to try and he put in an impressive lap to go three tenths faster than Vettel. By now everyone was running the soft tyre in earnest and Button went third and was promptly put down to fourth by his team mate. Hamilton put in an exceptional lap to end up 0.039 behind Webber. Alonso put himself in his favourite place of fifth followed by the Mercedes cars. The top of the time sheets didn't change for the rest of the session as traffic increased and the cars began to block each other. With long runs ending the session the fast stuff was well and truly over.
So far the running order doesn't seem to have changed much, unless McLaren really have got closer to Red Bull. I'm not counting on it myself though. There is a pretty good chance that Saturday will see normal service resumed with Vettel collecting pole and Webber taking up his usual place just behind. Perhaps this time we might see Hamilton split the Red Bulls on the grid but crossed fingers from most of the UK probably won't be enough to make it happen. Qualifying position may not be as vital this year, but it sure seems to be working out well for Vettel!
There are reports that the blown diffuser ban may be looked at after Monaco, not after Canada as reported earlier. Either way Red Bull's advantage (if that is what it depends on!) will be safe until then. The new, even-harder compound that Pirelli supplied for this weekend does appear to last a bit longer than the old one. Which could introduce some new strategy kinks. But it seems that the safe way is the only way to go with predictions this time out. So I'm going to go with Pole and a win for Sebastien Vettel. Mark Webber should be able to make second place but I'm hoping that Hamilton can make him work for it while taking third. Let me know in the comments if you think that will be completely wrong!
Bring on the rest of the weekend!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Blown Diffusers Not Banned Yet, Probably
In a bit of an odd on, off, maybe-back-on-at-some-later-date kind of way the FIA has declared war on blown diffusers.
The system is used to increase downforce by using hot exhaust gases as part of the aerodynamic flow under the car, into the rear diffuser. Using hot air this way increases the effect of the diffuser no matter the speed of the car. However when the throttle is closed, no fuel enters the system and the air entering the diffuser is cold. This reduces the downforce available on the way into a turn and means that the car is unbalanced until the driver can get on the throttle again.
The teams have been experimenting with different engine management mappings which allow them to retard the ignition significantly. This allows them to put lots of fuel through the engine when the driver lifts of the throttle. Because of the retarded ignition, the fuel doesn't create any power but does burn on its way out of the exhaust. This means there is still hot gas exiting the exhaust and powering the diffuser, without creating any drive to the wheels. As far as the driver is concerned everything stays as it was before, except with more downforce on the way into the corner and an odd engine noise on closed throttle.
Obviously this system expends a lot of fuel on not going anywhere and this could be one of the reasons the FIA would like to ban it. Burning fuel when the throttle is shut is hardly improving the green credentials of the sport. It seems though that they may have sent out the first warnings without working out how to police the change. For now the regulation change has been delayed until after the Canadian Grand Prix when the next Technical Working Group can discuss the matter.
Red Bull are believed to have the best system currently but all the front running teams have admitted that this would affect their performance. We can only speculate how much closer it would make the racing at the moment, although it will be interesting to see the effect if and when the rule change happens.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of Team Lotus |
The system is used to increase downforce by using hot exhaust gases as part of the aerodynamic flow under the car, into the rear diffuser. Using hot air this way increases the effect of the diffuser no matter the speed of the car. However when the throttle is closed, no fuel enters the system and the air entering the diffuser is cold. This reduces the downforce available on the way into a turn and means that the car is unbalanced until the driver can get on the throttle again.
The teams have been experimenting with different engine management mappings which allow them to retard the ignition significantly. This allows them to put lots of fuel through the engine when the driver lifts of the throttle. Because of the retarded ignition, the fuel doesn't create any power but does burn on its way out of the exhaust. This means there is still hot gas exiting the exhaust and powering the diffuser, without creating any drive to the wheels. As far as the driver is concerned everything stays as it was before, except with more downforce on the way into the corner and an odd engine noise on closed throttle.
Obviously this system expends a lot of fuel on not going anywhere and this could be one of the reasons the FIA would like to ban it. Burning fuel when the throttle is shut is hardly improving the green credentials of the sport. It seems though that they may have sent out the first warnings without working out how to police the change. For now the regulation change has been delayed until after the Canadian Grand Prix when the next Technical Working Group can discuss the matter.
Red Bull are believed to have the best system currently but all the front running teams have admitted that this would affect their performance. We can only speculate how much closer it would make the racing at the moment, although it will be interesting to see the effect if and when the rule change happens.
Friday, 13 May 2011
Road Safety, Fighting and Upgrades
Another week with no race (boo!) so a quick round-up of the most interesting stuff that didn't happen on the track this week.
Action for Road Safety
Jenson can't-see-my-own-pit Button and Lewis burnouts-in-the-street Hamilton met up with Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday to launch the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety campaign. So far the campaign seems to involve lots of people saying the roads should be safer and not a great deal else. This is obviously a worthy cause but actual action so far seems to be a bit lacking. So here's my bit of action: Wear your seatbelts and drive sensibly everyone!
Adrian Sutil the Fighter?
According to some rumours Adrian Sutil was involved in an 'incident' in a Shanghai nightclub after the Chinese Grand Prix which ended with someone getting a bloodied neck. No-one seemed to know any more details than that until Sutil made a statement to the German Bild newspaper. According to Adrian there was an 'unfortunate action' in which he 'hurt another person completely unintentionally'. Well that clears that up then! Now that everything is revealed we are asked to ignore the whole event as it was not really anything to do with F1 anyway.
New British Driver Coming to Formula 1?
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs is testing for Virgin at the weekend. This will mark the young driver's first time in a Formula 1 car and will hopefully be the first of many more opportunities. Adrian has had lots of success in his career so far and is currently running in the GP3 series. During testing he was top of the time sheets but with only one race so far, bad luck has got in the way of good results. Here's hoping for better luck at Barcelona.
Upgrades for Everyone
With the Spanish Grand Prix approaching fast, the teams are all busy working hard on the cars to try and catch up to Red Bull. Who are presumably working hard to keep them as far behind as possible. Mercedes have a new aerodynamics package and some suspension updates to try and cheer up Michael. You never know he might even be able to keep up with Rosberg. As long as they don't give the same updates to him. McLaren are hoping to actually get the upgrades they took to Turkey working this time around. Sauber have a pretty significant amount of new bodywork which they hope will translate into positions and Renault are testing some parts this weekend to be ready for Spain.
Barcelona is a track which doesn't typically give very much overtaking. However this year is far from typical! Nobody is sure how DRS will affect the racing at this track as it wasn't used during winter testing. The Activation and sensing zones have not yet been announced but it seem that the pit straight is the best place to put it. That should provide some pretty impressive, and brave, overtaking as turn 1 is quite a fast corner. The Pirelli tyres should also play their part at this venue, with some long, high speed corners to make sure they wear out nice and quickly. With a bit of luck we might see a race where pole position doesn't win, unlike the last 10 years in a row. Then again, with Vettel around, maybe not.
 |
| Decade of Action |
Jenson can't-see-my-own-pit Button and Lewis burnouts-in-the-street Hamilton met up with Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday to launch the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety campaign. So far the campaign seems to involve lots of people saying the roads should be safer and not a great deal else. This is obviously a worthy cause but actual action so far seems to be a bit lacking. So here's my bit of action: Wear your seatbelts and drive sensibly everyone!
Adrian Sutil the Fighter?
According to some rumours Adrian Sutil was involved in an 'incident' in a Shanghai nightclub after the Chinese Grand Prix which ended with someone getting a bloodied neck. No-one seemed to know any more details than that until Sutil made a statement to the German Bild newspaper. According to Adrian there was an 'unfortunate action' in which he 'hurt another person completely unintentionally'. Well that clears that up then! Now that everything is revealed we are asked to ignore the whole event as it was not really anything to do with F1 anyway.
New British Driver Coming to Formula 1?
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs is testing for Virgin at the weekend. This will mark the young driver's first time in a Formula 1 car and will hopefully be the first of many more opportunities. Adrian has had lots of success in his career so far and is currently running in the GP3 series. During testing he was top of the time sheets but with only one race so far, bad luck has got in the way of good results. Here's hoping for better luck at Barcelona.
Upgrades for Everyone
With the Spanish Grand Prix approaching fast, the teams are all busy working hard on the cars to try and catch up to Red Bull. Who are presumably working hard to keep them as far behind as possible. Mercedes have a new aerodynamics package and some suspension updates to try and cheer up Michael. You never know he might even be able to keep up with Rosberg. As long as they don't give the same updates to him. McLaren are hoping to actually get the upgrades they took to Turkey working this time around. Sauber have a pretty significant amount of new bodywork which they hope will translate into positions and Renault are testing some parts this weekend to be ready for Spain.
Barcelona is a track which doesn't typically give very much overtaking. However this year is far from typical! Nobody is sure how DRS will affect the racing at this track as it wasn't used during winter testing. The Activation and sensing zones have not yet been announced but it seem that the pit straight is the best place to put it. That should provide some pretty impressive, and brave, overtaking as turn 1 is quite a fast corner. The Pirelli tyres should also play their part at this venue, with some long, high speed corners to make sure they wear out nice and quickly. With a bit of luck we might see a race where pole position doesn't win, unlike the last 10 years in a row. Then again, with Vettel around, maybe not.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Bahrain Deadline Extended
In a major surprise the FIA has announced that the deadline for a decision on the running of the Bahrain Grand Prix has been extended. The date has now been set for June 3rd, which is what Bernie Ecclestone heavily hinted at not so long ago.
If the human rights abuses that the Bahrain government is being accused of are true, it will reflect badly on Formula 1 if the race were to go ahead. Some real, visible change in the situation should occur before the event can continue with everyones full support.
If the human rights abuses that the Bahrain government is being accused of are true, it will reflect badly on Formula 1 if the race were to go ahead. Some real, visible change in the situation should occur before the event can continue with everyones full support.
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