synsei
09-12-2012, 12:12
In recent years the Barons of F1 have been steering the worlds premier single seat motor racing series towards a greener future. Arguably, the first steps were taken towards this goal in 1998 with the introduction of the so called Narrow Era regs and latterly V8 engines which resulted in a car which had similar physical dimensions to that of an F3 car of the same era. Along with the shrunken dimensions came a narrower track and tyres, which also sported grooves for the first time. The initial idea was to slow the cars down thus increasing safety. A side effect of these rule changes was that the cars became more economical to run.
Results were mixed however as the lack of mechanical grip resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip, pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc, which in turn resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' (turbulent), preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence upon 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres were initially made of a harder compound synthetic rubber, this enabled them to support the groove tread profile which would otherwise deform if made from softer compounds. Unfortunately this generated some spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure (e.g., rear wing failures), as the harder compound could not grip the track as well. It quickly became apparent that such accidents could compromise the safety of the drivers so full slicks were reintroduced. Next years F1 championship sees the introduction of 1.5 litre V6 turbo engines and even more radical design changes to the cars which should help bring the costs of operating an F1 team down and consequently making the cars greener than ever before. Despite all this I believe there is much more that could be done to make the the championship even greener and more exciting to watch.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/wp-content/gallery/nissan-deltawing/01-nissan-deltawing.jpg
Above is a photo of the radical Nissan DeltaWing, designed by former Lola design chief Ben Bowlby and Chip Ganassi Racing, It was initially pitched as a design for the single seat US Indy Car series but Indy Car rejected it as too radical and decided to continue with a development of the Dallara chassis the series has been using for a while now. I feel this was a lost opportunity for Indy Car, but Indy Car's loss could be F1's gain.
The DeltaWing design is incredibly clever in many aspects: The main thrust of the concept was to reduce the deleterious effects of turbulence behind the car which therefore allows following cars to travel closer behind without loss of downforce thus encouraging more overtaking moves. Due to the aerodynamics of the concept it can punch through the air very cleanly which also means it is far more economical than a more traditional single seat chassis and it also needs a smaller and less powerful engine to achieve a given performance figure. Below is a video in which you can see the DeltaWing in action and watch Ben Bowlby explaining how the concept functions to motoring journalist Chris Harris :)
c_INdbXMqsw
There would need to be a radical overhaul of the F1 design regs to allow a development of the DeltaWing concept to compete in F1, but I believe this could be doable if the teams are willing to embrace it. One aspect of the design should be instantly attractive to them, there is a lot more room for advertisers on the DeltaWing bodywork which potentially means more revenue for the teams. A non-turbo version of the 2013 F1 engine could potentially deliver similar performance figures as next years F1 cars when bolted to the DeltaWing chassis. The car looks really exciting and with ongoing discussions concerning the introduction of closed cockpits after Fernando Alonso narrowly escaped decapitation at the La Source hairpin incident during the Spa GP earlier this year I think the DeltaWing concept lends itself well to the introduction of a jet-fighter style cockpit canopy.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this... :cool:
Results were mixed however as the lack of mechanical grip resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip, pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc, which in turn resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' (turbulent), preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence upon 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres were initially made of a harder compound synthetic rubber, this enabled them to support the groove tread profile which would otherwise deform if made from softer compounds. Unfortunately this generated some spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure (e.g., rear wing failures), as the harder compound could not grip the track as well. It quickly became apparent that such accidents could compromise the safety of the drivers so full slicks were reintroduced. Next years F1 championship sees the introduction of 1.5 litre V6 turbo engines and even more radical design changes to the cars which should help bring the costs of operating an F1 team down and consequently making the cars greener than ever before. Despite all this I believe there is much more that could be done to make the the championship even greener and more exciting to watch.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/wp-content/gallery/nissan-deltawing/01-nissan-deltawing.jpg
Above is a photo of the radical Nissan DeltaWing, designed by former Lola design chief Ben Bowlby and Chip Ganassi Racing, It was initially pitched as a design for the single seat US Indy Car series but Indy Car rejected it as too radical and decided to continue with a development of the Dallara chassis the series has been using for a while now. I feel this was a lost opportunity for Indy Car, but Indy Car's loss could be F1's gain.
The DeltaWing design is incredibly clever in many aspects: The main thrust of the concept was to reduce the deleterious effects of turbulence behind the car which therefore allows following cars to travel closer behind without loss of downforce thus encouraging more overtaking moves. Due to the aerodynamics of the concept it can punch through the air very cleanly which also means it is far more economical than a more traditional single seat chassis and it also needs a smaller and less powerful engine to achieve a given performance figure. Below is a video in which you can see the DeltaWing in action and watch Ben Bowlby explaining how the concept functions to motoring journalist Chris Harris :)
c_INdbXMqsw
There would need to be a radical overhaul of the F1 design regs to allow a development of the DeltaWing concept to compete in F1, but I believe this could be doable if the teams are willing to embrace it. One aspect of the design should be instantly attractive to them, there is a lot more room for advertisers on the DeltaWing bodywork which potentially means more revenue for the teams. A non-turbo version of the 2013 F1 engine could potentially deliver similar performance figures as next years F1 cars when bolted to the DeltaWing chassis. The car looks really exciting and with ongoing discussions concerning the introduction of closed cockpits after Fernando Alonso narrowly escaped decapitation at the La Source hairpin incident during the Spa GP earlier this year I think the DeltaWing concept lends itself well to the introduction of a jet-fighter style cockpit canopy.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this... :cool: