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Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#51

Post by 11235813213455 »

beaker52 wrote: post #2

There are a couple of aspects of Formula 1 that make it very compelling to watch (my opinion of course, take as you will): - Accessible aerodynamics (it's on the road in front of you, not up in the air) - Technological developments (e.g. this year, one of the teams has a steering wheel they pull toward/push away themselves to change the geometry of the front wheels) - Watching high-performing athletes demonstrating t…

- The fact our planet has enough pollution to deal with already, I'm not saying Formula1 is extremely polluting, but whatever it adds is quite unnecessary for just an entertainment purpose (my opinion of course)

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#52

Post by sabas123 »

C1sc0cat wrote: post #38
wastedhours wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After spending years trying to put myself in a position to work in the sport, now I mostly just follow F1 for the politics and gamesmanship more than the racing itself. There are much more fun motorsports to watch, but rarely do they come so packaged with intriguing technical drama.

A few years ago I did a spec Job application to RBR racing I wasn't cheeky enough to mention the two DNF's (ran out of fuel) they had had the previous season, and how as a former Research Assistant / Experimental officer at a world leading hydro dynamics RnD org - I would have at least made sure the second one did not happen

How are you so sure that you would have succeeded when they didn't?

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#53

Post by dom96 »

arooaroo wrote: post #29

People who are not normally interested in F1 are finding the Netflix series Drive to Survive a more accessible version to spectate. It's not just highlights in chronological order, but a distillation of the main themes of the season, e.g., certain inter-team battles, intra-team rivalries, fallouts between teams and suppliers, regulations, etc. The behind-the-scenes glimpses are fascinating. I remember (pre-family whe…

So I watched Drive to Survive and loved it, so much so that I would like to get into watching F1 proper, but when I tried it just doesn't hold my interest (although admittedly I mostly attempted to watch random races on YouTube). Do you (or anyone else) have any tips on what and where to watch to get into it?

Perhaps it's time I get a proper subscription for the TV coverage and watch it like you say over the weekend.

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#54

Post by snemvalts »

beaker52 wrote: post #2

There are a couple of aspects of Formula 1 that make it very compelling to watch (my opinion of course, take as you will): - Accessible aerodynamics (it's on the road in front of you, not up in the air) - Technological developments (e.g. this year, one of the teams has a steering wheel they pull toward/push away themselves to change the geometry of the front wheels) - Watching high-performing athletes demonstrating t…

The team funding balance makes it a lot less interesting, watching the same team almost always win.

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#55

Post by newsclues »

wastedhours wrote: post #7
JoeSmithson wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The balance of importance between driver and constructor is quite unique in sport. A sufficiently good car can make an average driver competitive (e.g. Bottas), but also a sufficiently good driver can make an average car competitive (e.g. Schumacher). Plus everyone involved is such a drama merchant (or crook!) that the season often plays out like a soap opera.

After spending years trying to put myself in a position to work in the sport, now I mostly just follow F1 for the politics and gamesmanship more than the racing itself. There are much more fun motorsports to watch, but rarely do they come so packaged with intriguing technical drama.

Americans Cup (Sailing) has that similar appeal

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#57

Post by dingaling »

eaurouge wrote: post #13
axegon_ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely with all points, though it's nowhere nearly as entertaining as it was up until ~2007. I mean there have been only a handful of GPs that were interesting over the last few years. Coincidentally yesterday's GP was definitely one of them. I mean it's not often you see almost half the cars break down.

There have been some boring seasons, but you probably haven’t watched much recently if you think this weekend was one of the best in recent years.

Part of why I find F1 boring when I've tried to watch it in the past is that the camerawork is so technically orientated. They pan with the cars so perfectly that there's little sensation of speed. You could be watching RC cars on an indoor track.

With the ubiquity of drones nowadays there would seem to be a lot of options for more exciting viewing.

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#58

Post by axegon_ »

eaurouge wrote: post #34
axegon_ wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have watched almost all of them actually. And while I was ~10 in the late 90's and not interested, I have recently watched GPs from that era and none of the recent GPs can stand up to the Schumacher vs Hakkinen races. Many of the drivers these days lack character if you ask me, with very few exceptions. And some shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a race car imo. The Austrian GP was interesting simply because of all…

Fair points. I enjoyed the Schumacher era. But Hakkinen gave us just 2 years as double champion. Where as up until 2018 we had 3 multi champions racing against a new generation of highly talented drivers. 4 championships wasn’t enough to save Vettel a seat at Ferrari with the depth of talent we currently have on the grid. It’s also getting tighter at the front. Knock Mercedes down a peg or two and 2021 could be a 4-w…

Like many other drivers, Hakkinen was a bit short on luck. Similar to Raikkonen for that matter who missed out at least on a second championship because of an unreliable car. Don't get me wrong, I agree that today's cars are much faster, safer, yada-yada.

But I did mention Hakkinen-Schumacher for a reason - though they were direct competitors and had very different driving manners, you could see how they had immense respect for each other and acted like true sportsmen off the track. Whereas now you have a ton of spoiled brats (some multiple world champions at that) who cry like babies every time the wind isn't blowing their way, others who have seats only because they have rich daddies, while people like Hulkenberg are sitting in front of the TV at home... I mean look at teams alone - there are only two teams with solid relationships between drivers inside of them - Norris-Sainz and Raikkonen-Giovinazzi(I suspect because Raikkonen simply does not care and is only there because he enjoys driving).

And I don't see how this will improve in the future. What I'm trying to say is that I'd much rather watch a real race as opposed to a soap opera, which is what today's F1 resembles more. Not just from drivers' prospective but from teams themselves.

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#59

Post by Andrew_nenakhov »

kohtatsu wrote: post #33
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #32

Watched a lot of F1 in 90s/00s, stopped after 2017 season. Current regulations make it very predictable. Most offending rules are: - limit on testing means that whoever makes the best car after regulations change will win until next regulations change (2010..2013 Red Bull, 2014.. today Mercedes), others have very limited means to catch up - scoring system introduced in late 00s rewards reliability over racing, and gi…

25 vs 18 = 1.39x 9 vs 6 = 1.50x 10 vs 6 = 1.67x For anyone curious.

For p2 it's even worse:

18 vs 15 = 1.20x

6 vs 4 = 1.5x

Re: Formula 1 2020: The secret aerodynamicist – are capes the key?

#60

Post by paublyrne »

toyg wrote: post #31
eaurouge wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ratio varies - I would say it depends on the car, teammates and team. But ultimately driver skill is what determines who gets to drive for Mercedes, Ferrari etc. So once a pairing has been made, either the drivers are closely matched, or one or both will be changing teams or leaving F1 all together.

> once a pairing has been made, either the drivers are closely matched, or one or both will be changing teams That's not always the case. Eddie Irvine spent 4 years as n.2 to Schumacher pretty happily, only changing teams because Jordan offered more money. He was pretty spectacular on good days but nowhere as good as The Michael.

> Eddie Irvine spent 4 years as n.2 to Schumacher pretty happily, only changing teams because Jordan offered more money

I think you mean Jaguar. He moved from Jordan to Ferrari.

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