I stopped watching F1 about 10 years ago, and these new changes just reaffirm that decision. It's no longer about best car + best driver. It's about mixing it up, making it random, to maximise viewer numbers. Not the kind of racing I go for.
F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
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Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#62As with F1 races, the article seemed interesting at the start but quickly bores the heck out of you.
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
This video is an interesting comparison of just how fast F1 cars are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0 IIRC some of those GT cars that look like snails compared to F1 cars are "anything goes". However, here is a truly anything goes car (that has broken the speed barrier on land): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKQ-xj5C2m8 So yeah, an anything goes car will go much faster than an F1 car. But it's going to su…
What I meant was what if an F1 team of designers didn't have to be constrained by any rules and could build their dream F1 car. For example, there was one car a couple of decades ago (I think early 80's maybe?) that used a sort of vaccum effect to keep the car sucked to the ground. It improved cornering speeds greatly, but the device was banned. I googled some and found this: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.…
You might be referring to the Gordon Murray designed Brabham BT46 "Fan car":
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely. Tire management is important, but it should not be essential. Reckless breaking with wheels locked should have its consequences. I'd rather see wheel to wheel action than listen to the comments about how this guy in a second place will have to save his tires and give up positions to score a few points.
>> "I'd rather see wheel to wheel action than listen to the comments about how this guy in a second place will have to save his tires and give up positions to score a few points." The only reason he is in 2nd place is because he didn't save his tyres - and the reason he has to now lose places is because the guys behind did. In the end it usually works out the way it should be and we get some fighting on the last few…
Its a matter of taste I suppose. I did not enjoy this season. Maybe I'm too spoiled by MotoGP.
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#65I wrote firmware (~20kLocs) for a power (electrical) supply that's part of one such power train.
This kind of development is very demanding, because you can't afford to leave any bugs in your program but at the same time you're always shipping late because of tight schedules and often blurry specifications.
On top of that hardware and software development cycles are concurrent, so no target hardware available when you're writing your code.
In these conditions the only way I found to have something that works is to keep it very simple:
1. Simple algorithms
2. Simple data structures
3. Few abstractions
4. No dynamic memory allocations
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#66I really hope this will reduce the number of times commentators have to say a word "tires". Couldn't care less about saving tires. Its like a footballer saving a ball, or boxer his gloves. The same applies to the engine.
Huh? Tires have always been one of the most strategic elements of F1.
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#67There are so many rules dictating the design of an F1 chassis/engine that I wonder how much faster a "anything goes" car would go.
There used to be an "anything goes" series… the original Can-Am (1966-1986) - what Car and Driver called "the vehicular equivalent of great white sharks in a goldfish bowl". The regulations were basically "two seats, enclosed fenders". There was effectively no regulation of engine size or configuration, or of aerodynamics. It was abandoned in part due to extreme cost, and in part due to the safety problems.
The last straw for Can-Am, really, was Porsche simply pouring money into it with the 917 until no one could compete with them, rendering the racing kind of boring. Tight regulation in F1 and other racing forms keeps the focus on the driver, not the car.
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#68The interesting bit here is the development of the turbochargers. This is an area that has been slow to change over the years, due to the small amount of turbocharged vehicles available new[1]. Most turbos are used in heavy machinery (garbage trucks, big rigs, etc.), a slowly changing industry. They do not face the same regulations as regular autos. Seems they are doing away with the wastegate and replacing it with a…
> This is an area that has been slow to change over the years, due to the small amount of turbocharged vehicles available new. Most turbos are used in heavy machinery (garbage trucks, big rigs, etc.), a slowly changing industry. I'm not sure this is true in England - most diesel cars on the road have a turbocharger.
Most of europe, especially VAG[π] cars are turbocharged, either TDI for basically all Diesels and more and more (T)FSI gasoline powered cars.
Also look at the Audi R10 TDI [φ]
Re: F1 2014: All aboard the 'power train' - new rules explained
#69I stopped watching F1 about 10 years ago, and these new changes just reaffirm that decision. It's no longer about best car + best driver. It's about mixing it up, making it random, to maximise viewer numbers. Not the kind of racing I go for.
Same here, stopped watching around 1998. I though it's mostly about the car (which is largely random per-season, yes) and instead of celebrating the design/engineering behind the only things celebrated around f1 are the personalities of drivers, their excesses and their egos.