2020 Formula 1 thread
 

First race this weekend :)


https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature...-for-melbourne

Anyone expecting a real smorgasbord of upgrades for the second stint of pre-season Formula 1 testing at Barcelona was probably left a little disappointed, as the cars appeared with only minor changes between the two weeks.

There was no repeat of last year, when Mercedes notably turned up with a W10 completely rehashed from two weeks earlier, while other teams brought numerous items as they grappled with the new-for-2019 aero regulations.

Speculation suggested that a couple of teams would perhaps try that approach this time around, but ultimately the second week lacked the overall technical intrigue that last year's tests provided. Perhaps, with a stable ruleset, teams are finding that the law of diminishing returns is beginning to bite.

Although there were a few new parts peppered throughout the field in the final week, there were no innovations that could command the same column inches that Mercedes' dual-axis steering system could - at least, until the FIA released a statement that it had reached a settlement with Ferrari over the legality of its 2019 powertrain...

Let the controversy begin.

--Wright or Wrong?
--Tim Wright's view on the Ferrari fallout

Last year several teams questioned how Ferrari had a straightline speed advantage and whether it could be getting around the 110kg/hour fuel-flow limit with its powertrain.

The FIA supplies the same fuel-flow sensor to all teams, and this year there will be two units, so it should be a fairly bulletproof system. Could it be that Ferrari was using some electronic wizardry to fool the recorded signal?

It seems strange that it has taken the FIA three months to investigate; surely it must be obvious from data if the limit has consistently been breached, or that in the wiring loom there wasn't an extra piece of kit. Surely, if everything was legal, the FIA would have declared that. The timing of the announcement is also strange, released just as the teams will be packing up to fly off to Australia.

It would seem that the FIA was softening the blow, but it also leaves more questions unanswered. What is the deal that Ferrari has agreed to that lets it off the hook? Agreeing to help the FIA "to improve the monitoring of all Formula 1 power units, as well as assisting the FIA in other regulatory duties and in its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels" sounds to me that something was spotted in its investigations but, not wanting to risk losing Ferrari from the F1 championship, the FIA has come up with a deal.

It is curious that Ferrari has not shown the same speed as last year during this year's two tests, and it's telling that Sebastian Vettel has suggested that the car is too draggy! Trackside viewing has shown that the car suffers greatly from understeer, which might suggest that the team has taken off front downforce to help the straightline speed and instead is protecting the rear with more downforce.

I saw the state of the rear tyres during the first test and it does seem that the team is suffering at both ends trying to fix the problems. With the current engines, the turbo spins at very high speeds. Therefore it is a battle for the designers to ensure that bearings and seals perform correctly at very high temperatures.

Oil is fed to the turbo and compressor at high pressure, so it's inevitable that over the course of a race some of it will leak past the seals. Given that teams are restricted on the number of engines they can use, it becomes critical that each component works at an efficient level, so as the compressor feeds air through the intercooler to the engine inlet it is likely that oil will then end up in the intercooler.

Teams have used oil-burning as a way to boost performance, and so being able to control those leaks and vapourise the oil to bring it into the combustion chamber seems to be another method of boosting overall power. Ferrari finds itself embroiled in another scandal and still needs to close the gap to Mercedes.

--Rear wing changes

Generally speaking, the development of a rear wing is a lot more restricted compared to its front-mounted counterpart, although there is some wiggle room for variation.

They come in different shapes and sizes, of course, and both Williams and Ferrari tacked on spoon-shaped wings at different points of the test last week, perhaps looking to assess parts for some of the more high-speed venues on the F1 calendar.

By keeping the full-camber central section, the most effective part of the wing is retained for downforce, but reducing it on the outboard sides inhibits the amount of drag it produces.

Further rear-wing explorations at Barcelona were pursued, particularly in the way the teams mounted them to the car. In recent years teams have used 'swan-neck' mounts, which connect to the upper (pressure) face of the wing's mainplane, rather than the lower (suction) side - boosting the overall downforce output.

Mercedes did try a single-pillar wing mount, perhaps attempting to reduce drag. It had foregone the full swan-neck design and used some of the DRS housing to strengthen the mounting, but the team ultimately reverted to its usual twin-pillar design, presumably unconvinced by the overall strength of the single variation.
Red Bull retools cooling

As is traditional in Formula 1, designers are forever pushing the limits of cooling. Red Bull, thanks to the boundaries set out by esteemed design chief Adrian Newey, has always been at the forefront of keeping its packaging as tight as possible.

For some races where the temperatures are lower, cooling rarely becomes a problem, but as the season waltzes towards climates far more befitting of summer, it must be considered a lot more. Perhaps looking forward, Red Bull nestled some extra cooling ducts next to the cockpit sides, giving the car a bit more leeway in hotter temperatures.

This is part of the panel next to the halo mounting, which is frequently adjusted depending on the cooling requirements of the circuit. It's interesting to see such an obvious inlet design mounted here, however.

Either Red Bull is simply exploring options for hotter races - giving the team options for scenarios such as occurred at the Austrian GP last year, where the temperatures were unexpectedly high - or the RB16's cooling is a little bit borderline for the demands of the Honda power unit.

Red Bull also had a new set of turning vanes, developing a design similar to Mercedes' combination of vertical and horizontal elements to straighten out the turbulence from the tyre and turn it around the sidepod.

---McLaren steps up to the (end)plate

Having managed to fight its way up to fourth in last season's constructors' championship following a few lean years, McLaren has quietly gone about its business at Barcelona in its efforts to move closer to the top three teams.

The team in orange seems to be particularly sanguine as a result, with team principal Andreas Seidl calling testing "by far the best start since many, many years for McLaren going into a winter test".

It managed a total of 802 laps across the six days with no major incidents, so the team outwardly looks to be in good shape too. Minor tinkering to the front wing heralded a slightly innovative approach to the footplate, raising the edge to presumably help the airflow spill outwards with greater guidance than before, and using the lip at the trailing edge in addition. It's a tiny change, but the front wings are so sensitive in modern F1 that every tweak can create a larger impact further down the car.

---Alfa Romeo's week-two update

After spending 2019 firmly among the midfield, Alfa Romeo has its eyes on climbing up the order hoping to challenge for the pseudo-honour of 'best of the rest'.

For week two, the team brought a flurry of new additions to its C39, aiming to build on an encouraging first week of running. A slightly reworked front wing emerged, building on the team's eventual move to a full five-element wing at the end of last season, and featured a detached second element to strengthen the overall tip vortex built by the wing elements.

The wing still follows the dramatic anhedral arrangement, so it's interesting to see the scope of development Alfa Romeo has had within quite a restricted regulatory box. Also at the front, Alfa returned to using a smattering of winglets mounted to the chassis bulkhead - albeit different to last year's 'eyebrow'-style fins.

Now mounted as two elements either side of the S-duct outlet, these break up into four little horizontal winglets to deflect airflow around and down the flanks of the car. Overall, each one develops a little bit of lift, but the overall aim is to manage airflow, so taking a minor hit on downforce in that area may yield more further down the car.

Alfa explored the effect of heightening its wing mounts, presumably looking to understand whether the airflow could be tidied up immediately before the rear wing. Those pair up with the fins added to the flanks - which appeared last year - to send airflow to the bottom of the sidepods. The team also tried numerous engine-cover arrangements, returning to the mini shark-fin design used last year - to which the T-wing is mounted.

Although the full-size fin will help to reshape airflow as it leaves the trailing edge of the engine cover, Alfa has probably found a way to keep the air sufficiently tidy on its old design before it reaches the rear wing.

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...g-f1-team-2020

The biggest issue facing each F1 team in 2020

I caught the Formula 1 bug last season. The Prime and Netflix series have really got me ready for the 2020 season. I am also enjoying your posts!

SKY F1 offer this overview of the season start - https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/36...ns-big-preview

This year should be a interesting one to say the least. Just glad that the racing season is Officially Here. Start your Engines!! :tup:

:iagree: :driving:

yes, and hoping it is exciting
-- secretly hoping Max wins it
-- Nice if Hamilton gets 7, but he's proven he is one of the best
-- will Haas be able to perform, or will it be the last year, --interesting reading on some articles with it being its last year in the 5 year plan, fingers crossed
-- just want to see williams do better..

time to enjoy

Nice over-view of the new F1 season here with BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/51801768

I'm off to the Aus GP on Saturday ............... hopefully no COVID-19 induced mass gathering bans until after the weekend.

You will be fine, just wash yours hands more often and enjoy the race. :tup:

Already setting up my mental reminders for watching and following practice at my local time (EST)! I am juiced for some F1!

McLaren withdraws from Australian Grand Prix


:crying:

OZ GP cancelled and support events are permited to continue BUT without spectators ..... as of 4pm local today.

I expect the support events will be cancelled shortly as well

WOFTAM

EDIT: Whole event cancelled ......... my state level sports car championship event (Round 2) at the end of March also looks like being cancelled. Australian Football League matches played behind closed doors, Cricket between OZ and NZ played behind closed doors, Womens AFL finals played behind closed doors ......... Pharque

F1 is calling the first 4 races of the season off officially. "Postponing" actually, but it is highly unlikely that they can schedule these in later in the year.

2020 season is now expected to start no earlier than the end of May.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...uzVuu7lEa.html

This is not going to end well. On another note, my wife and I decided not to go the Long Beach Grand Prix this year. Boy did we make the right decision. We will just have to wait a little longer for racing to start. :ugh2:

Proper planning they could have run Aus and Bahrain fan free. No problem. Bahrain was all set for that. My impression from what I read was Ferrari and Vettel in particular had no real intention to race if they could get out of it. FIA and Liberty need help!!

No one cared when the H1N1 10 years ago infected millions. Mitigation could have been done. What will F1 do when an actual person has simply the flu in another 2 months - shut down? I respect and utterly the impact this virus has. But it is not at all the end of the world for most and large organizations can function. A no fan set up ensures a major lack of transmission and teams should have already been testing. They have the bloody power, connections and money. Too late It appears LOL

END RANT////////////////// I miss F1..............FACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK :)

Some positive news out of China (although that very fact will make some people cry BS). Shanghai Race Circuit has announced a re-opening with racing set to re-start in June.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/shangh...rcuit-reopens/

Too early for F1. Probably too early period. But might be an indication that there could be light at the end of he tunnel if we in the rest of the world handle the situation properly.

Meanwhile, I’m sure that Canada will be cancelled next. Toronto is locked down until the end of June, and the province of Quebec (where the Montreal even is held) is shaping up for a worse experience than Ontario.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/austri...season-opener/

https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...rian-gp-plans/

Austria as potential opening round...............maybe there is hope!

And the other blessing - France is cancelled! :rolleyes:


But I doubt that any race will be held in front of spectators until there is a vaccine.

Still, better than sim racing. Fingers crossed!

You mean like China has? :wtf2:

Pretty impressive they still only have 80K confirmed cases of covid :rolleyes:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...d-without-fans

Silverstone has confirmed that the Formula 1 British Grand Prix is to be held behind closed doors, if the race is able to take place.

In a letter sent to ticket holders on Monday morning, circuit boss Stuart Pringle said that it won't be possible to allow fans to attend due to current social distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus.

Although it has yet to be confirmed, the track is expected to stage two races, following on from two opening rounds in Austria.

More news on the revamped schedule is expected to emerge soon.

"I am extremely disappointed to tell you that we are unable to stage this year's British Grand Prix in front of the fans at Silverstone," Pringle said.

Yes, I know someone who got that letter.

There was talk of running Silverstone in reverse for one of the races. What do you think about that?

Hey, all I can tell you is that according to several reports (which might all be quoting the same source - I don't know) the Shanghai track has already re-opened for private events with racing to resume in June. No confirmation if that is to be in front of spectators or not.

Meanwhile, most tracks in North America and Europe remain closed.


Honestly, I don't know why a country would want the F1 circus this year without the economic benefits that the spectators bring.


I haven't dug more deeply into it, but would the new calendar include F2 racing on the same weekends also, or just F1 since the schedule will be very tight?

Less gimmick and get to good racing. As best as can be expected if racing occurs at all yes?? I dont think they should run in reverse. For a proper F1 Championship run as they would have to begin with...

I just wonder if all the shake up and revised weekend and stuff. On which teams/drivers will be able to adapt. It would be nice to see if one of the mid-field teams can upset the big 3 / 5 (if you include Renault and McLaren)

You're right. It will be interesting to see if the big guys have their heads in the game, or if the hungrier mid-field drivers might just pull off a few upsets.

I did read that the plan for Austria at least would be to run a full card including supporting races in F2 and Porsche Cup series. But that's suddenly a whole lot more people at the track on the weekend. No spectators for any races yet, but three times the drivers & team support. How realistic is that?

Still not counting on these races happening, but we'll keep hoping.

I don't think that F1 can just carry on as if nothing is happening outside of their bubble. And I hope that victory celebrations are a bit restrained this year.

https://www.planetf1.com/features/ayrton-senna-stories/


can you believe... it's been 26 years since...

Lots of memorials today. I wasn't an F1 fan at the time, but even then could not escape it.

I was not a fan of Senna back in the days, when I was a kid/teenage, only know he is bloody fast.

And nowadays when I am an adult, knowing how to define fast drivers, talented drivers, good drivers and bad drivers..

I do really miss this F1 Great and go back to re-watch many of his racing videos.

He is the Best!!

From Red Bull
Max Verstappen takes Alex Albon on a Dutch Road Trip to Zandvoort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gNVxRc4DJQ

quite a interesting and entertaining

Vettel to leave Ferrari
 

so what is next for Vettel

https://the-race.com/formula-1/vette...ferrarif1team/

Yep, I read about this yesterday. Still don't know if this is good or bad. :ugh2:

It's good for Ferrari for sure, and I believe it's a relief for Vettel from all the pressure.


It's going to be some speculations whose going to take his seat and now looks like it's between Sainz and Ricciardo.

I like both drivers.

With either Sainz or Ricciardo, they can help Ferrari to be competitive to fight for the CC.

However, it's also up to Ferrari to decide if they give equal treatment to both drivers, Leclerc and his teammate or another #1 and #2 status...

Carlos Sainz Jr is set to replace Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for the 2021 Formula 1 season, with an announcement expected later this week.

Ferrari confirmed on Tuesday morning that four-time world champion Vettel would be leaving at the end of 2020 after both parties agreed to break off talks over a new contract.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...errari-in-2021

Ferrari has moved swiftly to identify a replacement for Vettel, with sources indicating to Autosport that a deal has now been struck with current McLaren driver Sainz.

An announcement is expected from Ferrari in the coming days confirming Sainz as Charles Leclerc's new team-mate from 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo is understood to have agreed a McLaren deal for 2021 and he is expected to be announced by the Woking outfit this week.

The Australian will replace Carlos Sainz Jr, whose departure for Ferrari will be confirmed in parallel.

Both drivers will come to the end of their initial two-year deals at the conclusion of the 2020 season, although McLaren had an option on Sainz for a third year.

Now it's interesting to see whose going to fill that last puzzle for Renault...

Or whether Renault will fold the team after this season.
McLaren is moving to a Mercedes PU next year, leaving Renault with only the factory team.

Makes me wonder if Ricciardo would have considered McLaren were they still running Renault engines. That's what killed is last season at RBR, and failed to get him home once or twice last year too, IIRC.

real question, will any of those drivers be released if there is a racing this season. Not sure if I was the team I would put much effort behind them.. Let alone sharing information on car changes. odd situation for everyone

The teams will limit what briefings and data they share with the drivers who will be leaving. The team will provide what they can and the driver's should provide what they are being paid for.

SKY F1 Martin Brundle has this assessment of the new moves - https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24...-f1s-big-moves