F1 is BACK!

[lateapex911]

So, I just watched the F1 practice fron Bahrain on SPEED, and what a spiritual lift!

I couldn't help but notice some interesting factiods that relate to IT at this juncture.

First, V10s are out, V8s are in, in an attempt to slow the cars down. Right...like that'll work! So far, in practice, on a dusty and sandy track, they are 1 second off last years pace! Who wants to bet that they won't be under the record before the weekend is over?

Second, we have a American in F1! WhooHoo! Too bad he's in a slow car. . Scott Speed for those that don't know, "won" the Red Bull drivers search and has a ride in the Red Bull F1 car. Red Bull bought the Minardi organization last year. Somehow, they convinced the FIA that the whole V8 thing was way too much trouble. So the FIA said, sure run last years V10....but....you have to run a restrictor with it.

This is were it gets interesting. The restrictor goes over the drivers head in the air inlet. I am sure there is more to it, but Steve Matchet says it is a carbon fibre plate with a hole in it.

The power output of the new V8s is reputed to be over 700, and they rev, (the Cosworth at least), to, get this.....20 THOUSAND rpms. And the development budget for the teams to create the whole V8 progamme, so far, is quoted at 1 BILLION Euros, or about a billion US $.

The Red Bull team spent about $100.00 or so, cutting some plates and mounting them.

Now, the size needed to restrict the V10 to the outputs of the new V8s??

77mm.

700 plus horsepower thru a 77mm hole...not even a SIR shaped 77mm hole!

Now, you knew it was going to come to this...just as a giggle, if you do the math, and use 740hp as your presumed F1 output, if the goal on the E36 was to limit the power to 220 crank, and you used F1 math, how big would the hole be?

Just under 23 mm!

No, I'm not trying to say or prove anything, I just thought it interesting, and F1 is back, so the world is a brighter place!

[Eagle7]

I don't know anything about the SIR calculations, but if HP is proportional to airflow, and airflow is proportional to the area of the opening, then HP is proportional to the square of the diameter. That would make the BMW SIR 42mm. Not trying to stir the pot, as I'm sure there's a lot more to the math than this.

[steve s]

if your theory is corre ct would we be allowed to do whatever we wanted to the internal of the engine to maximize hp??? in formula 1 i think anything goes on engine internals. if not then don't instigate anything. let's just wait for the results so we can start racing . thank you.

[mlytle]

omg, this is too funny. even an f1 topic in general discussion section is about bmw restrictors..

is there a single thread on the entire it board that doesn't end up with "bmw" and "restrictor" in it? i am going over to the "tow vehicle" section to check....

[joeg]

There are restrictions on F1 engine internals, including dimensions, weight, etc.

[Chris Wire]

So, I just watched the F1 practice fron Bahrain on SPEED, and what a spiritual lift!

....and F1 is back, so the world is a brighter place!
[/b]

... and Schumacher is on pole, which means all is right with the F1 world again!

[gsbaker]

"The restrictor goes over the drivers head..."

Yeah, that would slow him down.

[lateapex911]

........ if not then don't instigate anything. let's just wait for the results so we can start racing . thank you.
[/b]

Yea, I know, F1 engines are slightly different than street engines. I just thought it was amusing...nevermind.

[backformore]

The real question is how big is the SIR on the BMW F1 engine?

[Renaultfool]

Well I just had to jump in here to mention that my favorite brand won again!
Renault!
Now if I could just hook a chain from the back of Alonzo's Renault to the front of my Alliance....... oh well, my Hosiers would probably go off too quick for it to do me any good anyway.
Renaultfool

[mlytle]

The real question is how big is the SIR on the BMW F1 engine?
[/b]

or...
where would a bmw f1 car put 300lbs of lead since there is no passenger side footwell?

[lateapex911]

That was one hot BMW!

JV looked like he almost got a bit toasted.

That was a "done blowed up" in the style of the West McLarens last year.

Close race, looks like this season will be unpredictable.

[JeffYoung]

I checked the results -- interesting. We are down to how many manufacturers?

Renault, Ferrari, M-B/McLaren, Williams, Red Bull, BMW-Sauber, Toyota and Honda?

Well, on second count, that's not bad. Maybe this year will be more fun to watch.

I grew up watching Senna and Prost on ESPN Sunday mornings, followed by Petty/Waltrip/Earnhardt/Allison in the afternoon. Those were great motorsports TV days. Both series have big problems these days with boring racing, and out of control costs.

[Nigel Stu]

I woke my arse up at 6 am to watch the race live. I figured that it might be 'right' to wake up to see the live broadcast of the new season, and I must say that it was more than worth it.

That was one of the most exciting F1 races I have seen in the last 20 races. There was more action and even some passing and SIDE BY SIDE racing! does anyone remember seeing 2 F1 cars go side by side for more than a fraction of a corner last year????

I'm looking forward to a great season, and have a feeling it will be down to the wire for both driver and constructor championships. The new type of power with seemingly less torque (yeah, those 20K Cosworth cars were FAST!) appears to be creating a different type of driving, which should suit Schumacher quite well, and apparently Kimi as well. My prediction is that Kimi will win the championship, Willaims-Cosworth the constructors, no driver will win more than 8 races and the young Mr. Speed (gotta love that name! and I don't know if I would call the restricted V10s slow, Speed was 9th fastest - and the redueced revs will help with longevity) will score enough points this year to make a strong name for himself and move up to the main Red Bull team for next year.

[lateapex911]

Yea, for me, even though everyone moans about how F1 isn't "what it used to be", I think that is as much a mental thing as it is reality. There WAS good racing in this race, and there was some last year too.

No matter what, it is THE pinnacle of motorsport, and the broadcast team, with Steve Matchett and Petter Windsor help get that point across.

To me, winter and the surrounding glumness are put behind me and spring has sprung when the fist F1 race of the season is on.

It's good to be back.

[JeffYoung]

Hmmmm......I would say this:

1. 60's era F1 was just too dangerous, and not that much footage of it around that I have seen anyway.

2. late 70s and early 80s was classic stuff, especially before ground control got totally out of hand. Those pictures of Villenueve and Hunt sliding those cars with HUGE rear tires, pretty cool. Rosberg, Lauda, Andretti, Fittipaldi, Watson, etc.....I liked that era a LOT.

3. Watching Prost and Senna was just too cool in the late 80s and early 90s. The down side was that there were only 4 cars (2 McLarens and 2 Williams) that could win (and for a few years, just the 2 McLarens). But at least you could really see Prost and Senna do different things with the cars.

4. Schumacher is amazing, but other than as a technology exercise, I have not had much interest in watching the last few years. Yes, it is the pinnacle of motorsport, but it kind of leaves out the sport, doesn't it? Like NASCAR is getting to todday. Taking the driver out the equation is a problem.

Maybe this new formula will make it more exciting from a racer's perspective....we'll see.

I do miss Jackie Stewart calling the Monaco GP, or the Las Vegas GP though. With Jim McKay and Chris Economaki........but I agree these two fellows calling races now know their stuff.

[jc836]

Watched pieces of the "show" and was bored silly. The track is simply a road in a sandbox with some fancy signs. The fact that MSC was on Pole and Alonzo won made fo the interest of the day. Speed differential between the 2 leadrs and those following was fairly large all things considered (top 6 particularly).
As to the new engine rule-they really did not go far enough. I think it somewhat out of place to have engines turning 20K unless we are doing 2 cycle. Technology is NOT served IMO except to determine the extremes of bearing and other component life-which really does not translate well for daily driven vehicles. I wonder if Mercedes really has a production engine based on this. Ferrari certainly does not use these rev limits. As to horsepower-NASCAR has it pretty much figured out. Not only that, they are limiting RPM. The cars are going faster too-so F1 will catch up even with restrictions.
As to the past-the previous writer is correct. Jackie Stewart and those who followed HAD TO drive the car. They were more than button pushers. There are still tracks, like Monaco, that are nearly impossible to pass at. So that means setup is critical. I go back to the days of Von Tripps, when they manhandled the car and you could truly see them at work. The safety of the driver should have always been important is at the encapsulation stage-denying the viewer a look at what is going on-unless watching it on TV. Missing the commentators of the past is something to think about-rent Grand Prix and remember the past The present crop of "expert commentators" is better in some ways. I keep wondering about A. Marriott in the F1 pits tho.
Lets face it-money is the driving force today-not brave drivers doing something they love. I find it insane that anyone can earn $100 million for 16 weekends of work. Granted there is more to it than the days we see these folks and YES-it is a dangerous sport. Free enterprise and billion dollar budgets-that makes little sense. Or does it?

Thanks for reading this tome. I'm just an older guy that has seen a lot and thinks well of the past. The future will be brighter when the drivers have to work like we do Have a great season.

[planet6racing]

I was really surprised by how much I liked the new qualifying format. It got even more interesting when they red-flagged the sesssion due to Kimi's incident.

Also, count me in on the Nico Rosberg bandwagon! That guy was hauling butt!! I really think that yesterday's show had the most passing I've seen in the last 3 years in F1.

[CDS]

Hobbs had the best quote of the weekend. During qualifying on Saturday when Kimi was limping back to the pits on 3 wheels: "and he's still lapping faster than Ide (the new Super Aguri driver)."

[planet6racing]

Between that and his constant use of the word "attachments," it made for a great broadcast!

Did anyone else catch Schumy trying to get the boogie that he picked while on camera trying to wipe it off on his sleeve...