5 replies to this topic

[Wishbone]

F1 cars only use 1st gear at the start of a race and I've heard about some drivers in qualifying getting rid of a proper 1st gear in favour of an extra usable gear.
How much time would this change make to a lap time and as F1 cars are so powerful could they make a decent start using a '2nd' gear?Or would it just burn the clutch out?

[Todd]

Whatever your lowest gear ratio is, that is first gear. These stories are silly. As long as F1 has standing starts, the cars need to be able to leave the line as quickly as possible. Depending on the track, first gear is often used for the slowest corner. At Monaco, where the start is crucial and passin unlikely, Eddie Irvine's Ferrari had a first gear set for the start at the cost that it was TOO TALL for the hairpin! He had to slip the clutch in first every time he went through the hairpin because first gear would have him moving too fast for the corner with the throttle closed. The stories you're reading are written by someone who doesn't quite get it. Of course gearing requirements for qualifying are different than for the race. Different bariometric pressure from one day to the next can call for a gearing change, as can almost any other change in conditions or specifications. Why should closer spaced gears for qualifying come as a surprise?

[Wishbone]

To the best of my knowledge Ferrari have one more gear in their box than anyone else. Does this mean that they have their gears spaced between gears for the slowest corner and the fastest straight rather than taking advantage of the extra gear and having a special 'starting' gear?

[Todd]

Wishbone,

The start is so important that everyone has to consider it when they select their gear ratios. Ferrari has a seven speed because they don't have beryllium pistons and rods. Engines like the Illmor and Cosworth have a broader power band because their lighter internals allow a longer stroke for more torque. Therefore they can use lighter 6-speed gearboxes with wider spacing between the gears. Prost and Sauber use 7-speed gearboxes too and Williams doesn't seem willing to release this information. Prost uses it for the same reason Ferrari does, their engine has a narrower powerband than the Be/Al engines.

[madmac]

I have heard these stories aswell. The most feasable explaination anyone has ever given me is this: at high speed tracks during qualifying a standing start is not required from the grid. So all the cogs in the box are bumped up a few teeth to give a higher top speed using the 5 or 6 available gears, apparently you tell when this is being done as you see the mechanics giving the car a good shove away from the pit box, or so I'm told.

[MattB]

If you dump first gear, doesn't second gear then become first gear? Then third gear becomes second gear, and fourth gear becomes third gear and fifth gear becomes fourth gear and sixth gear becomes fifth gear and you are short one gear...oh I see you can add an extra gear! Cool.