6 replies to this topic

[Ivan]

I think this has been brought up before else where. But because this is the tech forum I thought I'd start here.

The FIA makes the rules as to what F1 cars must have in order to race.
If designer a, b, and c are from different places and different schools of thought. Can you tell me why all these cars look so much like each other?

There doesn't seem to be any more original concepts anymore. It seems like all the designers think alike.
Then if someone comes up with something that is clever, it is either stolen or banned for use.

[Jhope]

The rules are so restricting and complex compared to years past, that there really is no choice but to design the cars the way we see them today. Basically, the FIA give the teams a template, and they (teams) are told to fill it in. It's like telling a child, be creative, draw, but don't color outside to lines.

I think desmo said it best in the Williams thread.

Don't hold your breath for anything substantive. The engineers are spending fortunes torturing the last subpercentiles of L/D out of the increasingly universal consensus F1 orthodoxy. The low hanging fruit was all picked long ago.

[Stephen W]

It is about time the whole of F1 was turned on its head.

Introduce a new formula based on two litre production based engines. Limit them to no more than 8 cylinders. Set a weight limit without the driver. Slick tyres allowed.

Then stand back and watch how many different concepts emerge.

The reason F1 is in a cultural backwater is the regulation stranglehold and what has it done? Given us boring, predictable races with little prospect of change!

Aux les lanterns!

[desmo]

I think a clean sheet redefinition of the formula is long overdue. Finding a consensus on what that might be could be well nigh impossible though.

[jgm]

Apart from the rules defining the specification of the cars the actual shape is defined by aerodynamic requirements. All the teams use the same equipment and techniques in their aerodynamic research and, not surprisingly, arrive at the same answers. Many of the aerodynamicists themselves move around from team to team and thus help to cross-fertilise the whole process by sharing out the intellectual property. In the old pre-wind tunnel days designers had to guess what the best shape might be, hence the wide variation in shapes. The sameness these days is just a sign of maturity in the design process. Most commercial aeroplanes look very similar for the same reasons.

[Cociani]

I thnk that Moseley's idea (paraphrased in my new sig) might be that breath of fresh air. I would love to see them ban wings alltogether and also ban diffusers etc. Leave the engines be and see what they come up with. The cars would look and work completely differentlly than they do today. The cornering speeds would be reduced and I think the racing would be closer. Passing would be easier because slipstreaming would be easier and braking zones would be deeper.

[Christiaan]

B4 formula1.com belonged to Bernie they put up silhouttes of all the cars and asked you to guess which was which. It was quite interesting to see how different the cars actually are.