2021 Formula 1 Thread

[DLSTR]

This Epstein boss sounds like an idiot a touch. MotoGp riders almost revolted. Fix it. Long known problem.


https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/co...aints/6699286/

By: Alex Kalinauckas
Oct 22, 2021, 5:15 AM
Austin circuit boss Bobby Epstein says bumps “aren't an issue” for Formula 1 cars, following concerns about the surface being expressed by drivers ahead of the 2021 US Grand Prix.

AlphaTauri racer Pierre Gasly said ahead of the Texas race that the event “could be quite complicated” for drivers because Austin’s bumps, which have always been encountered at the Circuit of the Americas track because it is built on shifting land, “seem even more severe now” after he watched the recent MotoGP event at the same venue.

The topic was much discussed in the drivers’ pre-event press conferences at Austin on Thursday, but Epstein dismissed the concerns – particularly after FIA-mandated work to mill the track surface at the depression between Turn 2 and Turn 3 and the depressions at Turns 4, 6, 10 and 14 had been completed in the run up to the event.


When asked by Autosport if COTA would have to complete additional work to address concerns about its track surface, Epstein replied: “Gasly may have said something, but he hasn't driven the track.

“So, the bumps aren't an issue for the cars first [of all].

“And Michael Masi [F1 race director] has been out and sent people and they've checked it and they asked us to grind two or three areas of concern.

“And that work was done already Monday and Tuesday this week.

“So, it's still a problem for bikes – there's two sort of dip areas – but cars have no problem.

“I think if you ask [Gasly] after he drives he'll say they've done a lot harder surfaces than this.

Epstein added that his track will “resurface for the bikes by April” to add to work completed since F1 last visited Texas in 2019, which led to resurfacing at the pit exit and run to the first corner, plus the runs between Turns 9 and 10 and Turns 11-12, as well as from midway through Turn 15 to halfway through Turn 19.

“We're closing for three weeks in January,” Epstein continued. “We've already resurfaced a lot, we did a lot last year so there's more to do.


“But we should ask Gasly after he goes out, can you drive this? Ask him how Monaco was.”

[God-Speed]

Originally Posted by DLSTR

This Epstein boss sounds like an idiot a touch. MotoGp riders almost revolted. Fix it. Long known problem.


https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/co...aints/6699286/

By: Alex Kalinauckas
Oct 22, 2021, 5:15 AM
Austin circuit boss Bobby Epstein says bumps “aren't an issue” for Formula 1 cars, following concerns about the surface being expressed by drivers ahead of the 2021 US Grand Prix.

AlphaTauri racer Pierre Gasly said ahead of the Texas race that the event “could be quite complicated” for drivers because Austin’s bumps, which have always been encountered at the Circuit of the Americas track because it is built on shifting land, “seem even more severe now” after he watched the recent MotoGP event at the same venue.

The topic was much discussed in the drivers’ pre-event press conferences at Austin on Thursday, but Epstein dismissed the concerns – particularly after FIA-mandated work to mill the track surface at the depression between Turn 2 and Turn 3 and the depressions at Turns 4, 6, 10 and 14 had been completed in the run up to the event.


When asked by Autosport if COTA would have to complete additional work to address concerns about its track surface, Epstein replied: “Gasly may have said something, but he hasn't driven the track.

“So, the bumps aren't an issue for the cars first [of all].

“And Michael Masi [F1 race director] has been out and sent people and they've checked it and they asked us to grind two or three areas of concern.

“And that work was done already Monday and Tuesday this week.

“So, it's still a problem for bikes – there's two sort of dip areas – but cars have no problem.

“I think if you ask [Gasly] after he drives he'll say they've done a lot harder surfaces than this.

Epstein added that his track will “resurface for the bikes by April” to add to work completed since F1 last visited Texas in 2019, which led to resurfacing at the pit exit and run to the first corner, plus the runs between Turns 9 and 10 and Turns 11-12, as well as from midway through Turn 15 to halfway through Turn 19.

“We're closing for three weeks in January,” Epstein continued. “We've already resurfaced a lot, we did a lot last year so there's more to do.


“But we should ask Gasly after he goes out, can you drive this? Ask him how Monaco was.”

To answer your question, YES Bobby Epstein is an Idiot. Drivers from all forums of racing have complained about how rough & bumpy the track is. Epstein would rather put money towards his FALED Soccer venue than the track which brings in the money. He is also the same Idiot that forgot the pay the F1 fees on time a few years ago.

[Hotrodz]

Originally Posted by God-Speed

To answer your question, YES Bobby Epstein is an Idiot. Drivers from all forums of racing have complained about how rough & bumpy the track is. Epstein would rather put money towards his FALED Soccer venue than the track which brings in the money. He is also the same Idiot that forgot the pay the F1 fees on time a few years ago.

You live there so if you follow any of the other organizations that run there, the bumps are a problem.

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[JARblue]

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

You live there so if you follow any of the other organizations that run there, the bumps are a problem.

I drove out there in 2013 when it was brand new. It is a much different track now even with the resurfacing

[DLSTR]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wh...gains/6702848/


What's behind Mercedes' F1 straightline performance gains?
By: Jake Boxall-Legge
Oct 23, 2021, 4:13 AM
Mercedes has dismissed the idea that it is running a ride-height control device on its W12 Formula 1 car, although the rear has been seen lowering during the straights.


Having shown excellent straightline speed in recent rounds, particularly at the Turkish Grand Prix, Mercedes came under fire from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner – who suggested that the team was “obviously optimising a straightline device” to Sky F1.

Those claims were refuted by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who said that the team’s performance on the straights were a culmination of “all the small gains, marginal gains that have been added and bring performance.”

However, video footage of the Mercedes W12 shows a marginal squatting of the rear during the high-speed areas of the track, with the ride-height rising as the car brakes for a corner.

Mercedes already runs a low-rake package, which means that the rear is raised significantly less relative to the front compared to cars like the Red Bull, which runs at a very high rake.



Although a higher rake is an advantage in the corners, in which the airflow under the floor can be accelerated and the effective diffuser space opened up to reduce the pressure under the car, it is a hindrance in the straights.

This is due to the greater amount of drag it produces, as the air is worked harder by the floor – and the frontal area of the car increases as the rear of the bodywork runs higher.

If a team can reduce the rear ride-height, then it can reduce the drag as a result, and thus unlock greater straightline speed.


It appears as though Mercedes has found a set-up which allows the rear to drop as the car accelerates, thus yielding that effect of reduced drag which means the car’s maximum velocity is greater.

Although it is currently unknown how the car produces this effect, one method of running a passive system is to install a spring setting that allows the rear of the car to compress as downforce at the rear increases, and then relent as the downforce reduces.

Using a softer spring will also cope with the changes in elevation experienced at the Istanbul Park circuit, and thus prove useful for delivering consistent grip around the bumpy Circuit of the Americas surface.

It can also produce a stall in the diffuser, which is something that teams often try to employ at a certain speed to improve acceleration, owing to the lower position.

One difficulty to consider is that when the car returns to its natural position in the braking zones, the airflow must reattach sufficiently to ensure that the diffuser works to produce the downforce required for the corners.

It seems that the W12 makes a gradual return to its regular rake once the driver gets off the accelerator, ensuring that the airflow has plenty of opportunity to assume its desired position.

Mercedes seems incredibly confident in its set-up changes and, given the pressure placed on the team by its need to introduce new engines in the previous few rounds, it seems that the straightline gains tally with the team’s claims that it has found a “sweet spot” with its suspension configuration rather than finding extra performance from the powertrain

[Ventruck]

Checo looking good out there. Hope he gets a good launch either to have his own race or be able to hold Mercedes back.

[God-Speed]

Good Sunday Morning All. 90* for the high today with a 0% chance of rain. Going to be a warm one for those out at the Track today. My Cowboys are off this week but we have the F1 US Grand Prix this afternoon. Hope you all have a Great Sunday. Stay Safe, Stay Positive and Keep Washing those Hands.


PS: Steaks are on the Menu tonight!!

[DLSTR]

Originally Posted by God-Speed

Good Sunday Morning All. 90* for the high today with a 0% chance of rain. Going to be a warm one for those out at the Track today. My Cowboys are off this week but we have the F1 US Grand Prix this afternoon. Hope you all have a Great Sunday. Stay Safe, Stay Positive and Keep Washing those Hands.


PS: Steaks are on the Menu tonight!!

Happy Race Day - be safe, have fun and enjoy the big show!!

[danegrey]

exciting race today, also some action through the mid-field others....
hope the rest of the races are just as good....

[Ventruck]

mmmm today delivered.

I'm rooting Max for the WC, but Lewis was solo on his start and gave him a race. Both of them were like 40+sec on everyone else.

Ferrari boiz doing some racing with McLaren
Lonzo and Vettel having some charges.
Alfa had some racing to do as well.

I'm a moron for not trying to be out there.

[abm89]

Fernando vs The FIA

That's the real battle.

[DLSTR]

Mercedes just didnt have the pace. Track position is king. Hard to pass with car that hates unstable airflow.

[abm89]

Originally Posted by DLSTR

Mercedes just didnt have the pace. Track position is king. Hard to pass with car that hates unstable airflow.

Looked like the F1 Rodeo out there with those cars bucking around like that!

[DLSTR]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1...lties/6721345/

F1 team bosses see no alternative to power unit grid penalties
By: Adam Cooper
Oct 28, 2021, 11:50 AM
Several Formula 1 team bosses say they cannot think of an alternative to the current grid penalty system for using more than three engines per season.

Penalties have once again become a talking point this year, with title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both having taken fourth power units and the associated move down the grid.

Many observers fear that another change and thus a penalty for either man over the final five races of the season could have a decisive impact on the title battle.

But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff argues it would be difficult to have a system that penalises only the team and not the driver.

“I think the penalty system on power units is pretty robust,” he said when asked by Autosport if it was time to revisit the concept of grid penalties.

“Because what we need to avoid is that we are building power units in a way that they perform at peak performance for only a few races.

“And if you change regulations, and you say okay, there is no grid penalty for the driver, but just constructor points, it will still mean that teams, if you're in a fight for a driver championship, will just throw engines at that car.

“I think if we come up with good solutions definitely it is worth looking at. It's confusing for the new fans why, out of the driver’s responsibility, an engine penalty puts him at the back of the grid, or 10 or five places away. And that's clearly not great, but I haven't got the solutions.”


Red Bull, which will become an engine manufacturer when Honda leaves after 2021, is not a fan of the three engine limit per season.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Like Wolff, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl cautioned that raising the limit would only encourage manufacturers to push the boundaries further.

“I obviously get the point that it is not ideal having all these penalties,” he said when quizzed on the topic by Autosport.

“But to be honest, I do not really see a straightforward solution to that because for example if you will decide let's go to four engines instead of three. We will end up all with five engines, because we would just crank up the engines.”

“In the end, it just shows that all the manufacturers teams are pushing each other so hard that we all push the technology we're using to the absolute limit or beyond and that's what ends then in issues or problems. So we simply have to accept that at the moment, and get on with it.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whose organisation becomes an engine manufacturer when it takes over the Honda project in 2022, believes that the current limit is too low.

"I've never been a fan of two engines or three engines,” Horner added. “For me you end up using four pretty much in a season anyway. So it's something we need to look out for the future.

“I mean, there's talk of going down to two engines, which I think would be a mistake. So it needs to be a sensible balance.”

[Hotrodz]

I was at the track this weekend having my own fun so I watched the race yesterday after work. The outcome was not to my liking but the race and pre-race antics lived up to the hype. All in all it was a big win for F1. Great drive by Max and Lewis both. Neither made any mistakes!

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