Ignore the noses...
Discussion
So, it's probably a bit early yet, but has anyone noticed any interesting innovations on the cars this year that might seperate them? Any interesting rumours? Looks like Ferrari could have been right about the most reliable car winning this season judging from the testing today! Looking forward to seeing how things work out over the season,
I think the cooling treatments are the obvious "everyone's done different." We have single exit (rb), twin exit (macca high p, ferrari down low), just a big opening (torro rosso). We also have single / twin / piggybacked / periscope intakes in the airbox region, and different sizes of sidepods throughout the grid. Ferrari for one look like they're pushing the envelope hard on cooling.
Meanwhile, i can't help but think that merc and ferrari with their low noses are doing something different. From what i can gather, these low wide noses give the most front downforce, because the underside causes a venturi to work with the front wing. The downside of this is dirty flow / less flow to the diffuser / floor, costing rear downforce.
I beleive f1 is normally rear grip limited - with more grunt and harder tyres you'd guess that noting would change. Daft question - could better front aero give better braking performance and a chance for overtaking at end of straight? Wll the other cars have better mid corner traction? Obviously pure speculation, but very interesting to see what the outocome is.
I also think red bull are hiding something. That rear ring looks well budget, no slots / not finished paint - has mr newey got a spare part hidden for a week or 2?
And finally - on the noses. If the interweb is right, one side of the merc nose carries the mandatory crash structure tip - but where was it after lewis hit the wall? Is it designed to be sacrificed and come off, or will someone protest this?
Meanwhile, i can't help but think that merc and ferrari with their low noses are doing something different. From what i can gather, these low wide noses give the most front downforce, because the underside causes a venturi to work with the front wing. The downside of this is dirty flow / less flow to the diffuser / floor, costing rear downforce.
I beleive f1 is normally rear grip limited - with more grunt and harder tyres you'd guess that noting would change. Daft question - could better front aero give better braking performance and a chance for overtaking at end of straight? Wll the other cars have better mid corner traction? Obviously pure speculation, but very interesting to see what the outocome is.
I also think red bull are hiding something. That rear ring looks well budget, no slots / not finished paint - has mr newey got a spare part hidden for a week or 2?
And finally - on the noses. If the interweb is right, one side of the merc nose carries the mandatory crash structure tip - but where was it after lewis hit the wall? Is it designed to be sacrificed and come off, or will someone protest this?
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