Topic: F1 2014 Season

[JacobBlack]

Isn't that why we don't use cruise control (especially adaptive cruise control) in the wet?

Wow...that's never happened to me in the wet.  What cars are you driving that do that??

None, as you probably already know. But I've been advised many a time not to use those systems in wet/bad weather. And a road car is a little different to an F1 car...
 
Are you saying having the car automatically slow itself down out on the track when a double-yellow is waved is a good idea?

[rrocket]

If the visibility were so poor that he could have been crashed (and potential injured) while slowing down for yellows, maybe the race itself should have been flagged.

No safety car during vehicle removal has worked for many years.  This was a fluke incident.

Agreed.

Maybe what should be done is to put "under riders" on the recovery vehicles to prevent race cars from submarining under them.  We have rear under riders/bumpers on trucks in Canada for this same reason.  In other countries, they have under riders all around trucks so vehicles can't go under in case of accident.

It would be very simple and cost effective to put under riders on recovery vehicles.

[Northernridge]

^Good idea, all commercial trucks should have those.

[dougjp]

Under riders is a great idea, designed better, perhaps like a Safer barrier.

If I was the FIA I would be asking all the teams for ideas how to safely and consistently disable the race driver's brain out of 'race' mode when a yellow happens. The obvious starting point to me would be to disable electric power automatically with a yellow, as that's where the torque is mainly coming from.

As it stands now, all the race driver needs to do when there is any form of yellow is demonstrate to the FIA that they reduce speed. This is a cruel joke because that can be a half second in the sector, nothing but a fuel save type early gentle braking (which in turn helps with their overall race fuel usage numbers). In other words, there is never any backing off in yellows where the on throttle application occurs (and presumably why the two cars speared off in exactly the same place due to a mini river of water - power on aquaplaning).

[rrocket]

Under riders is a great idea, designed better, perhaps like a Safer barrier.

If I was the FIA I would be asking all the teams for ideas how to safely and consistently disable the race driver's brain out of 'race' mode when a yellow happens. The obvious starting point to me would be to disable electric power automatically with a yellow, as that's where the torque is mainly coming from.

Do they get tone messages through their headsets in the car?  How about race control playing some annoying, terrible sounding tone when there's a yellow to "snap" the drivers attention into caution mode?   Or better yet, every recovery vehicle should have a beacon tone that goes through the headset.

For example when we'd be sledding, trail groomers were deadly.  Hit a trail groomer and you're dead.  But with our headsets anytime there was a groomer in proximity, a beacon warning would wail over the headsets.  Same idea in F1 would be SUPER easy to implement!  You'd hear the beacon and KNOW there's a recovery vehicle nearby which usually means yellow flag too.

[JacobBlack]

Do they get tone messages through their headsets in the car?  How about race control playing some annoying, terrible sounding tone when there's a yellow to "snap" the drivers attention into caution mode?   Or better yet, every recovery vehicle should have a beacon tone that goes through the headset.

For example when we'd be sledding, trail groomers were deadly.  Hit a trail groomer and you're dead.  But with our headsets anytime there was a groomer in proximity, a beacon warning would wail over the headsets.  Same idea in F1 would be SUPER easy to implement!  You'd hear the beacon and KNOW there's a recovery vehicle nearby which usually means yellow flag too.

Good plan. Very good plan.

[rrocket]

Do they get tone messages through their headsets in the car?  How about race control playing some annoying, terrible sounding tone when there's a yellow to "snap" the drivers attention into caution mode?   Or better yet, every recovery vehicle should have a beacon tone that goes through the headset.

For example when we'd be sledding, trail groomers were deadly.  Hit a trail groomer and you're dead.  But with our headsets anytime there was a groomer in proximity, a beacon warning would wail over the headsets.  Same idea in F1 would be SUPER easy to implement!  You'd hear the beacon and KNOW there's a recovery vehicle nearby which usually means yellow flag too.

Good plan. Very good plan.

A Canadian company already makes the groomer beacons...and sends them to trail groomers for free!

Just put these same beacons on the recovery vehicles and you've just implemented a bunch of safety...for almost no cost.

Jacob...ring up the FIA.  You have them on your speed dial, no?   

[mmret]

Explicit speed limiter under double waved yellows.
Then again the tires and brakes can get cold...so...

And what if it's wet, and the telemetry throws the car into full-braking and engine braking mode and the thing loses traction and spears off the track anyway?
Isn't that why we don't use cruise control (especially adaptive cruise control) in the wet?

I do not think you know the meaning of the word telemetry.

Telemetry is the highly automated communications process by which measurements are made and other data collected at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.[1] The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure.

The computers don't brake the car. The telemetry certainly doesn't. They already have an electronic PL speed limiter. It doesn't brake the car, it only prevents the car from going above a certain speed. The drivers still have to hit the brakes before reaching the PL line for example.

[JacobBlack]

The computers don't brake the car. The telemetry certainly doesn't. They already have an electronic PL speed limiter. It doesn't brake the car, it only prevents the car from going above a certain speed. The drivers still have to hit the brakes before reaching the PL line for example.

You're right on one count - I misused the word telemetry.
As for the limiter, you're right, you have to get down under it - so tell me again how that would force drivers to slow down in the area? If they don't slow down, they don't slow down. Whether or not there's a limiter there - unless you make it a full-on intervention that slows the car for them - they still won't slow down.

[wing]

Yellow flags are for catching up to the car ahead of you who hopefully slowed down.

[5 Wheel Drive]

I like the idea of an audible warning for the driver duriing a full course yellow, or when a recovery vehicle is on the track. Or making something on the driver's display be more visible. The screens on the steering wheels on some of the cars are big enough now. Have the whole background go yellow, that would certainly be an attention getter.

I don't agree with having something automated to slow the car down or disable the electric drive. These are F1 drivers, there's no need for something automated. Ignore the warning, get a penalty. 5 second stop & go, or something similar.

There's been talk now about them not being open cockpits anymore. I don't agree with that either. They've been open since the beginning. Close in the cockpit, and they'll have to put a/c in them for races like Bahrain, or Singapore, or Abu Dahbi. This crash was just a fluke. No need to close them in.

[rrocket]

There's been talk now about them not being open cockpits anymore.

That would not have helped in this incident...

[dougjp]

I still think any F1 driver will override anything they can, to go as fast as they can get away with. So the FIA is on the 'right track' here:

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-looking-into-two-possible-changes-in-response-to-bianchi-crash

[5 Wheel Drive]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

[mmret]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

Still amazed that Rosberg managed to recover like that. Still trading purples with Bottas at the very end. Really impressive drive aside from that moment of lunacy on the first lap.

Shows just how much advantage Mercedes have over the field really - they could have started at the back and no-stopped their way to a 1-2!

[rrocket]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

I thought they should have boycotted the Russian race.....

[mmret]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

I thought they should have boycotted the Russian race.....

And the next one?

[5 Wheel Drive]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

I thought they should have boycotted the Russian race.....

Too much $$$ to be had, Bernie would never let that happen.

[Angry Chicken]

Anyone watch the race from Sochi this morning? Pretty uneventful. The track looks nice. Pirelli went too conservative with the tire choice. After flat spotting his 2 fronts on the first lap, Rosberg did the entire race on 1 set of tires. Mixing it up a bit with higher degradation and more pit stops would have made it a bit more interesting. But, I understand that Pirelli's engineers didn't get the chance to do their normal tarmac analysis. Lessons learned for next year I guess...

I thought they should have boycotted the Russian race.....

As 5WD says in another post, too much money involved.  My blood boiled every time they panned the camera to the hospitality suite to focus on Putin, mugging for the cameras and fawned on by the assembled sycophants.  I think that within 10 years Sochi will be crumbling into ruins and strewn with whatever the Caucasus version of a tumbleweed is. The whole facility is a testament to his towering ego.  Disgusting spectacle and a boring race.  I was so disappointed.

[Keith99]

What do you think about the future of Fernando Alonso? Any chances for a new title next year?