2011 F1 testing day 3: Valencia

59 comments on “2011 F1 testing day 3: Valencia”

1. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   3rd February 2011, 0:10

   I’ve heard Karthikeyan cut across part of the track and the timing beam accidentally registered his time as legit. Still, what’s the bet that even if that lap time were genuine, Hispania would still fail to score in 2011?
   1. 

      johnt (@johnt)
      3rd February 2011, 0:31

      Hypothetically if that lap time were genuine, it is still just one lap. There’s still the rest of the race to go.

      I’d agree with you PM. High betting.
2. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   3rd February 2011, 0:33

   which configuration are they using? the long one, with that extra bit near the end of the lap or the other one?
   1. 

      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      3rd February 2011, 1:32

      The medium-length one. They always do. The “extra bit” is a part of the short, infield circuit. I don’t think it’s used by anything bigger than go-karts.
      1. 

         Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
         3rd February 2011, 1:58

         thanks PM!
3. 

   mingmong
   3rd February 2011, 1:08

   G’day, just wondering why we are seeing a trend with all teams opting for a higher nose cones? Id like your opinions. I am not an expert. Could it be as they have a reduction in rear end downforce therefore they require less front end downforce to better balance there cars?
   1. 

      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      3rd February 2011, 1:35

      It has to do with producing downforce in the middle of the car. The air travels over the front wing, pushing it downwards. It then goes under the front wing to the section of the floo protruding under the driver, also pushing it down. It is then split around the monocoque and goes into the sidepods. The air travelling over the top of the car is what gets funnels out the back and over the diffuser.
      1. 

         SSF Shumi Follower Forever
         3rd February 2011, 8:08

         Nice explaination… cheers
      2. 

         David McVey
         3rd February 2011, 11:21

         The high nose is intended to open up the air flow under the car. By raising the nose you relieve the area underneath the monocoque of some clutter which allows for a cleaner airflow that will then feed the Bib splitter, underfloor and diffuser.

         The reason for this is clean air is easier to manage into producing downforce so the desire is for the air flowing towards the bib splitter to be as undisturbed as possible.

         You can see the mercedes solution is very refined and quite extreme. If you look under the nose of the car which is very high indeed, the only item that the airflow has to negotiate en route to the bib splitter is the front wing main plain which, in line with the regulations is aero neutral in the central section. i.e. it is not used to work the air in any way thus keeping the air clean as it comes of the back of the wing and under the nose.

         Further back you can see the wishbone arrangement is at a fairly sever angle, this is to allow the lower wishbones to be mounted directly to the side of the tub negating the need for a keel like device underneath the car which would couse flow disruption. This has been common in F1 for a few years now.

         Overall a very efficient concept.
   2. 

      Skett (@skett)
      3rd February 2011, 1:35

      I believe they’re using the nose to direct the air under the car, thus creating downforce
      1. 

         Skett (@skett)
         3rd February 2011, 1:39

         (by creating a lower pressure area under the car than over- a basic ground effect)
         1. 

            Scottie (@scottie)
            3rd February 2011, 1:42

            inversion of bernoulli’s theory?
            1. 

               Skett (@skett)
               3rd February 2011, 2:25

               Not entirely sure how that would be inverted. Wouldn’t that just be the bernoulli theory itself?

               I could be totally wrong tbh, whilst I have an aerospace degree, I can’t say aerodynamics was ever my strong suit
   3. 

      Scottie (@scottie)
      3rd February 2011, 1:37

      I believe it’s in an effort to allow as much air into the front of the floor. This then feedss through to the diffuser which, when fed more air, will provide more downforce at the rear when diffused.

      I hope that makes sense!
      1. 

         Scottie (@scottie)
         3rd February 2011, 1:45

         lol, wow, if ya got a question, come to F1F! answered in seconds!
      2. 

         mingmong
         3rd February 2011, 4:06

         Cheers. Of course that makes sense. If this is the reason I just wonder why teams would not have all gone down this path already due to the importance of the diffusers over the last couple of years…
         1. 

            vjanik
            3rd February 2011, 9:04

            mingmong. good point.

            how come the Brawn of 2009 didnt have a high nose when they spent 15 months developing a car to take full advantage from the double diffuser?
            1. 

               Patrickl (@patrickl)
               3rd February 2011, 12:58

               That had to do with weigth distribution. If you put ballast in the nose you want it to be as low as possible.
   4. 

      gDog
      3rd February 2011, 3:39

      The general trend in recent years of raising the noses has been to make the front wing more efficient by giving it a larger volume of air to work with and getting the nose out of the way, allowing more downforce.

      But why the ultra high noses this year compared to last? I thought this year the regs restricted the height of the nose more than last, and yet now they (almost) all are pushing the max height allowed.
      1. 

         mingmong
         3rd February 2011, 4:03

         Spot on dDog. this was the question i was asking… Everyone wants more downforce, i just wonder why this wasnt the trend on 09 & 10. Its funny how the Merc W01 opted for a similar dropped nose as the 09 brawn however this year like all cars released they have gone ultra high & flat. It will be interesting to see what the McLaren & Force bring next week.
         1. 

            Scottie (@scottie)
            3rd February 2011, 5:06

            also leads me to ask how BMW Sauber went so wrong in ’09 as they went straight for the highest nose above everyone else!

            I guess it comes down to it’s integration with the whole package
            1. 

               Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
               3rd February 2011, 8:28

               They optimized the car around KERS simply ignoring aero package. Opposite of what they did in 2008, when the car was faster in the corners and losing ground on straights.
   5. 

      graigchq
      3rd February 2011, 7:31

      http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/2011-trends-and-solutions/

      that blog and other posts on it should help you get to grips with the trends teams are edging towards this year
      1. 

         mingmong
         3rd February 2011, 11:11

         Excellent. Thank you! According to this i was on the money… “At the sharp end the front wing no longer needs to be quite as powerful, as it only needs to create downforce to balance that available at the rear”
4. 

   congealedmeat (@congealedmeat)
   3rd February 2011, 5:55

   Would it be possible to add a stat of how many laps each driver has done to compare the best overall lap times?
5. 

   Stefan
   3rd February 2011, 7:47

   It’s great that the pre-season has started, but they seem to take it easy. I bet they’re faster than they’re showing, 1.9s slower compared to last year is a bit strange.

   Anyways, I also know laptimes in testing doesn’t say anything, its all about mileage! And that is exactly what Ferrari is doing, just as they did last year (and the year before).

   I still have the data and it was Massa getting the most in front of Alonso.

   Drivers’ total km (top 5)
   3.735,009 km / Felipe Massa (851 laps, 8 days)
   3.630,070 km / Fernando Alonso (820 laps, 7 days)
   3.424,678 km / Rubens Barrichello (779 laps, 8 days)
   3.389,861 km / Nico(las) Hülkenberg (767 laps, 7 days)
   3.311,096 km / Jaime Alguersuari (745 laps, 7 days)

   Teams’ total km (top 5)
   7.365,079 km / Ferrari F10 (1671 laps)
   6.814,539 km / Williams-Cosworth FW32 (1546 laps)
   6.335,897 km / Mercedes MGP W01 (1432 laps)
   6.230,489 km / Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR5 (1405 laps)
   6.100,451 km / McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 (1379 laps)
   1. 

      SSF Shumi Follower Forever
      3rd February 2011, 8:11

      Nice data…
   2. 

      sato113 (@sato113)
      3rd February 2011, 10:22

      nice but why put decimal places in? looks like the ferrari only did 7.3km.
      1. 

         Madman (@madman)
         3rd February 2011, 12:29

         Sato113, I believe this is the convention for writing numbers in europe (certainly Germany) other than the UK.

         In England we use a ‘.’ as a decimal place and ‘,’ as a thousand spacer. However, in Europe they reverse this and use ‘,’ as a decimal place and ‘.’ as the thousand spacer.

         This is also the convention when dimensioning on technical engineering drawings, even in England.

         Believe me it is very confusing as I worked for Mercedes-Benz in Germany for a year and often mistook numbers like 7300 to be 7.3 because of the different convention lol.
         1. 

            Icthyes (@icthyes)
            3rd February 2011, 23:25

            It’s true. As I went to a Greek school I learned it that way, so it was strange switching to the English educational system!
6. 

   asfandyar afridi
   3rd February 2011, 8:23

   ferrari will be the team this year and alonoso the main player
   1. 

      the Edge
      3rd February 2011, 8:45

      well i have 2 agree with 50% of that

      …there’s no chance massa will get a look-in!
7. 

   Chris
   3rd February 2011, 8:56

   Dear all,

   If you are interested in live / real time timing for all drivers have a look at this (Greek!) website:

   http://msfree.gr/ms.php?id=18694

   The most convenient source of information about lap-times so far.

   ;)
   1. 

      Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
      3rd February 2011, 9:20

      Just remember to click the driver’s name if you want to see his lap times from the whole day.
      1. 

         BasCB (@bascb)
         3rd February 2011, 11:11

         Interesting to see when you look at those stints done by Webber. He goes fast, then a bit slower each lap, then he goes about 2-3 secs faster again and then slower before stopping the car.

         Done that rithm about 4 times now. Wonder what they are testing there, is it with/without KERS and/or the ARW?
         1. 

            BBT
            3rd February 2011, 11:30

            They were doing that last year as well and its not only RBR, Mclaren and Ferrari do the same, I there conclude it is not to do with the MRW or KERS.
            1. 

               BasCB (@bascb)
               3rd February 2011, 15:33

               The tyres look like holding quite well.

               From the last longer runs done by almost all teams it looks like they start dropping of in performance from about 12-15 laps (don’t have a clue what tyre compound this is) with about 0.3 seconds per lap.
8. 

   Henry
   3rd February 2011, 9:16

   Hi Keith, just a request for the pictures later – is there any chance you could get hold of a shot of Red Bull’s version of their long exhaust system, which seem to be routed to blow into the diffuser? (as Illustrated by the Illustrious Craig Scarborough http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/red-bull-rb7-open-fronted-exhaust-blown-diffuser/ )

   Its rather interesting how both Renault and Red Bull have developed similar exhaust systems…
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      3rd February 2011, 9:53

      Thanks for the link, excellent stuff! Will we see Team Lotus with their own use of this at the next test?
      1. 

         Henry
         3rd February 2011, 16:34

         if you look at the Photos of the Torro Rosso, what is interesting is that it appears that they are also using a system very similar to this one!

         I wonder what the Mclaren will have. Maybe nothing. cannot wait to see!
9. 

   asfandyar afridi
   3rd February 2011, 9:24

   from the day massa came in to f1 he has the same helmet livery he should change it in order to give himself a new look
   1. 

      the Edge
      3rd February 2011, 9:30

      yer…maybe he could add some flames…lol
      1. 

         Lanky!
         3rd February 2011, 9:34

         Flames… that would be hot! hahaha But for some reason i just dont think Massa sees it the way we do :P
   2. 

      Steph (@)
      3rd February 2011, 9:55

      Loads of drivers keep the same (or a similar) helmet design throuyghout their careers. It’s good in my opinion as it gives them an identity and they’re easy to spot for the fans.
      1. 

         BasCB (@bascb)
         3rd February 2011, 11:06

         Must agree with you here. I love drivers having their helmet design as an icon of their personality for their whole career or large part of it.

         The most iconic ones who spring to mind are Graham Hill (even the family kept to that) and Senna (who inspired a lot of others with it – Hamilton, Bruno Senna and others).
      2. 

         Kest (@kest)
         3rd February 2011, 11:40

         Totally agree drivers should keep a similar look to their helmets throughout their career.

         As Brundle said last year it’s their identity and the easiest way for fans to recognise them.
      3. 

         Fixy (@)
         3rd February 2011, 15:06

         Certainly. Masaa has though had minor changes to his design, most notably in 2007.
         2006: http://sites.google.com/site/ciropabon2/Massa-2007.jpg
         2007: http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa124/f1fanatics/2007%20Driver%20Helmets/XPB_0SI5IIO0OQ058G0ETX9MP-2.jpg
         1. 

            Fixy (@)
            3rd February 2011, 15:16

            *Massa
10. 

    Lanky!
    3rd February 2011, 9:31

    Has anyone else noticed the lack of t-cam on the HRT? what are they trying to achieve with that?

    Im also predicting Mercedes doing something funny with their intake again this year, look how far back their t-cam is? Am i right that the t-cam has to be connected to the roll structure? hmm…
11. 

    Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    3rd February 2011, 9:40

    Problem for Massa this morning:

    Massa’s Ferrari catches fire during testing
    1. 

       Todfod (@todfod)
       3rd February 2011, 9:47

       That looks like a serious oil leak.. or some sort of engine problem.

       Keith, I heard Alonso had some engine problems on the 1st day as well. Would this by any chance be a similar problem?
    2. 

       BasCB (@bascb)
       3rd February 2011, 11:30

       Interesting idea about that revealing Ferrari blowing the starter hole from ScrabsF1 on Tweet.
12. 

    wasiF1 (@wasif1)
    3rd February 2011, 11:24

    Is this the case that with 2011 Spec car be 20 kg more heavier the lap time will be more this year?
    1. 

       BasCB (@bascb)
       3rd February 2011, 11:28

       AND they lost the DDD which brought possibly up to 0.5 sec/lap and it being even colder than last year the Pirelli’s will account for at least part of that.
13. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    3rd February 2011, 11:31

    Are you flying back to the UK and then off to Berlin tomorrow Keith, or will there be a direct flight with the McLaren crew to Berlin?
    1. 

       Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
       3rd February 2011, 11:34

       Back to London tonight then out to Berlin in the morning. Three flights in 12 hours…
       1. 

          BBT
          3rd February 2011, 12:53

          get a lift with the Mclaren guys in a tyre blanket, it’ll be nice and warm.
          I’m in Germany next Friday, a week too late, although its not Berlin anyway and I’d never get anywhere near the launch.
          1. 

             Patrickl (@patrickl)
             3rd February 2011, 13:01

             I was supposed to go to Berlin too, but it seems Vodafone picked the wrong person to receive the VIP tickets :)
       2. 

          BasCB (@bascb)
          3rd February 2011, 14:25

          Hope McLaren charter leaves from Heathrow or Gatwick instead of Luton ;-) !
          Best way to kill a desire to travel in most people, this.

          Are you heading to the Virgin launch event after return from Berlin? Great competition for the tickets (although I am not able to make it to London Friday).

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