Cooling ‘biggest challenge’ for F1 teams in 2014

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Cooling will be the biggest headache for F1 designers under the new engine regulations next year.

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Future vision: Engineers discuss 2014 changes (F1)

Caterham technical director Mark Smith: “The cooling challenge [is] probably the thing that, I imagine, has most people up and down the pit lane scratching their heads. It’s reasonably easy to come up with a solution that will cool, but to come up with a solution that will cool and give you the optimum aerodynamic performance is the challenge.”

Williams praises ‘spectacular’ Bottas (Autosport)

Claire Williams: “He has done a spectacular job for the team this year. The thing I have been most impressed with is his maturity and I suppose maybe, because of his nationality, his calmness comes out in situations where he could be completely the opposite.”

Kaltenborn sees signs of recovery (ESPN)

“It’s been a disappointing first half because we clearly came here with high expectations which were based on last year’s performance and in view of the changes from last year to this year I think we had good reason to believe that. We somewhere went wrong, we’ve seen the result now and now we’re working our way up again slowly but surely.”

In my view: The Three Dimensions of Sport (Global Sports Jobs)

Adam Parr: “Red Bull argued against the introduction of a Drag Reduction System (DRS) that allowed following cars to overtake more easily (by operating a rear wing flap). Red Bull were qualifying on pole every race – they were not interested in making overtaking easier.”

Lewis Hamilton tells Sir David Frost he’s a family man at heart (Daily Express)

“When I got growing up it was not that easy to, and still today, actually split yourself between two families it’s never been that easy.”

Winning is everything for fans – or is it? (BBC)

“Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone speculated two years ago that something must be done to stop races becoming too predictable. His solution was simple: it ought to rain more. ‘Wet races are always the most exciting,’ as Ecclestone put it. Even Formula 1, though, is unable to arrange a contract with the weather. So Ecclestone suggested that rain should be artificially supplied by a track-side sprinkler system. The fact it was even considered demonstrates how even the most technical sports crave narrative uncertainty.”

Russia’s anti-gay law could impact Olympics (Travel Weekly)

“The biggest losers if the firestorm does adversely impact tourism could be the Black Sea resort of Sochi itself, which is also poised to host the G8 summit and the inaugural Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2014 (although a deadline snafu has put the auto race in question).”

Tweets

Comment of the day

@Jeanrien thinks Sauber should give Robin Frijns a chance before Sergey Sirotkin:

I would rather see a scenario in which Sirotkin got his superlicence during pre-season test. Frijns get the drive at Sauber but Sirotkin has the FP1 drive to get use to F1 without putting him on the big scene too early and get him ready for the next year.

This would allow Sauber to have a potential good driver with Frijns but no money from him, money coming from Sirotkin and justifying the fact that Frijns won’t have any FP1 to let them at Sirotkin. Could be a situation in which all three have something to gain from.
@Jeanrien

Snapshot

F1 Fanatic reader Andrew Pugh was at Silverstone for the recent Young Drivers’ Test and sent in these pictures of Daniel Ricciardo’s off while driving the Red Bull RB9.

“You could see Ricciardo building up his confidence through the sweeping former final sector,” explained Andrew. “On lap seven he was late on the brakes and ran wide before the apex at Luffield.”

“He tried to tiptoe his way out of the gravel but eventually beached the Red Bull.”

From the forum

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On this day in F1

Michael Schumacher scored a famous win in the Hungarian Grand Prix 15 years ago today.

A switch to an aggressive three-stop strategy allowed Schumacher to put pressure on the McLarens. A broken anti-roll bar slowed Mika Hakkinen, who in turn held David Coulthard up, which helped Schumacher take the lead.

Coulthard finished second ahead of Jacques Villeneuve’s Williams.

Here’s an early Martin Brundle gridwalk from the race featuring Sylvester Stallone:

Images © Lotus/LAT, Andrew Pugh

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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41 comments on “Cooling ‘biggest challenge’ for F1 teams in 2014”

  1. It never ceases to amaze me how many people still take Bernie’s suggestion of sprinklers seriously…

    1. Bernie may have been thinking out loud but he wasn’t joking. The article, to me, illustrates why I do not like these ever tightening design restrictions, rather than preventing another period of 1 team dominance these restrictions make it even more unlikely that an underdog team will find a way to take the fight to the top teams.

      1. And if it was anybody else making that suggestion, you would point put how they were joking. Your reputation precedes you – you have decided that Bernie is out to ruin the sport, and so everything he says and does will be proof positive of that, no matter how you have to spin it.

        1. No, if it was anybody else I would have assumed it was sarcasm. It is true that I believe Bernie is out to make as much money out of F1 as he can, even when it is detrimental to F1, but at least I am consistent in my views, unlike youself.

          1. Sarcasm is a form of humour.

            So, you said it yourself: if anybody else had suggested it, you would have assumed they were joking. But because it was Bernie that said it, you assumed he was serious.

    2. It wouldn’t of happened, today’s F1 cars don’t go out in the wet.

    3. Sprinklers would be better than made-to-degrade tyres. Which begs the question why was Canada 2010 (the reference for current tyres) so special? No rain during the day, but heavy rains overnight, every night — the track was still green for the race. So my far out ridiculous suggestion is revert to old tyre specs, but wash the track overnight, if not between sessions.

    4. Exactly.

      Ecclestone suggested that rain should be artificially supplied by a track-side sprinkler system. The fact it was even considered demonstrates how even the most technical sports crave narrative uncertainty.

      No, this demonstrates how brilliant Ecclestone is at getting the press to talk about the sport. Instead of spending 50 million on advertising, he gives a few crazy statements that everyone talks about. He also suggested having a short cut at tracks which drivers were allowed to use a limited number of times per race. This is stupid crap which I’m certain he doesn’t take seriously, but it generates attention. We all like to complain about Ecclestone, but that man knows what the hell he is doing.

      1. @dc You don’t really think it’s clever to seek attention by saying silly things, do you? That’s the reasoning of a five-year-old.

        Serious or not, Ecclestone’s ‘sprinkler idea’ reflects very poorly on F1. It gives the impression of a sport so desperate for attention it will go to ridiculous lengths to create artificial means of making itself more entertaining.

        I doubt Ed Smith took Ecclestone’s idea seriously. But the person who runs F1 handed the world a stick to beat it with, you can’t expect no one to use it.

        1. Jack (@jackisthestig)
          16th August 2013, 9:08

          It works very well for Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.

          1. @jackisthestig That’s fine if you’re selling £20 airline tickets on cheap, nasty flights to airports in the middle of nowhere.

            Ecclestone is trying to get governments to spend nine-figure sums on building tracks and holding races. That is not well served by a message that says “our current product is so boring we’ll do any crazy thing to make people like us”.

          2. Jack (@jackisthestig)
            16th August 2013, 10:43

            Fair point, selling cheap tickets certainly doesn’t apply to F1.

        2. That’s the reasoning of a five-year-old.

          I’m not so sure about that.

          Most of us have a reasonable idea of a five-year-old’s mindset; practically none of us has any notion of what goes on inside the head of a multi-billionaire.

          For all we know, such a person may act as infantile as a five-year-old in public simply because he can.

          Ordinary people are threatened by every stupid thing they say or do, as it can result in losing your job, losing other people’s respect, losing your self-respect etc. This means, ordinary people are afraid to say or do stupid things.

          One of the perks of being a billionaire is that 99% of the threats in life ordinary people perceive do not apply to you.

          Can you lose your job and be unable to make ends meet with the tons of money you have in you bank account? Can you be a pariah with all your billions? Can you lose your self-esteem with a fabulously successful career behind you? Hardly.

          On the contrary: if you are truly powerful, you can say the most idiotic thing that comes to your mind and many of those around you will still kowtow. Behaving like a cre*tin is a luxury rich men are afforded.

          That doesn’t mean they act like that in their business dealings.

          When “Ecclestone is trying to get governments to spend nine-figure sums”, all these preposterous public statements will not amount to anything.

          In serious negotiations he can easily be like, ‘Look how the press is running away with all the crap that comes out of my mouth, ha ha ha’; and his negotiating partner will be like, ‘Yeah, that’s smart of you, ha ha ha’. No problem at all.

          Such outlandish ideas do create free publicity as @dc says, while they guaranteedly won’t affect business negotiations. A win-win for Ecclestone.

          1. Negative publicity is still negative even if it’s free. Ecclestone could have got positive publicity without damaging his own brand.

        3. Did @keithcollantine just say I had the reasoning of a five year old? ;-)

          Ecclestone comes across as an eccentric. People accept billionaire eccentrics quite happily. I don’t think his crazy ideas are a negative for the sport. On the contrary: he uses his persona to market F1. This is his job. And, to be honest, it has worked extremely well. I find it very difficult to argue against his results.

          1. @dc No I said if that’s what Ecclestone’s reasoning is, that is the reasoning of a five-year-old. I don’t believe he’s putting that much thought into it, though.

    5. The rain sprinkler idea is just… so… if it actually happened, I would stop watching F1 immediately to be honest, I’m really not lowering myself to the point where entertainment is artificially induced by simulating the circumstances from a race in 2011.

      1. How about entertainment that’s artificially induced by simulating the tyres from a race in Canada in 2010?

        1. That’s also pretty bad, though not as sad as installing sprinkler. If it continues like this (so 2013 will be repeated next year and the year after that) I will indeed reconsider watching F1.

    6. As an example it did a great job to bring over a point made by the author. Sure, he could have mentioned DRS, or he could have even mentioned Pirelli making tyres last less to give more action. But I doubt anyone who does not follow F1, or at least motorsport, would understand the fuss.

      Making it rain artificially though, is something everyone understands. And it would have an impact on just about any sport.

  2. I’m not sure if the Daily Express has any accreditation as a paper, but if that article was any longer I would have to invoice them for wasting my time. Pointless! However, the quotes made by Adam Parr is a great summary of the sport we love!

  3. Dont they still have Keith the cameraman on with Martin for Sky?..haha..I wonder if its the same Keith?

  4. while driving the Red Bull RB9.

    If that’s driving, I think Red Bull should sign someone else.

  5. I agree with what @jeanrien proposes in the COTD. Give Frijns the seat, give Sirotkin the Friday running and in theory they could even replace either Frijns or Guttierez mid season if Sirotkin impresses them.

    1. TBH I really don’t think Frijns is ready either…

  6. Even Formula 1, though, is unable to arrange a contract with the weather. So Ecclestone suggested that rain should be artificially supplied by a track-side sprinkler system.

    Go take a shower , Bernie . There are limits to everything you can negotiate .

  7. Re: cooling.
    I’m going to stick my neck out and predict a poor start to the season for the Red Bulls.
    imo Newey will not allow enough and they’ll see partial or full failures time and time again.

    1. I hope Kimi remembers his McLaren days, before signing…

      1. RBR cooling problem = hire the iceman

    2. @webbo82 that probably wouldn’t be too far out a prediction!

      Obviously they’ll have access to a lot of data from the engine manufacturers but I wouldn’t put it past Newey to ignore their guidelines and stretch the limits. If not engine failures a lot of ERS failures (as they are already having problems with KERS) which in 2014 could very well lose you 5 seconds a lap – that’s a rather random figure but the power is twice as great, the time it can be used for is 5 times as great, the energy that can be harvested is 5 times as great and the energy that can be used is 10 times as great.

  8. Looking back at it now, that Sly Stallone interview was hilarious, because Driven was none of those things. Not even close.

    1. @ajokay Take the interview aside, which clearly describes something that might be worth watching. However, describing driven as a movie is a gross overstatement.

    2. @ajokay Yeah that’s why I had to include it :-)

  9. “Nose height – for safety reasons the height of noses will be reduced in 2014. The maximum height is currently 550mm, whereas next year it’s 185mm.”

    Now that is interesting, I must have missed this. Wonderful!

    “Fuel – to promote fuel efficiency, fuel will be limited to 100kg per race.”

    Not sure about this though. Some say it’s 100kg per race, some say it’s 100kg per hour. I assume the official F1 site is right about this. Can someone please clarify this?

  10. @wessel-v1
    You can use 100 kg per race, but the fuel flow rate at maximum throttle is 100kg/h

    1. I don’t like the sound of that, full speed first lap, followed by a race of lift and coast. Hopefully there will be safety cars periods with only using about 30% throttle so we can have a bit of a race. Guess the race will mostly be desided by qualifying.

      Still, I am going to try and stay hopeful for next year.

    2. Fuel flow rate of 100kg/h is at 10.5k rpms and above; so not really at max throttle.
      But also, you’re never at 10.5k+ rpms for 100% of the race. Think about it.

      1. Yep. At revs below 10,500 the fuel flow rate is (rpm)(.009) + 5.5 kg/hr. At 8000 rpm the maximum flow rate would be 77.5 kg/hr.

  11. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    16th August 2013, 11:36

    @Jeanrien (COTD) that is nothing short of an inspired idea. Let’s hypothetically say that Hulkenberg replaces Massa at Ferrari, or in the now very unlikely eventuality of Raikkonen going to Red Bull, replaces Kimi at Lotus, there is a gapping hole in the “team leader” seat at Sauber, a seat that Gutierrez cannot fill. Pop Frijns in there, a driver I believe to be the junior series’ finest find since a certain Nico Hulkenberg. Give him plenty of testing, maybe some FP1 sessions this year, the lion’s share of the pre-season testing and Frijns will arrive on the grid in 2014 as a driver already able to outdo Gutierrez with a season more experience. Keep Esteban’s cash coming in, keep the Russians happy with plenty of FP1 showings for Sirotkin and maybe even a race drive for Sochi, and you have a Sauber Team that has a solid, if unspectacular, driver line-up in 2014, but without the money worries that plagued it this year.

    From Sirotkin’s perspective, this is a win-win scenario. As Sauber’s reserve in 2014 he could gain F1 experience, whilst in tandem an extra year in FR3.5 could bring flair to clear natural speed. With Magnussen, Vandoorne and da Costa presumably being snaffled up by F1 teams into race and reserve roles, Sirotkin would enter next season as one of the favourites for the FR3.5 title, and then arguably making him ready to take Gutierrez’s place in 2015. I can see Sirotkin being moderately strong in F1, and I truly think he has real talent, but to throw him in next year would be a fatal blow to his career. I know Sauber needs the money, but no amount of intense testing is going to make Sirotkin ready for 2014. He needs a year to work closely with Sauber as a heavily involved reserve driver, doing as many FP1 sessions as Bottas did in 2012, and being Sauber’s main man in the Young Driver Test. That kind of intense involvement could make Sirotkin ready for 2015, but 2014? No chance.

    1. As much as I would love to see that scenario become reality, I don’t think it is fair or wise to give a rookie (Frijns in this case) the ‘team leader’ seat. You compare Frijns with Hülkenberg. In 2010, Nico’s rookie season, he was not capable of leading Williams, Barrichello did. In his second season with Force India, he was much more ready. Hell, even Raikkonen was no team leader in his rookie season, Heidfeld was.

      The only rookie drivers capable of playing lead driver in recent history were Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, but we all know their exceptional talent (and their thousands of miles of testing in Hamiltons case).

  12. I have to say that I completely disagree with one of the points raised by the Comment if the Day – namely, that Sauber should take Robin Frijns for a season whilst developing Sirotkin. I don’t know if it would he too soon to take Sirotkin straight away, but I don’t think that taking Frijns is as good an idea as it is made out to be. He might be the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, but looking at the accomplishments of the drivers he beat this year, they’ve all been fairly average at best. And Frijns’ GP2 results haven’t been anything phenomenal, either – Hilmer might be a debutant team, but other news teams like Russian Time have had plenty of success on their own.

    Everyone was blown away when Frijns won the FR3.5 title in his first season, but the subsequent events have transpired I’m such a way that I have to wonder if he really is that great a driver, or if he was just in the right place at the right time.

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