F1 technology archive
Bahrain Grand Prix technical review
F1 Fanatic guest writer John Beamer casts his eye over the technical changes on the cars at Bahrain.
Last year the leading cars were often within a few hundredths of a second of each other. But in the first race of this year Fernando Alonso’s fastest lap was a second quicker than anyone else’s and [...]
2010 F1 cars technical analysis (Part 1)
F1 Fanatic guest writer John Beamer examines the seven 2010 F1 cars revealed so far.
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for F1 fans as teams have begun to unveil their 2010 challengers.
From a technical point of view, 2010 should be a belter. Teams are still learning what works and what doesn’t after the radical [...]
Double diffusers ‘banned for 2011′
F1 will ban double diffusers in 2011 according to Autosport.
The controversial diffusers were ruled legal after last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, forcing several teams to re-design their cars.
They allowed teams to claw back much of the downforce they had lost because of changes to the rules in 2009. They were also blamed for making it [...]
Five problems F1 designers face in 2010
F1 cars will weigh almost 100kg more at the start of a race this year compared to last.
That presents a host of challenges to F1 designers such as brake wear, ride height, weight distribution and tyre wear. Any team which doesn’t get a grip of the problems will find themselves playing catch-up like McLaren did [...]
Driving the F1 simulator which gives teams “the best way to cheat”
F1 drivers will get their first runs in their new cars at Valencia in two weeks’ time. Actually, that’s a lie – they started driving them months ago.
The increased use of simulators in F1 means that while the FIA puts ever greater restrictions on testing mileage, teams are relying more heavily on virtual testing to [...]
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix technical analysis – and a look ahead to 2010
F1 Fanatic guest writer John Beamer examines the technical updates from Abu Dhabi and gives his early thoughts on the major changes for 2010.
As evident from my recent musings on the technical side of F1 every team has focused its development resources on 2010. Suffice to say there is little to report from Yas Marina [...]
Goodbye to… KERS
Ahead of their introduction this year Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems were hyped as F1’s attempt to promote environmentlly-friendly technology in racing cars.
But it looks likely that the F1 teams will abandon the technology in 2010. For now at least, it’s goodbye to KERS.
Brazilian Grand Prix technical review
F1 Fanatic guest writer John Beamer takes a look at the differing approaches of Brawn and Red Bull this year, which teams had special parts at Brazil, and what to expect at Abu Dhabi.
Although Brawn won the championships at a canter Red Bull were the better team over much of the season but made too [...]
Singapore Grand Prix technical review
F1 Fanatic guest writer John Beamer looks at the technical developments from the Singpaore Grand Prix.
As the end of the season draws near some teams, particularly those in the midfield, begin to turn their technical resources to 2010. Indeed Ferrari has already done so and given that the 2009 constructors’ championship is a Rubens Barrichello [...]
Technical analysis: 2009 so far
Why hasn’t overtaking improved in 2009 as planned? And have double diffusers really made that much of a difference? John Beamer looks at the major technical developments this year.
First of all a short apology – these columns were supposed to be a regular feature at F1 Fanatic but I ended up doing some contract work [...]
