Ferrari F1 pre-launch speculation
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It seems that every year we get this. And today I discovered it while going around the F1 Technical forums.
http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=299163#p299163
As always, it seems a little bit off the rules.
What do you think?
what is it that your looking at in the pic?
Im guessing its the wing’lets infront of the sidepod? I read (i think James Allens blog) that its doubles as the crash structure for the chassis http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/some-indiscretions-from-italy-about-the-new-ferrari-f1-car/I’ve read some about the new Mclaren MP4-27 and theres loads of rumours about that car! Its exciting stuff, and only a few days before the cars start being shown!
I saw that drawing earlier: apparently the same article says the car will have a pull-rod front suspension.
As people say in that forum, it’s quite hard to think how that might work…!
I was looking at the sidepods and I was thinking about the legality of that. But I hadn’t read the James Allen blog yet today so…
I really love this pre-season speculation. And I hate when teams appear on the launches with old wings. I understand them, but I get mad when that happens.
I agree, when I first saw it and it looked odd and I did have to double check JA’s blog to be sure thats what they was talking about.
I don’t think the car will be as ugly as Luca is making it out to be. But at the same time, I don’t think it will be a particularly beautiful car – I think Luca is just prepareing himself and the team for a bit of backlash over the car’s looks.
Well today we saw the first pics of the new ct01 and when i saw that nose i automaticly remembered this video wich has been hovering around on youtube this month. I fear all the cars whill have an ugly nose like that.
link to the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgR5YX0dvO4
@fer-no65 Front pull rod certainly is possible. For example in the 2001 Minardi. Funny thing is the 2001 Minardi was done up by Aldo Costa
With all this speculation about Ferrari mounting a set of winglets in front of the sidepods, one thing doesn’t sit right with me: why would they need such a system? Wings generate downforce, but the air that passes over the winglets would just go straight into the sidepod. It’s not really necessary, because there is no need for downforce inside the car.
Or is there? Could Ferrari have developed some kind of aerodynamic device inside the rear of the car?
I really hope it looks like that, because it looks beautiful in that drawing. I also hope they run a nose more similar to Brawn’s in 2009. Is there something that says they have to make those silly noses like Caterham have done, or can they make them look… you know, normal?
I’m most excited for the Ferrari launch, the McLaren launch, and the Sauber launch this year. Lotus should be interesting too.
Is there something that says they have to make those silly noses like Caterham have done
There is nothing that says they have to do it, but the Caterham solution is apparently the most effective method. The rules state that everything forward of the bulkhead – about level with the front axle – must be no more than 55cm above the ground. However, everything behind the bulkhead may be up to 62.5cm above the ground. The FIA probably intended for the designers to follow McLaren’s lead and develop a nose with a constant slope, as McLaren did with the MP4-26. However, because of the way the rules are written, it is believed that almost every team will go in for this staggered nose design like Caterham.
@Prisoner-Monkeys I find that ridiculous. Why couldn’t they just say the tip had to be no higher than 55cm from the ground? I understand now, thanks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all have noses like the Caterham. I hope they change this rule for next year. The regulations make the cars uglier and uglier each year, it seems.
The rules were introduced because the FIA was afraid that, in the event of a head-on collision – like Liuzzi and Schumacher at Abu Dhabi in 2010 – the nose of one car would lift up onto the nose of another, and the driver of the second car would get a face full of speeding Formula 1 car. Like I said, I think the intention was to have a sloped nose like the MP4-26, but the teams found a loophole that would let them run most of the nose at 62.5c, above the ground.
Wings generate downforce
Not all wings are designed to generate downforce. Winglets so far in front are generally used as flow conditioners. See the McLaren winglet that sits above the channel in their U-sidepod. That won’t directly produce downforce; but rather manage the flow so you have a better quality towards the rear. Another example would be the pre-2009 cars. A lot of the winglets and canards found on the car were not put there for the purpose of creating downforce; they were there to manage the airflow towards the rear.
What it looks like in this case; would be that they are attempting to drive up the pressure of the airflow into the side pod rather than for any aero benefit as such. With more pressure there; you’d be able to decrease the size of the sidepod inlet; and this will benefit them by having less drag.
@raymondu999: I know, I remember the 2001 Minardi. But the Minardi had a very low nose, as it was the standard around those days.
Nowadays, with the higher noses, it’d be difficult to fit a pull-rod front suspension. Well, that’s what Scarbs said anyway…
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