F1 to get low-profile rubber?

[RacingManiac]

The only people who might benefit from the switch is Michelin, everyone else stands to ramp up the cost exponentially. In a time when they are cutting cost to some ridiculous degree with F1 car running the F1 equivalent endurance motor, gearbox, and freeze engine development and even time(and capability) on their own off-track testing equipments that they already own, suddenly tell them to relearn everything that they've learn in the last 2 decades(well maybe a bit extreme) in 9 months time is backward logic at its best....

Yes there are loads other formula that runs low profile tire, but none of them runs a 5G brake/5G cornering performance envelope, and none run to a 1500lb car. The tires themselves is going to be different regardless, and any appearance of "relevance" to road car tires is just that, appearance. For Michelin to demend F1 to change their formula is more of a case of a tail wagging the horse...

[fpv_gtho]

I think Wouter, when you look at it, F1 is still WAY ahead of the rest of the motorsport industry and have much of their focus on the aero packaging. Asking them to switch expertise to suspension and chassis again may be costly. New engineers needed, new computer software, getting rid of "old" engineers will all be expensive.

Teams have gone on record as saying they're for the bigger wheels/tyres (doing so will put more of the car control back into the physical spring/damper part of the suspension and away from the mass dampers/j dampers/k dampers/whateverthe**** dampers), they just dont want the expense yet. They seem happy enough with low profile tyres for 2013 when theyre already going to have new engines.

[Matra et Alpine]

^ sounds right ... "let me spread the cost and plan the research&development"
But, given the need to be "better" then expect mass-dampers to find their way inside the hubs

[RacingManiac]

Well AFAIK Peugeot is running inerter in the 908, though really I've never seen it in any pics...

When you are springing the car so stiff for aero load(not just physical load, but "platform control", and that is also the case for LMP cars), the tire spring force and its effect on contact patch will drive the need to run something like inerter....regardless of tire profile.

[pimento]

When you go back to before "controls" then there were many more smaller teams and many more innovations

With more freedom, maybe Force India would be running a Revetec engine rather than having to buy in to a V8 program somewhere ??
Look at teams like Tyrrel who with a fraction of anyone elses budget tried and brought many innovations.

But I should have added, I do think there IS a need to have a financial cap - or other penalty - on teams and their research budgets. THough recent financial hiccups is probably doing that without the need for regulations

But if you cap the budget and then mandate the tyres, the engine configuration, the ECU and major aero devices then boring cars all start to perform and look the same So I think Bernie's leading it to it's own destruction.

True, but back then it didn't seem worthwhile to spend stupid $$$ on a race team. Nowadays there are people who would. I do agree though, I'd love to see the variety we used to have come back into play. Just have to work out a way to make it fair.

[Matra et Alpine]

^^^ I prefer a cap on costs.
Easy to police by making it clear that every dollar over spend found will incude a payment to every team on the grid of an equal amount. So you have to eb HELLUVA rich and silly to want to pay 12 times the rate
THen at the end of a season make it so a team can buy a car for a fixed price. Again, making it silly to pour too much in for it to become a cheaper way to acquire it for another team for next season
Control the costs and not the engineering solutions.
I think the large sponsor bank rolling is long gone too, so unlikely to see a major push of $$$ into the sport.

[pimento]

Hah, I like that idea.. not sure about the teams being able to buy the car at the end of the season though. It's a good way to do things, but they'd revolt at the idea.

[Wouter Melissen]

Noise from Italy suggests Pirelli has won the deal ...

[Matra et Alpine]

Hah, I like that idea.. not sure about the teams being able to buy the car at the end of the season though. It's a good way to do things, but they'd revolt at the idea.

I know ... just one of my many utopian ideals nonsense
Good mental masturbation though !!!

"unintended consequence" of the sale idea though is that NO team will introduce an idea that completely sweeps the board and produces a car 10 seconds faster. So, in one sense, it may actually stifle radical ideas being implemented en-masse, but instead trickled out over a couple of seasons. Good for "racing" as nobody will want to have a car that produces 1-2 finishes every race by huge gaps. BUt it delays ( not stifles ) innovation which I'd prefer not to happen.

[pimento]

I had that thought to vis a vis radical idea stiflisation, but I kinda get the feeling they'd do it anyway. If they didn't, some other team would run with the incremented idea and push it further.

[Kooper]

Noise from Italy suggests Pirelli has won the deal ...

Interesting, thanks for that. I wonder if that's going to be for 13" or 18"?

I'm guessing most likely 13", but still hoping for 18s.

[ruim20]

I am hoping for a change to, wish they at least move a couple of inches, just to try and change something in F1, it's 2010 shouldn't car design have evolved out of the 1990s?

I'm with Matra on that, less rules and far more design liberty.

[Wouter Melissen]

I'm with Matra on that, less rules and far more design liberty.

Back to a time when one or maybe two teams completely dominated complete seasons?

[Matra et Alpine]

when ?
"domination" ?
Lotus, Ferrari, Tyrrel .... matra
Though I accept the point that the Cosworth V8 ended up dominating, but at least as a true independant it made for much more interesting packaging ideas from various teams.

[Wouter Melissen]

when ?
"domination" ?
Lotus, Ferrari, Tyrrel .... matra
Though I accept the point that the Cosworth V8 ended up dominating, but at least as a true independant it made for much more interesting packaging ideas from various teams.

Oh you want to go back to a time when the teams were equal because they had tiny budgets. That's never going to happen again unless there really is a spending cap. For obvious reasons certain teams will never agree to that and it is also impossible to really monitor.