Bob Barnard Track Engineering

A few examples of splits showed up during the Bahrain GP, some between people, some mechanical and some track related.

Mark Hughes had a great piece on Sky Sport about how Mercedes have managed to build a car/engine combination so much better than everyone else. They have split the Turbo. No it does not leak. The turbo consists of a turbine driven by the exhaust gas and a compressor that raises the pressure of the air entering the engine. Traditionally these are in one unit, one body, so the heat from the exhaust impacts the air in the compressor. This has to be cooled before it enters the engine to maximise the density, so there is an "intercooler" like a radiator mounted in a side pod, adding to the drag. The team suggested to the engine guys at Mercedes that if they were split, one on each end of the engine, then that problem would be lessened. So that's what they did, with a shaft through the block to drive the compressor. Intercooler size goes down, and the size of the unit on the back of the engine reduced so the engine cover can be tighter. The battery and gearbox also run cooler, etc. etc. Very, very clever. One of those "what if" someone asks that makes the light bulb go on.

As Mercedes designed the car around this concept they could maximise the benefits, but the other customer cars did not have time to, so they still have a benefit, but not maximised. The real hit for the non-Mercedes cars is that they cannot copy it, the engines are "frozen." Nice one. And thank you Mark for another great piece of journalism. This is Formula One, not just a bunch of noisy cars.

The other split is between Adrian Newey and Joe Saward, both angry men. Adrian hates the current rules. Would he still hate them if he were winning? He says yes, but we can only wonder. He said "It should be about man and machine performing at its maximum every lap." Well anyone watching the TV can see the drivers are performing to their limit, much more than we have seen for years. The cars are no longer on rails, glued to the track by Newey's aerodynamics. Just what Ferrari wanted, but now they have it and their engine is not good enough they want to change it too. Adrian should have watched his driver Sebestian over-performing at Turn 2 in the 3rd practice.

He goes on to say "The cars are going a lot slower and that should be factored in when we talk about the whole. OK, they are using 50 kilos less fuel, but they are going a lot slower to achieve that." Really, what timing screen is he watching? His own cars obviously. Pole time this year is less than a second slower than last, with harder tires and 50 kg more weight in the car. Top speeds are higher. Monza is predicted to be 360 km/hr! Over 225 mph. Slower? This is not an economy run, the cars are being driven to their limit over the same race distance at similar speeds with 33% less fuel due the design of the car, not by the drivers driving slower. As I said after Australia, imagine if this translates to road cars?

Joe Saward is also angry about the Ferrari's and Red Bulls of this world whining about the rules. As I said yesterday, how does he keep his press pass?

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/top-of-the-flops/

The additional set of tires for Q3 has certainly helped at keeping all the cars on track for the Q2 & 3 sessions, but we now have the teams not running in practice sessions. Mercedes did very few laps any session, did not need to, but Williams were concerned at putting too much heat stress in the power unit and sat out most of the time. The fact that the teams tested here for two weeks recently undoubtedly played a part. They knew the set up so saved the car. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next races. Teams are already using up components at a fast rate, so we will see grid penalties later in the season.

Now for the track split. In the barrier there are regular openings to allow emergency access and to allow cars to be pulled back off the track. They are called "regulation gaps" as there are regulations as to how they are installed. The lead edge is supposed to stay in line, with the trailing edge curving into line behind. This is the main straight at Bahrain.  

Not a great photo but you can enlarge. The leading edge turns in towards the track. I can't imagine why I have never noticed this, but if you hit that end then it will not only hurt but it will throw the car back on the track. Not a good idea. So how does Tilke design this, and worse, how do the FIA approve it?

In a similar vein the curb at Turn 4 was altered to install a "sausage" raised section behind the existing. This is the orange piece we see at lots of tracks now, but at the apex on slow corners, not a fast exit where it can be struck end on. So if you watched practice yesterday you would have seen a Lotus do just that and launch itself. They removed the "sausage" last night, but who approved it in the first place?

First day's, or should that be day and evening's, practice completed with Mercedes looking well in control of the situation. Still plenty to keep us interested though, with half a second covering the next eight cars. Fuel consumption is going to be an issue it seems for the first time this year, but as we saw in Malaysia Hamilton was very light on his fuel use. The advantage of running your own race at the front as we saw so many times for Vettel. Not much difference in tire degradation between the medium and soft compounds, so the soft is going to be the tire to use as it is way faster. Over two seconds it appears, although some of that may be down to the cooler temperatures in the second session.

The fear that these cars will be slow is unfounded, with the Mercedes basically matching the fast time from this same session a year ago. And it seems people are getting used to the noise of these cars, all except Ferrari fans that is. Montezemolo is meeting with Bernie and Todt to talk about rule changes. Really, after three races? Smacks of Red Bull and tires last year. We can't compete with these rules so let's change them. I can't believe Todt is going to go along with that after the battle to get these current cars. Then there is the conspiracy theory that Bernie is just trying to devalue the sport so he can get CVC bought out by his mates, who would not care if he is convicted or not.

On that subject Joe Saward must have had too much time on his hands and has written a very funny blog on the "zoo" that is Formula One. I don't know how he keeps his press pass.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/the-f1-jungle-book/

I commented the other day about the time it took IMSA to respond to accidents and clear them. Nearly 6 hours in a 12 hour race does not keep the fans or drivers happy. So IMSA is looking into it. Hope it is not a mirror. Old joke.

Of bigger concern is the management of the accidents. Several marshals have now chimed in as to the new rules for them. IMSA used to have a dedicated response team that went to all the events, like IndyCar, but the new regime decided to use the NASCAR model and have a crew from each track. This is not necessarily a bad thing, F1 does the same apart from the Medical Car, but both NASCAR and F1 are a single class race,with almost spec cars in the sense that basic safety items are the same on each car. The fuel filler is in the rear quarter panel for example. Just check the Porches in sports cars. IMSA has four classes of cars with a variety of manufacturers and with very different designs. Getting to know where the cut off switch is in each one is not the work of a morning. 

Worse than this though is the decision to not let marshals respond until there has been a "conversation" with race control. Responding to an accident, especially a car on fire with someone in it is not a time for conversations. I well recall when Berger ran off at Imola and caught fire. I along with most viewers were screaming at the TV asking where was the fast response car? It seemed and eternity, but it turned out to be 22 seconds. I bet it felt like an eternity to Berger.

Race Directors need to make snap decisions, and so do the men on the spot, the marshals. Here in the US there is a reticence to marshals going over the wall, unlike most of the world. I do not know if this cultural, or an insurance issue, but going out under yellows ensures that someone is at a crash almost immediately. Who recalls at Sebring a few years ago the Jaguar almost fully engulfed but one brave soul had it out because he got there fast.

Marshal posts must have sight of each other, so a yellow at the preceding post should be automatic. We had a car in the tires at Turn 9 mid race, and again it seemed to me an age before someone turned up, and then it was a truck, and the driver was not getting out. Who knew how bad he was hurt?

In respect of the fire, why was a red flag not shown immediately as we had with the Turn 17 crash? We had marshals and fire trucks trying to combat a fire which would not go out while the cars paraded past. Crazy. Marty Kaufman and Gordon Gratiot where are you?

So the silence is broken on F1 and Sochi by someone in F1. Niki Lauda has pronounced "All those responsible have decided that we are racing there," he told German television RTL, "so in this case we have an obligation, and that extends to Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA." Sound familiar? Exactly what we heard over Bahrain. The powers that be know what they are doing and we have a contract. As I recall the Ukraine has a contract with Russia that gives it control of the Crimea. What happened to ethics, morality and humanity? Just a thought, but how many Mercedes are sold in Russia.

Even that wimp Jimmy Carter organized a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and JFK called Khrushchev's bluff over Cuba. So what does the world do now Russia is supposed to no longer be a threat? Nothing. This is no different to Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

So Bernie has finally come out and said what most of us suspected. India has not paid up, so no GP. It had nothing to do with timing, and perhaps some to do with tax, but in the end if Bernie is not paid in advance then no GP. The Indian promoter has found out what most of us already know, you can't make money on an F1 race if you are not the Government.

NASCAR has tweaked qualifying, as predicted here. Cooling the engines is a big issue, and dealt with by running the cooling water through a separate ice filled bath once they are back in the garage. That system was not allowed during qualifying when the cars are parked out on pit lane, so after a run the cars would go back out with all the tape off the grill to run around slowly on the inside lane of the track. Not a big issue on a large oval, but a half mile? So they are now going to be able to bring a unit out to pit lane and slow laps are not allowed. Still not improving the show, but an important safety measure.

There are a lot of pointers to suggest we may be seeing a new era in motorsport. Bernie's ongoing legal issues must distract him, if nothing else, and CVC have apparently decided to take more interest in what Bernie is doing. There are ongoing reports that American businessman and friend of Leo Hindery, John Malone, is sniffing around about buying F1. Seeing as how Bernie seems to keep ownership every time it is sold that will be interesting to watch. If successful it is deemed likely that his business model will be a better deal all round than the current one of CVC taking the money and running. That in itself makes me more optimistic. As a past promoter I can tell you the current business model is not sustainable in the long term, and I am not talking about being green.

Which leads us to the new F1 cars for 2014. I asked a while ago if anyone understood them, and received no takers. It seems the Mercedes boys don't understand them either.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/main-gallery/lewis-nico-uncut-off-the-record/   

I'm sure most of you have seen this, but too funny not to post. Motor Sport has a great article this month to explain the differences to last year's cars if you want to know more. We've had the first test, which went well for some and very badly for Red Bull, so a new era? Don't write them off too soon. The Lotus has run OK with the Renault engine so it is a packaging issue in the Red Bull. Niki Lauda said a while ago that these engines will destroy themselves if the operating temperature is not maintained within a very narrow margin. Pre-season tests are never a great guide to form, so let's see what happens in Bahrain. Early reports suggest a lot more attitude on the cars, which will be good to see. Speeds so far have been similar to GP2 cars, but most drivers feel that will improve. Let's hope so or we could really make the sport cheaper by running GP2 cars. Bernie is getting serious about a budget cap, offering a 1m Euro reward to whistle blowers who tell on over spenders. Let's see if that gets anywhere.

NASCAR is fiddling while Rome burns, changing qualifying and the way the Chase works. I said a long time ago that the Chase should be a knockout deal, with the last placed of the final ten or twelve, or thirteen, what ever Brian decides, being eliminated each race. That could get very interesting with team mates helping rivals out, literally, out against the wall. Nice to see some new blood here though, with the likes of Kyle Larson getting a top ride. Seems like Richard Petty had a few choice words about Danica.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/richard-petty-doesn-t-danica-chances-winning-says-163159096--nascar.html?&co=f000000013912s-1248979085

Is he the only one man enough to say what we all think?

Sportscar racing started a new era with the Tudor United Sportscar Series. Did anyone else find it odd that the first race of the series, sponsored by a watch brand no one has heard of, was the Rolex? The only signage was Rolex, so what is that all about? Can't say I enjoyed the 24 Hour. Thanks to Fox the first few hours were not on our cable system, than around 5 pm they showed the first two hours, totally unscheduled and lucky to even find it. Daytona is a boring track, and can't say the racing was great. Not hard to stage close races when you are running spec cars. Hopefully IMSA will get the balance of performance right soon. I could not believe Calvin Fish's comment about IMSA trying to get the P2 class up to the DP level, when we all know last year they were much quicker at Road America when they both raced on the same weekend. He is either an idiot or a liar, and who benefits from that sort of misleading comment if not the DP cars which are the child of ISC?

If you want to see great sportscar racing then you should have watched the Bathurst 12 hour. No spec racing here, and four cars capable of winning right down to the wire. Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Mercedes, all on the limit after 12 hours. This is real Bathurst, not the spec series the V8's put on with 24 cars all the same. We had Ferrari's, Lambo's, Porsche's, Audi's and Merc's all dicing with Fiat Abarths, and even a Ford Focus with a V8 squeezed in etc. What endurance racing is about, and how Bathurst used to be. I cannot believe how small the crowd was to watch this great racing. Surely worth more of a look than the 1000? But I am forgetting the Ford V's Holden mentality of the Aussies motorsport fan. What are they going to do once both of these stop making cars in Oz very soon, go back to HQ V's Falcon from the 70's? Due to the time difference I am sad to say I did not stop up to see the end, but did watch it later thanks to YouTube, great stuff. Live streaming with Radio Le Mans commentary, does not get much better, but of course ISC knows better so we no longer have John and Paul for the TUSCS.  

So, on to a new year with renewed hope we will not get a repeat of last years snooze in F1. No wonder the ratings are dropping.