Ask The Apex

Brogan said:
Grizzly said:
Once you have run a set of inters or wets, in the race, the two compound rule is gone.
So there is no official wet/dry designation then?

So even in a bone dry race, if a team runs a set of inters then they no longer have to use both compounds?

I can't imagine any situation where that would be worth the hassle of finding out.
 
I think thats about right, changing the inters would still require one pitstop, in that time you could have started on softs and changed to hards, so it would always be a disadvantage.

Likewise, if you ran inters in quali, you can start on whatever tyre compound in the race. Again you would only be disadvantaging yourself.
 
Either way, there hasn't really been any race bar Canada where tyre strategy has been a massive issue. Kobayashi going against the grain in Valencia was interesting when the Safety Car came out, but in reality strategies have been similar and tyres haven't been going off fast enough for anything else to occur.

The point in Belgium would, of course, have been that if the rain at the end had not descended, the guys who pitted under the first SC for wets would not need to pit again. But they were all at the back because they'd made a tyre gamble that didn't pay off anyway!
 
Does anyone know why the radius for corners must stay constant? I have always assumed that it was due to the load on the tyres having to change while already under load. Would be nice to the real reason though.
 
Brogan said:
Why, when road going sports cars have ultra low profile tyres, do F1 cars have very small wheels with very large profile tyres?
Doesn't that introduce problems with sidewall flex and cause problems with keeping the pressure and temperature constant, which is why they use nitrogen?

Is it because it provides a form of suspension or is there another more important reason?
As far as I know the ONLY reason teams use 13 inch wheels is because it is mandated in the regulation, in an attempt, I think, to self regulate brake size. It does produce the problem of the tyre acting, effectively, like an undamped spring and producing almost half the car's suspension travel, over which the suspension has no control. I'm sure that given the chance all the teams & the tyre manufacturers would jump at the chance to use larger wheels & low profile tyres.
Contrary to what has already been stated here, it has nothing to do with a weight issue. The weight of a magnesium racing wheel is, I think being over-estimated. the tyre is by far the heavier part of the combination, and would probably still be even with a 19 or 20 inch wheel.
 
Here's a simple one, Christian Horner (rightly or wrongly) has blamed two of the crashes involving Red Bull cars this year on the car in front braking earlier than their drivers expected. So, why don't F1 cars have brake lights?
 
Well when braking distances are around 100 metres or less, which at 250-300kph is mere fractions of a second, would a brake light be any good?
By the time the driver had noticed it and their brain had interpreted the signal, they would already be in the back of the car in front.
 
Also with a brake light would need a new light for wet weather & the pits (does the light still flash in the pits?) neon Blue would be my choice, but then we'd be getting silly and then we'd have orange for indicators & white for reverse gear so all the drivers can see Petrov reverse out of any gravel trap........
 
ATL11 said:
Also with a brake light would need a new light for wet weather & the pits (does the light still flash in the pits?) neon Blue would be my choice, but then we'd be getting silly and then we'd have orange for indicators & white for reverse gear so all the drivers can see Petrov reverse out of any gravel trap........

blomming heck the back of an F1 car would end up looking like a christmas tree :snigger:

Brogan said:
Well when braking distances are around 100 metres or less, which at 250-300kph is mere fractions of a second, would a brake light be any good?
By the time the driver had noticed it and their brain had interpreted the signal, they would already be in the back of the car in front.

Sorry i should of put a serious answer to the question too but Brogan is spot on there
 
Andrea_Moda_Rules said:
ATL11 said:
Also with a brake light would need a new light for wet weather & the pits (does the light still flash in the pits?) neon Blue would be my choice, but then we'd be getting silly and then we'd have orange for indicators & white for reverse gear so all the drivers can see Petrov reverse out of any gravel trap........

blomming heck the back of an F1 car would end up looking like a christmas tree :snigger:

Brogan said:
Well when braking distances are around 100 metres or less, which at 250-300kph is mere fractions of a second, would a brake light be any good?
By the time the driver had noticed it and their brain had interpreted the signal, they would already be in the back of the car in front.

Sorry i should of put a serious answer to the question too but Brogan is spot on there

Oh my Christmas Tree Analogy was tongue in cheek, 1 more set of lights would have the logistic issue of where it would go. Would the brake light go above, below or to the side of the Wet weather light. Also believe a brake light would have driver trying to interpret when the driver in front would brake and try to out brake them, also a light failure and no doubt twitchy drivers would make the F1 spectacal somewhat devalued.

Does anyone know why they don't have brake lights, I'm assuming they haven't been on since the inception of F1 in 1950, and probably before, I can't remember seeing brake lights on the Auto Unions of the 1930's?
 
KraXik said:
Does anyone know why the radius for corners must stay constant? I have always assumed that it was due to the load on the tyres having to change while already under load. Would be nice to the real reason though.

Hi KraXik, I wasn't aware that it did have to stay constant to be honest. The FIA regulations are pretty detailed but I can't find any reference to constant radius; and off the top of my head I can think of a couple of variable-radius (tightening) corners at Sepang?

Or have I misunderstood?
 
Galahad said:
KraXik said:
Does anyone know why the radius for corners must stay constant? I have always assumed that it was due to the load on the tyres having to change while already under load. Would be nice to the real reason though.

Hi KraXik, I wasn't aware that it did have to stay constant to be honest. The FIA regulations are pretty detailed but I can't find any reference to constant radius; and off the top of my head I can think of a couple of variable-radius (tightening) corners at Sepang?

Or have I misunderstood?

Wow thanks. I always thought Tilke had to design track corners with a constant radius. Must have heard some nonsense from somewhere!

Thanks alot Galahad!
 
The best example of a tightening corner I can think of is here, I believe. Turns 1/2 at Shanghai.
images
 
Yeah I'm not sure where I got that from! I thought that Tilke was restricted on corners so that they must be a constant on the grounds of safety. Which I never really understood; surely an F1 driver can turn the steering wheel mid-corner? I've had a search around but can't see where I picked it up from.

Ah well, another mystery solved by 'ask the apex'!
 
I believe there is, in those right-angled corners towards the end of the lap?

In curves, the banking (downwards from the outside to the inside of the track) should not exceed 10 % (with possible exceptions in special cases, such as speedways). An adverse incline is not generally acceptable unless dictated by special circumstances, in which case the entry speed should not exceed 125 kph.

I think the entry speed for those corners must exceed 125kph though.

Perhaps these are treated more as guidelines then.
 
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