Ask The Apex

[Mephistopheles]

Spa overtake rule already existed Alonso fell foul of it In Japan 2005 when he overtook Klien by cutting the chicane letting him back through and retaking him before the first corner by the time the stewards let Alonso know he had overtaken several other drivers and was told he had let them all back through until Klien re passed him then he had to wait for one corner before he could retake Klien.

The reason Hamilton got the time penalty was because it was to close to the end of the race and Kimi had crashed out anyway so he couldn't let him back through..

The rule may have been clarified after Spa 2007 but the fact is the rule was already in place..

Weaving in Malaysia was a matter of opinion on why he was weaving the stewards saw it one way the Lewis fans saw it another..

Europe 2007 there were 3 or 4 cars in that gravel trap and Lewis was the only one who benefited from the crane help and so could continue on racing where as the other drivers were out of the race so I guess the FIA thought it wise to make it an even playing field and quite rightly so.

Canada fuel issue Lewis wasn't penalized (Although that time it was Lewis who chose to do an extra lap that he didn't have fuel for.) the team was so for very good reasons the rules were not really changed but rather shall we say amended..

I can't comment on the Fuji issue as I can't remember it..

Rule changes brought about by Michael Schumacher (Well the ones I know for sure anyway)

• The one move rule due to his antics in the mid 90's off of the start line where he would chop across other drivers and weave all over the track to stop them getting by.
• Not being allowed to finish the race by entering the pit lane where he was given a 10 second stop go penalty and served it on the very last lap and so won the race sitting still, this may have brought about the serve your penalty within 3 lap rule but I couldn't swear to that.
• Of course there was the end of the team orders rule which was brought about after the farcical Austrian grand prix and the subsequent oops moment at the brickyard..

I will edit his list as and when I find others if there are any..

 

[RasputinLives]

In 2003 and 2005 they changed the entire sporting regulations to try and stop Schumie winning. Does that count?

 

[Mephistopheles]

What ever happened to the manic chequered flag waving that used to be so brilliant at the end of the race I seem to remember some guy in a kind of crouched position on the track furiously waving two flags whilst cars were swerving to miss him, great stuff.

Now all we seem to have is some limp wristed half dangle that nobody even notices.

So in which year was the Flag man banned from the track and was there a specific incident that caused this or did common sense just prevail?

 

[Galahad]

The chequered flag man in Adelaide was a famously extrovert waver.

Try this video - from about 6:50 onwards. Apparently his name is/was Glen Dix.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Question
Whats the difference between oversteer and understeer? I hear these words used alot in F1, i mainly watch it for the race but know a for technical bits. But this one has puzzled me for a while.

 

[Mephistopheles]

That's the kind of thing Galahad I have been trying find out when this practice ended but with no luck good stuff though.

 

[Brogan]

At it's most basic, when you turn into a corner, if the car doesn't turn enough, that's understeer.
If it turns too much, that's oversteer.

 

[Josh]

Understeer is when the car doesn't steer enough and the car could go off the road, oversteer is when the car turns more sharply than intended.

Why does Brogan always beat me?

Understeer

Oversteer

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Brogan and Josh

Thank you sirs. . Know what the commentators are going on about now.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Oversteer is caused by too much front grip or too little rear grip and at its worse can make the car go into a spin.

Understeer is caused by too little front grip or too much rear grip and at its worse the car will simply push on in straight line into the gravel trap..

There is also a thing called snap oversteer which can happen to mid engined rear wheel drive cars if a driver uses too little braking going into a corner and lifts off of throttle mid corner causing the rear end to break traction...

When a driver is complaining about balance generally this is what he is talking about.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Did anyone ever find an answer to the Mclaren question I asked a few pages back?

 

[Mephistopheles]

cider_and_toast I have something in my mind that it had something to with a guy called Philip Morris who sponsored both Ron Dennis's formula 2 project four team and the McLaren team, which brought about the merger of the two teams creating the as we now know it British McLaren team but it is a bit hazy I will need to do some research on this but I don't know anything about the national anthem part of it ..

 

[downforce]

If you no longer go for a gap that exists, are you still a racing driver?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Is that a rhetorical question?

If not then I'll answer, but this is just my own opinion..

It all depends on what type of racing you are talking about and even then it isn't clear cut in formula one racing overtaking is important but then again so is strategy just as many races if not more have been won by strategy alone as overtaking has Schumacher and Ross Brawn were masters at this.

But then there are the other types of racing such as Rallying and Drag Racing, that don't rely on overtaking at all even endurance racing falls into this category to an extent.

So I guess the answer to your question is yes you are.

Also that was just Ayrton's opinion which he is/was entitled to...

 

[KekeTheKing]

Why are you allowed to stop your car on the circuit following a Grand Prix in order to provide a fuel sample?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I have to be honest I found that a bit weird as well maybe it is more difficult to calculate an entire race fuel load than it is for a couple of laps in qualifying also if you under fill by too much in a race it can actually cost you time as you have to go into fuel saving mode as opposed to giving a driver an advantage in qualifying.

That's only a guess though..

 

[RasputinLives]

I think from a safety asepct its because if you stop after completing the race then you're not indangering another car or creating a safety zone. If you stop after your qualifying lap they're is a possibility that someone will still be on a fast lap and you'll be creating a hazard either by being in the way or creating a yellow flag zone.

I know it didn't this time but the situation could create similar incidents to Monaco 2006 and Malaysia 2008 if they were allowed to do that.

 

[FB]

No one every does a slowing down lap at Spa as the course it too long so you have to presume it is okay just to pull over after the chequered flag has been waved.

 

[The Artist.....]

That always struck me as strange at Spa - given the old Hockenheim was a similar length, yet they did a slowing down lap there....

There is of course, one very famous exception to the not doing a slow-down lap at Spa....

 

[Incubus]

The old pit-lane is situated after La Source hairpin st Spa. This is where the cars have to stop, where checks take place and where the podium ceremony takes place so it's actually immediately after the finish line rather before it.