I couldn't find any love for it.
Pre-Season 2012 New Car Images & Discussion
- Thread starter Mephistopheles
- Start date
Kewee
Race Winner
The new Ferrari has a higher nose than old, FIA regulations at their very best
Whether the nose is higher, lower or exactly the same is irrelevant as long as it's within the current regulations. It is, so it's legal.
Blog Zbod
Podium Finisher
In addition to higher CG, greater weight and greater drag, a taller chassis can provide greater rigidity. And if a car generating 6 Gs lateral acceleration isn't exceedingly rigid, keeping the inside wheels planted could be dodgy.
The extreme example of a low chassis would be just flat a sheet, which obviously would have low rigidity. This also is why convertibles often are heavier than their coupe counterpart -- material was added to the frame to replace the loss of structural rigidity when the roof was removed. The ultimate question for an F1 chassis is how high equals adequate rigidity. Macca have had a differing answer to that question the past few seasons than the rest of the field.
When I first saw the new RB8's letterbox intake on the nose, I laughingly suggested it was a bit of misdirection. Last week I found this photo on a Polish F1 fan's blog which I check from time to time because he gets insider information on the progress of Robert Kubica's recovery.
The RB8 also has an air intake under the nose. This was posted nearly two weeks ago but I've not seen it remarked to in the English speaking motoring press. I've lost track of it for the moment but there was another photo with the nose removed showing where the channel passed beneath the aluminium bulkhead at the foot of the survival cell, so it definitely extends at least as far as the cockpit.
The extreme example of a low chassis would be just flat a sheet, which obviously would have low rigidity. This also is why convertibles often are heavier than their coupe counterpart -- material was added to the frame to replace the loss of structural rigidity when the roof was removed. The ultimate question for an F1 chassis is how high equals adequate rigidity. Macca have had a differing answer to that question the past few seasons than the rest of the field.
When I first saw the new RB8's letterbox intake on the nose, I laughingly suggested it was a bit of misdirection. Last week I found this photo on a Polish F1 fan's blog which I check from time to time because he gets insider information on the progress of Robert Kubica's recovery.
The RB8 also has an air intake under the nose. This was posted nearly two weeks ago but I've not seen it remarked to in the English speaking motoring press. I've lost track of it for the moment but there was another photo with the nose removed showing where the channel passed beneath the aluminium bulkhead at the foot of the survival cell, so it definitely extends at least as far as the cockpit.
Mercedes has ugly baby.
I wonder if Newey see's anything which concerns him?
http://www.sportinglife.com/formula...AME=formula1/12/02/20/AUTO_Newey.html&BID=669
http://www.sportinglife.com/formula...AME=formula1/12/02/20/AUTO_Newey.html&BID=669
Josephiah
Podium Finisher
Doesn't mean we can't question the sanity of those regulations!Whether the nose is higher, lower or exactly the same is irrelevant as long as it's within the current regulations. It is, so it's legal.
Kewee
Race Winner
Doesn't mean we can't question the sanity of those regulations!
But why would you question them. If the hight of the nose is a precise measurement and Ferrari are within that measurement, all the other teams are able to do the same, and you may well discover that some of the others may be built to the maximum allowable hight also. I'd be surprised if they weren't.
The Merc nose is noticeably more conical than some of the others we've seen. It's almost aesthetically acceptable! The front wing pylons are also rather large. Notice the opening is still in the nose too. Perhaps the passively blown front wing is a feature of their car after all. In fact don't they look like openings (mini intakes) on the lower edge of the wing too? Pure speculation on my part, of course.
Josephiah
Podium Finisher
Quite so - the stepped nose is a perfectly logical solution to arrive at, given the constraints the teams have been given to work under, so no complaints from that angle. In engineering terms, very elegant; in aesthetic terms, pretty darn horrible.
When the FIA was coming up with that rule, maybe they should have carried the process through to its logical ugly-nosed conclusion before implementing it, that's all I'm insinuating!
Kewee
Race Winner
What I'm taking from it is that last years Ferrari would have been within the height restrictions also. If the new car is within the current regulations, and I don't see how you can exploit such a basic rule, then so would last years car. Of course they may not receive the lift in performance they hope for. McLarens lower nose may well be a master stroke. Then again, I may have little understanding of the regulations.
Blimey, check out how I spelt height in my previous posting. 
Just had to correct this one too. Must be Kewee's bedtime. 
Any sign of the Marussia yet?
I think they unveil it later this week TBY...
Oh crap, they're running their 2011 car, aren't they?
It's a spear!
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