Ask The Apex

[teabagyokel]

I believe the half point races were:

• Spain 1975
  • After Rolf Stemmelen's Hill (as in Graham) ploughed into the crowd, the race was cancelled. There were already safety concerns which led to the withdrawal of the Fittipaldis.
  • Won by Jochen Mass (McLaren). Lella Lombardi in 6th for March picked up the only half point ever scored by a female driver in F1.
• Austria 1975
  • Called off due to excessive rain
  • Won by Vittorio Brambilla (March), who promptly crashed on the in-lap.
• Monaco 1984
  • Called off due to excessive rain
  • Won by Alain Prost (McLaren). He was being caught at an alarming rate by Toleman's Ayrton Senna, and Senna would have won had it not been for backdating the result. Prost lost the title by half a point.
• Australia 1991
  • Called off due to excessive rain after only 25 minutes and 14 laps.
  • Won by Ayrton Senna (McLaren). Gianni Morbidelli scored half a point in his only race for Ferrari.
• Malaysia 2009
  • Called off due to excessive rain.
  • Won by Jenson Button (Brawn GP). Seb Vettel spun off to be 15 points down after two races in a Championship he lost by 11.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Cheers guys for the comments back .

 

[Slyboogy]

What's the difference between tyre degradation and tyre wear?

I thought they were the same, but recently I have read articles which say something along the lines "tyre degradation and wear will be fine/high/low/whatever"

 

[FB]

I would assume wear is the amount of rubber which physically comes off the tyre, degradation is chemical changes to the compound which affect the amount of grip it can produce.

 

[downforce]

Coulthard said that what was "remarkable" was that Hamilton was turning the car on the rear axle, what does that mean?

 

[Fenderman]

I'm fairly sure DC is referring to the technique of using oversteer coupled with application of the throttle to momentarily spin up the back wheels to induce a rear end slide and then point and shoot through the corner. Rally drivers have the benefit of a handbrake to brake the rear end away to achieve the same result.

 

[sportsman]

I'm fairly sure DC is referring to the technique of using oversteer coupled with application of the throttle to momentarily spin up the back wheels to induce a rear end slide and then point and shoot through the corner. Rally drivers have the benefit of a handbrake to brake the rear end away to achieve the same result.

Exactly that.

 

[downforce]

thanks, I didn't realise it had this term.

Isn't this how he has always driven?

 

[Fenderman]

thanks, I didn't realise it had this term.

Isn't this how he has always driven?

Have to admit I've only heard it used once or twice and, yes, that's the style Lewis mesmerised us with on his arrival in 2007. I think that's what Martin Brundle alluded to when he shouted "Lewis Hamilton is back!" (or words to that effect).

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Surely it's this style that may have gotten him in trouble with his tyre wear this year though. I was under the impression sliding not only damaged your tyres but it was slower to boot?

 

[Fenderman]

One wouldn't want to do it too often in a race. Whether it is slower or not depends on the way it is executed and the characteristics of the track surface. The key is in maintaining a high corner entry speed, making the car change direction as quickly as possible and then getting traction and powering out of the corner as quickly and smoothly as possible.

The loss of traction and the initial slide is momentary whilst the rear goes "light" so the effect on the tyres isn't that great. It becomes a problem if the execution of the technique is poor and if it is used too often and/or on an particularly abrasive track surface.

Finally, the technique that is universally regarded as slower in modern motor racing is "four wheel drift". In the early days of motor racing that was the quicker way to negotiate bends on the dusty and dirt surfaces because the momentum of the vehicle enable the driver to carry speed through corners with the accelerator buried in the floor. On a tarmac surface this loses time because traction at the rear wheels to drive the car forward is compromised by increased friction in the direction of the drift therefore scrubbing off speed and seriously degrading and wearing the tyres.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Just had a couple of questions from a mate,

How much does the leftover marbles weigh that is left on the track in an average race. And what do they do with it all after? Is it just dumped in landfill or sent for recycling with the rest of the tyres used in a race?

 

[Jen]

Just had a couple of questions from a mate,

How much does the leftover marbles weigh that is left on the track in an average race. And what do they do with it all after? Is it just dumped in landfill or sent for recycling with the rest of the tyres used in a race?

I believe I read that everything is swept up and sent, along with the used tyres, to be recycled - so may be racing again next year. But could be wrong!

 

[Andy Karter]

Does anybody know how much Jenson raised with the auction of his race winning helmet for the Japanese tsunami appeal?

 

[Josephiah]

As I posted in the Indian GP thread, it seemed a bit harsh that they penalised Hamilton and Perez for the yellow flag offence, given that the green light was also on. (EDIT: see the last minute or so of this video.) So my question is:

Do the flags always take precedence over the lights*? Or is it a case of the more conservative one takes precedence?

Or to ask it another way, what should the driver do in the following situations:
1. Yellow flag plus green lights?
2. Green flag plus yellow lights?

*which seems a little harsh - spotting a flag is obviously much harder than spotting a bright light.

 

[Brogan]

Think back to Monaco last year when Schumacher overtook Alonso at the last corner after the safety car had come in.

Despite the green flags being waved, he was penalised as overtaking was against the rules.

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2010...ifying-race-discussion.1372/page-2#post-20851

 

[Josephiah]

Yes, that incident adds even more confusion to the issue. I guess what you're getting at (correct me if not) is that the drivers' point of view probably needs to be: "Whichever way I argue this, however confusing/unreasonable the situation and/or combination of rules, and however reasonable my defence, the FIA are going to come down on me like a ton of bricks regardless".

 

[Andyoak]

On the other thread I did say that flags should over-ride screens because I felt they can be immediately deployed by the marshal at the scene and weren't susceptable to technical failure.

However, there is a strong arguement for following the signal (flag or screen) that indicates the greater hazard and drive accordingly. This would mean that in 1 you do as the flags and in 2 you do as the screen.

 

[Josh]

I couldn't find anything specific in the rules about what takes precedence (flags or lights) however:

At all times drivers must follow the directions of the marshals.

So I suppose that means lights are less important than flags... Not sure though, I'm going to try and see if it is said specifically somewhere.

 

[teabagyokel]

The yellow section was ended by the green light, ergo before that light he was still under YFC.