Ask The Apex

[Galahad]

One house point to Mr. Yokel!

 

[Viscount]

There is no limit on testing in a two year old car.The biggest problem is that the teams cannot obtain current F1 tyres.
Also Anthony Hamilton has leased several 2009 spec cars which is availble for anyone including the current teams to rent for driver testing.
But the teams cannot use any of their wings etc on this car.
Renault have a 2009 car already to prepared for Kubica to test in as soon as he is able to.
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/10/anthony-hamilton-leasing-fleet-of-f1-cars-for-gp-prep-drivers-ac/

Thanks.

 

[Slyboogy]

I have one question, Williams are getting Renault engines next year, someone on Autosport said that Williams will use Renault engines and KERS. Williams have their own KERS system, as HRT are getting it. Are Williams going to keep on using their KERS, or will they use Renualt's?

And wouldn't it be better to use Renault's?

 

[tooncheese]

Does anyone know of the Porsche that raced in the mid-fifties with a wing on it? I vaguely remember a picture of the Nurburgring 1000km and a white car (captioned porsche) with a wing in the centre of the car.

EDIT: Success! It was the Porsche 550RS that raced in the 1956 Nurburgring 1000KM.

 

[Geoffrey Aylesford]

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.

This is a grey area, the UK rule book (Blue Book) says that flags may be supplimented by lights, therefore we are to assume that flags take precedence. However the FIA rules (Yellow Book) may differ. I think that it is time for a clarification, as the shortage of trained marshals (yes even in F1) means a greater use of lights.

 

[Fenderman]

Ignoring the instructions of race Marshals will incur a penalty, thus ignoring a yellow flag whether or not a green light is nearby, will incur the penalty. A green light or flag only signifies that the track is clear from that point until the next flag indicates otherwise. I think that is why Lewis was penalised regardless of the confusing (to us as onlookers) signals.

Of course, that is only my opinion based on my current understanding of the rules and observation of how they appear to being applied. So, I could be wrong.

 

[sportsman]

Appendix H International Sporting code says this. We have no idea of the supplementary regulations for each event.

2.4 SIGNALLING
2.4.1 General
In the supervision of the road, the Clerk of the Course (or his
deputy) and the marshal posts rely largely on the use of signals to
contribute to the drivers’ safety and enforce the regulations.
Signals are given in daylight by different coloured fl ags, which
may be supplemented or replaced by lights.
Black and white signal boards of similar dimensions to the
fl ags may also be used for certain signals: these should be
clearly specifi ed in the Supplementary Regulations of the event
concerned.
At night, the fl ags may be replaced by lights and refl ective
panels, but all drivers must be made aware of this at a briefi ng
beforehand. Yellow lights at each post are obligatory for events
run at night (see Article 2.10.1).
If more than one means of signalling is used, the Supplementary
Regulations of the event must specify which of them is
regulatory.
The start should be controlled from a position close to the start
line, from which the starter can see the complete grid area
between the barriers and which should be visible to all the
drivers, in closed or open cars. It should be protected from debris
coming from the direction of the grid.

 

[Jos the Boss]

If an F1 car went throught the support pits during a qualy session, would they have to be on the limiter?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Why would they do that? And I don't think so as the limiter is not an automatic function on the car, there is a button on the steering wheel that sets the speed of the car to 60kph.

 

[Jos the Boss]

I dunno why? Pushed wide? And that's what I meant could they get a penalty for speeding?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

I don't think so, as the support pit lane wouldn't be counted as a pit lane during the F1 race. It would probably be judged to being just 'off track', the driver that got pushed wide would be unlikely to recieve a penalty if they were simply avoiding an attempt at a deliberate collison by another driver.

 

[Bill Boddy]

The point about the speed limit on the section along the garages is that there are people legitimately out of the garages there. There should be no-one along the support pit lane so no speed limit is needed.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Are Red Bull still the only team running the pull-rod rear suspension configuration?

Will other teams adopt this in next year's cars?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

No they're not. Many of this year's entrees adopted the pull-rod rear suspension, such as McLaren, Toro Rosso, Williams and Mercedes off the top of my head, however I think Ferrari stuck with push-rod.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Thanks no-FIAt.

I'd lost track of the development of that area of the car. It hasn't been in focus since the beginning of the season.

 

[Fenderman]

No they're not. Many of this year's entrees adopted the pull-rod rear suspension, such as McLaren, Toro Rosso, Williams and Mercedes off the top of my head, however I think Ferrari stuck with push-rod.

Yes and the only other teams starting the season with the "old" push-rod style were HRT, Sauber and Virgin.

 

[snowy]

Ferrari were notorious for sticking with out-of-date technology. How many failed championships did it take them to ditch the V12? And then only because they were banned.

The Brawn/Schumacher era seemed to breath innovation into them but I suspect they are reverting to type and will have more and more difficult to ditch out-of-date technologies.

 

[Josephiah]

We often see both cars from the teams lining up next to each other on the grid, especially in the top ten this season (e.g. at Abu Dhabi this weekend positions 5-10 were two Ferraris, two Mercs, two FIs). Has there ever been an occasion where the entire grid lined up two-by-two? Or, for that matter, a race that finished like that?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

We often see both cars from the teams lining up next to each other on the grid, especially in the top ten this season (e.g. at Abu Dhabi this weekend positions 5-10 were two Ferraris, two Mercs, two FIs). Has there ever been an occasion where the entire grid lined up two-by-two? Or, for that matter, a race that finished like that?

...or finished in identical grid order?

 

[teabagyokel]

I don't think so, but a special mention to the 2002 Championship's Top Eight:

M Schumacher
Barrichello
Montoya
R Schumacher
Coulthard
Raikkonen
Button
Trulli