Ask The Apex

[The Artist.....]

Josh . No. The rules state that there must be no mechanisms which lift the car, other than by the effort of the mechanics - hence why hydraulic jacks aren't allowed any more! (Or some wording like that!)

 

[The Artist.....]

In fact, here we go: From the FIA F1 sporting regulations:
23.5 Powered devices which assist in lifting any part of a car are forbidden in the pit lane during a race.

 

[Dizzi]

Viscount and Josh - thanks!
That should settle the arguments in my house, knew I'd get teh best answers here

 

[FB]

If I remember rightly, Gordon Murray fitted these fire breathing monsters with pneumatic/hydraulic jacks when Brabham were experimenting with refueling in 1982.

 

[The Pits]

FB, would that be the brabham bt46, as mentioned by this handsome chap?

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/ask-the-apex.1693/page-63#post-132925

 

[FB]

That's the BT52 The Pits. The BT46 is this beastie:

 

[The Pits]

Did they both have built in jacks?

 

[tooncheese]

When was the last time a driver made no stops in a race? Frentzen at Brazil 2003 is the most recent that I can think of.

 

[FB]

Before the days of flappy paddle gear changes did any driver have the gear stick on the left rather than the right?

 

[RasputinLives]

When was the last time a driver made no stops in a race? Frentzen at Brazil 2003 is the most recent that I can think of.

Didn't Sutil pull off a non-stopper at Monaco one year by accident because the race was reduced in laps? Or was an Arrows?

 

[tooncheese]

Before the days of flappy paddle gear changes did any driver have the gear stick on the left rather than the right?

BRM P115 (1967), they may have made others with the stick on the left. The same gearbox also unusually had 6 gears.

 

[downforce]

Does Hamilton hold the record for being the only driver to win multiple races in every (completed) season of his career?

I can't think of another, and this includes Fangio because they always skipped America back then didn't they so I'm counting 1953 as a full season for him.

 

[tooncheese]

downforce. he does hold the record for winning a race in every season, but if you only count fully completed seasons you could add Vettel (2007) and Fangio (1958) to the list.

 

[downforce]

tooncheese Sorry not quite catching you there, If you added 2007 and 1958 then he is the only person who has won a race every year at all.

But I mean he is the only one to win more than 1 race every year and say Fangio only took 1 in 53 and Vettel only took 1 in 08

 

[tooncheese]

downforce, yes I misunderstood you, he is the only driver to win multiple races in every complete season.

 

[KekeTheKing]

OK, so I think we all know that Canada 2010 was the catalyst towards degradable tires, right? For once, the Bridgestones were not bulletproof and everyone raved about the non-stop action that the race provided.

So with that in mind, Pirelli was recruited with a mandate to design a degradable tire that could create such excitement at any circuit. They've been massively successful in that regard. But now two years on, with tires that are designed to destruct, we have two podium finishers on a one-stopper at the circuit that destroyed the Bridgestones.

What is going one here? Is it the weather that effects the Pirelli's so much?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

You can't simply judge both sets of tyres based on one circuit and one race each upon that circuit. In answer to your question I don't think anyone really knows what's going on with the tyres. Although I suspect you're correct about the weather (more precisely track temperature), just look at Friday practice in Montreal, the Super Softs were doing in excess of 30 laps when it was cool, whereas on Sunday they would barely manage 15 laps when it was considerably warmer.

 

[KekeTheKing]

You can't simply judge both sets of tyres based on one circuit and one race

Why not? It's better that comparing them on different circuits. And the point is that an ultra-durable tire was unable to hold up on this circuit two years ago while an ultra-degradable tire held up rather well this year.

I find this somewhat perplexing.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Well one race for each tyre is a really small sample size. I seem to recall (although I am not sure) in 2010 the amount of degredation had something to do with the track surface as well. Not to mention there different factors to take into account such as no exhaust blown diffusers now (less rear downforce) and the actual cars are different.

 

[Galahad]

Mark Hughes in Autosport has mentioned on a couple of occasions how the Bridgestone tyres apparently relied much more on the chemical reaction between the rubber and the track surface than Pirelli - or Michelin - whose tyres use the physical resistance in the tyre a lot more. So possibly - and this is purely speculative - it has something to do with the surface in Montreal, and the amount of rubber that goes down on the racing line, or not.