Technical Electric F1?

[Mephistopheles]

Does this spell the beginning of the end for F1 as we know it?

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/...gpupdate&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=news

And how much of it is just a gesture to appease the green people, after all the cars actually racing on the track produce just a minuscule amount of greenhouse gasses compared to the motor racing industry as a whole probably less than 1% of the total for the whole operation...

 

[Westy]

Fossil fuels will only last us so long. At some point we need to look elsewhere for a fuel source that can sustain us. I strongly believe that hydrogen power is the future but electricity powered cars will play a large role as well.

This would be a large change for the sport. Many purists would be disgusted, but at some point you must evolve or die.

 

[cider_and_toast]

It would be very strange to hear (or actually not hear) the cars going round the track.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well the noise has always been a big part of the sport. plus electricity doesn't just come out of a plug by magic it has to be generated either by nuclear or by burning fossil fuels, as far as I can tell electric cars are a dead end...

 

[Brogan]

Electricity can also be generated by solar, wind, and wave power.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

I'm pretty sure we've had this debate before, as Mephistopheles says the electric has to come from somewhere, I know greener energy can be used but is each host country going to make sure it has dedicated green energy available for the GP?

Certainly China won't, I'm pretty sure USA won't either. Not to mention the other upcoming industrial nations

Hydrogen is the green future until we discover how to harness the power of dilithium crystals.

 

[Brogan]

Oil won't last forever so either F1 adapts or it will die.

There will come a point when oil is so scarce and expensive, it will be available only to nation states and the ultra wealthy.

 

[RasputinLives]

There is a current conspiracy theory that there is actually far more oil left than is being touted and that the whole scare is in order for them to push the prices up.

Not saying I believe it but it does make sense.

Then again the same person I heard it off also believes Gobal Warming is a myth created by world governements to give us something to be scared off since the cold war ended. Apparently a scared nation is an easier controlled nation. hmmm.

Have to say I don't think I'll ever see the days of Electric F1 cars coming in for recharges instead of fuel - I think I'm with Westy and it'll be hydrogen. But technology has been moving so fast and in such strange ways over the last 20 years you just never know. I mean if you'd have tried to explain the internet to me when I was a kid I'd have thought it was stupid.

 

[GermanF1]

Apparently a scared nation is an easier controlled nation.

I think we have seen many events in (recent) history, where this proved to be exactly right.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Can someone explain the part about ERS and using electric motors in the pit lane in 2014 how does that work? does the engine turn off on pitlane entry run down it on an electric motor and then turn on again on pit exit, I didn't think you could start an F1 engine unless it was plugged into a computer, what is it I am missing here?

 

[Jen]

Thankfully, I won't be around long enough to see any of this.

If electric powered cars are really the way forward, and to negate the need for a plug in (fuel stop), then perhaps it is not beyond the realms of fantasy to see it as a full size, real-life scalextric.

Quali denotes the rail you get and absolutely no overtaking unless they 'weight' each rail with different charges.

Just a (bizarre) thought

 

[Brogan]

All you really need to start an F1 engine is a starter; they're not incorporated into the car due to the weight.
Hence why there is a starter hole in the rear diffuser, which some teams have taken advantage of when it comes to aerodynamics...

 

[RasputinLives]

So does that mean they'll be starting them in pitlane as part of the stop as of 2014? Like Mephistopheles I'm a little shady on all that too.

Jen if it was a giant scalextric then they would have to make the tracks really wide so they could all run alongside each other and quali would about picking which lane you wanted.

 

[sportsman]

In 2014 F1 will have self starters fitted.That's dead easy.The teams will simply use the KERS motor generator and the KERS battery to start the engine.​

 

[Jen]

Quali would be down to longest straw for starting rail - he who wins length gets to pick a rail for quali, without knowing the charge going through it (this is were the strategists/gamblers come in) and so forth - if the strategists are wrong on the rail, you end up midfield or back of the grid.

For the race, maybe a six car track width, which would see off Tilke and his endless, similar designs.

Sorry, I'm being flippant. The FIA do come up with some cobblers though.

 

[RasputinLives]

In 2014 F1 will have self starters fitted.That's dead easy.The teams will simply use the KERS motor generator and the KERS battery to start the engine.​

Ok that makes more sense to me now - will there be a back up system if the Kers fails though? We've had various occasions where we've had drivers going round without Kers - this would mean now that they're pretty much out of the race because they wouldn't be able to make pitstops.

Also. Might not be fun in the pitlane in Malaysian during the monsoons

 

[Mephistopheles]

So what about the ERS where will that be getting it energy from and where will it be stored and how will it be used, it seems to me that these cars are going to be a hell of a lot heavier than they are now and lap time is going to be a hell of a lot slower....

 

[sportsman]

ERS is the same system with a different name.ERS energy will be harvested alongside the current KERS technology from the off throttle turbo waste, heat from exhaust systems plus wherever the engineers can find waste energy.Current KERS batteries are easily capable of storing twice the present allowed limits and battery technology is advancing by leaps and bounds.Let us not forget that the Williams Flybrid energy is still developing very quickly and that could well feature in 2014.

 

[gethinceri]

I'd like to see the Williams flywheel design in F1, I reckon it needs to be tested against the regular KERS but wonder really why they've not implemented it.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Don't Williams use a battery powered system now? Surely if the flywheel system offered a performance advantage they would implement it. I reckon it's either not as good as batteries, is unreliable, is expensive or doesn't integrate with other areas of the car well.