Note: The zones will be on the start-finish straights in Australia and Malaysia, while in China it will be at the end of the long back-straight.
The current F1 cars are all close to an overall length of five metres. So for the following car to pass the car in front it has to cover at the bare minimum of three car lengths plus reasonable spacing between them to avoid accidents. The following car cannot get closer than two metres to the car in front before it pulls out to overtake. On that basis the following car must cover at least eighteen metres to safely pass the other car. The driver in front will position his car to force his opponent to pass him on the wrong side thus ensuring that his opponent has to be fully clear of him before he can get onto the correct racing line for the next corner. He will not need to change his line more than once which he is allowed to do within the present rules.
Using the FOTA simulated data as my source, the wing will be worth about 10/12 kph when deployed, a similar effect to the F-Duct. To do a proper calculation of the effectiveness of the low downforce wing positions, we must make some assumptions. They are as follows:
- Two cars reach the “wing deployment” line almost equal and almost side by side.
- Neither car uses Kers
- Both cars have equal speed at the line, for this example, 300 kph.
- One does not use the wing (A) due to regulation
- One does use the wing (B)
- The distance covered is 600m
Here is the formula for car A:
(600m/300,000m) * 3600secs =
7.2 seconds to go 600m at 300 kph
300 kph = 300,000m per hour
1 hour =3600 seconds
Here’s the formula for car B:
(600m/312,000m) * 3600secs =
6.92 seconds to go 600m at 312kph
Results: car B covers the 600m .28 seconds faster than car A, as 7.2 – 6.92 = .28 secs
Is that enough of an advantage to make the pass? It depends on how much distance a car covers in .28 secs at an average of 312 kph.
If one (B) goes 600m in 6.92 secs they travel 1m in 6.92secs/600m = .011533….sec per meter
If the speed advantage using the “wing down” gains .28secs, then the formula is .28secs/.011533 secs per meter = 24 meters gained over the other car. 24 meters is enough. The pass could be made.
But of course, the cars will not be operating under the assumptions expressed above. They will not be side by side, they will not be going the exact same speed, they will not be without the Kers option, and they will not be equal in any way.
The best case example shown above proves it is possible to pass with the “wing down” option, in a best case scenario, but the many other variables means that it is not likely to happen with any regularity.
Last year’s dominant car the Red Bull RB6 dominance was not down to its top speed. In truth it rarely appeared in the top five or six cars in the speed traps. High lap speeds are far more dependent on cornering speeds than outright top speeds on the straights.
It would also appear that even if this wing was in use last year that Alonso would still not have managed to pass Petrov on the straight at Abu Dhabi as the Renault was some eight kph faster on the straight.
If its use was unrestricted it could well play a much more decisive role. It is unrestricted in qualifying which will give a good indication of its potential.
Drivers crash, Petrov manages to crash testing the curbs in a race, driver error is driver error and will always be there. Pretty inescapable example is the quick-shift. It wasn't invented for safety, it was speed and until that time you had a clutch and a gear stick. I don't see pressing a couple of buttons and moving your knee every so often being anything like as challenging as shifting gear through 130R or Parabolica, awaiting 4 bar of boost to hit you in the arse with enough shove to spin the wheels at will. If the top drivers in the world cannot manage it, I/we are all completely unsafe driving a normal manual car. ...Well many of us are but that's another point
