The Stupid Questions thread

Considering that Bernie seems to be ever dragging the sport into new depths of despair, how is it that he is still in charge? I understand he makes money but does anyone involved in the sport ever take the longview?

 

I'm not sure if your question is a rhetorical expression of frustrated disbelief, Westy, but in my opinion the reason is a combination of fear of change (better the devil you know) and simple greed (Ecclestone is perceived to be responsible for attracting so much money to the sport and the teams have reaped significant financial benefits from his approach), with a touch of apathy (rather him than me). How much of massive increase in interest in Formula 1 is down to Ecclestone and how much is down to changes in society and leisure activities is impossible to quantify. Insiders seem to give Ecclestone a lot of credit for dragging the sport up to its current global position. As an outsider I can't help but feel that a lot of that credit is undeserved and the increase in global interest would have happened anyway, if not to the extent it has.

I also think those involved in running the sport have very short term ambitions that revolve around their own personal involvement, which is something Ecclestone has capitalised on.

 

I believe there may be some truth in this.

 

Thought I'd drag this thread back to the top with another question...

Why are the front tyres thinner than the rear tyres? Presumably, a thinner front tyre means less grip which results in understeer. However, considering all the problems with slipstreaming and following in a cars wake, surely more grip would be beneficial?

 

I have a question?
Why do Mclaren not put their name or logo on either their car or team-kit?

please log in to view this image

please log in to view this image

See.
Nowhere does it say "Mclaren" or have the red swerve logo.

 

Isn't the logo either side of the Jonny Walker label at the top of each drivers visor? Admittedly it's still pretty small, and I certainly remember that they used to feature it much more prominently, but I guess it opens up space for more sponsors logos on the car, and the Mclaren colour scheme is fairly synonymous anyway?

 

The idea was I think to make it easier for a car to follow in the "dirty air", though it would take someone with an engineering degree or a great amount of knowledge to explain why.

Cosi! Here boy!

 

I thought it was to do with all the power being put through the rear wheels

 

This article is a bit out of date, but still offers some insight. If I've interpreted correctly, the greater aero grip at the front end is balanced by less mechanical grip from smaller tyres.

 

Hi Westy. I've just noticed this interesting question. How technical do you want to get?! Shall I speak of polar moments of inertia, for instance?

There are several considerations, the least of which is aerodynamic (although, of course, 'open' wheels do cause serious difficulties, especially at the front because the rest of the car still needs to pass this turbulence. Consider that rear tyres are also larger on Sports Cars despite their enclosed wheels, as well as most high performance road cars).

So, we are essentially concerned with mechanical grip - although this itself can be helped by aerodynamic pressure, which can add to the weight factor (point 2, below).
Notwithstanding factors such as compounds, pressures, temperatures, humidity and the surface being driven over; a tyre's grip will depend upon:

• the size of the contact patch between it and track surface
  
• the weight acting upon it to push it down onto the track surface
  
• rotational acceleration: (forces acting to speed up or slow down wheel rotation)
  
• lateral acceleration: ('sideways' forces)
  

If there is too much grip at one end of the car relative to the other, this will cause inherent imbalance* when not travelling in a straight line (understeer if rear grip is greater than front; oversteer if front grip is greater than rear).

Now consider that most of the action occurs where power is transmitted, and that the bulk of the car's weight (centre of mass) is towards the rear so as to help push down on the rear (driven) wheels to provide more grip where it is needed for acceleration. Conversely, the front tyres' primary role (roll?!) is to influence the direction of travel (although they are also more important during braking); and, as above, if the front tyres have too much grip (relative to the rear) the heavier rear end will tend to swing about like a pendulum (oversteer).

In the simplest sense, rear wheels have more work to do. So if the front tyres are 'too strong', they will cause trouble for the rears.

- - - o0o - - -
​

*Imbalance is the term describing a car's handling when respective front/rear grip is not to a driver's liking. Different drivers may prefer very different set-ups to 'dial out' their own interpretation of 'imbalance', by all manner of adjustments such as differential settings and suspension components - as well as everything above.

 

.... Is the pit lane speed limit enforced by a man with a speed gun? Or maybe a timing loop? or even just using the in car data?
There must be a way they enforce it all the way down the pit lane too (surely).

 

Thanks for that Cosi, I'm just going to go lie down for a while in a darkened room!

But seriously, that was very informative, thanks.

 

Average speed cameras every few yards?

 

Its written on the leg i think (just out of the picture). No idea why its not on the car.

 

McLaren in F1 are as well known as "blood red = Ferrari" (even if Ferrari have changed their shade of red to fit in with their sponsors).
If you don't know who these two teams are then you don't give a rat's bum anyhow, and knowing the answer makes no difference to you anyhow.

I guess in McLaren's case that it's a case of "if you need to ask the question, no answer can suffice" !

Actually it's pretty cool that everyone knows who you are even when you haven't got a name badge - even Ferrari haven't managed that yet!

 

How much do the driver's really know about how their cars work and how it's features affect it's performance?

 

it's right at the front of the nose cone http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Mc...tart=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=43&ty=97

 

beat me to it

 

Not quite sure what you're getting at here Westy, but I'll readily admit to having a bad day, so perhaps it's me! I'll try this to see if it's anywhere close to what you want:

The drivers know how their cars work, and understand how its features [components?] should interact with what is already known - and thus; how performance should be affected - very thoroughly indeed. This is central to the driving job. However, as is always the case, some can do it better than others.

The driver's role is absolutely vital.
- There's nothing quite like actually verifying predictions and then providing the all-important feedback in order to make more accurate assessments, with ever finer tuning. This is what testing is all about. If and when predicted improvements fall short of reality, a re-think may be needed, or sometimes the idea is shelved altogether! Modern-day simulators are very very well programmed with bucket-loads of data, but even the simulator needs a professional driver in order to test (verify) outputs against expectations.

To put it another way - and in the most fundamental sense - an engineer primarily designs things in order to accommodate the driver, which is inevitably based upon the driver's personal preferences. If a driver finds a benefit (or not), it is something an engineer will factor into any recommendations for adjustments; or indeed, to future designs. In this sense, it can be seen that it is very much a team effort between driver and engineer, who lean very heavily upon each other to find improvements.