Memento: F1 Parts, Memorabilia & Merchandise
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Mercedez-Benz Social Reporter campaign
Enter #SocialReporter and you’ll get VIP access, interview celebrities and be the voice of Mercedes Benz UK at exclusive events.
Submit an entry by selecting content from your Twitter or Instagram accounts, or linking to a video or blog entry, and you’ll be in with a chance to get the VIP treatment and cover an event as Mercedes-Benz’s #SocialReporter.
You and a guest will attend the AMG customer party at Woburn Abbey on 27th June, mingle with celebrities and members of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™Team, be given tickets to The British Grand Prix at Silverstone and report back on the entire weekend.
Entries close: 19th June 2013
Analysis – Set up sheet explained
Whenever an F1 car runs on track, the team will have planned what parts are fitted and the set up of every facet of the car. Now over a year and a half old and with an even older car, this set up sheet appeared on the Lotus Media site. It was from Kimi Raikkonen’s debut test at Jerez for the team in a R30 (from 2011). It shows some of the set up detail that the teams go into. This also gives us some insight into the spring\damper configuration modern F1 cars run.
InDetail: Clutch Slave Cylinder
Every time an F1 car comes to a halt or pulls away, the clutch needs to be operated. In an F1 car this is not cable operated, but controlled by the cars high pressure hydraulic control system. Converting the drivers demand for clutch movement into motion at the clutch spring is the Clutch slave cylinder. With an outwardly simply task to accomplish, the unit hides a lot of complexity.
InDetail: The F1 Clutch
An F1 clutch is a tiny piece of engineering that completes an amazing job of transmitting the 800+ horsepower from the powertrain through the gearbox. Weighing less than 1.3kg and just 97mm in diameter, the tiny clutch is tortured every time the car pulls away at; race starts, pit stops and leaving the garage. Here we can have a close look at contemporary Clutch technology with this AP Racing clutch.
InDetail: The Engine Oil System
Keeping an engine that spins at up to 18,000rpm for nearly two hours lubricated and cooled is the job of the oil system. Rarely seen or talked about the pumps, tanks and plumbing are a critical part of an F1 cars packaging.
Analysis: DRS Activation
Since its introduction in 2010 the Drag Reduction System (DRS) has gone through a series of evolutions in how the team actuate the movable rear wing flap. Having replaced the adjustable front flap, teams have all switched to hydraulics to power the opening of the flap, where as the front flap angle system introduced in 2009 was commonly achieved with electric motors and only a few teams employed hydraulics.
Analysis: Red Bull Front Wing Adjuster
As F1 teams develop front wings with ever greater emphasis placed on the load created towards the outboard end of the flaps, the airflow over the outer 30cm of wing is becoming ever more critical. With designers wanting to keep this area clear of unwanted obstructions, the need to package a means to adjust the front flap angle becomes more difficult. Red bull as ever have had a good look at the issue and come up with the semi floating adjuster that keeps the wings surface almost interrupted.
Analysis: Raised Rear Wishbones
For many years the shape and position of the cars suspension elements have been an important factor in the cars aerodynamics. For 2013, almost every team have taken the same approach pioneered by Red Bull in 2012, by raising the rear lower wishbone. In doing this the teams have also oversized the wishbone’s cross section to enclose the driveshaft. It transpires that there are two gains from this practice, primarily improving flow over the diffuser and secondarily reducing the aerodynamic effect of the spinning driveshaft.
Autosport: The Art of the Start
I am now also contributing regularly to AUTOSPORT. Every GP I will post a Tech Blog on AUTOSPORT-PLUS, which is a subscription page (or pay per view).
In this weeks AUTOSPORT Magazine I have a double page spread on the Technology around the F1 cars’ Transmission and how its involved in the start process. You can buy a print issue of AUTOSPORT in the UK, or you can again get a digital copy by subscribing or pay per view at the DIGITAL AUTOSPORT Website
