2012 F1 Mechanics: designs and pieces that will win WDC & WCC

LMSCorvetteGT2

LMSCorvetteGT2

22,549
United States
Arizona
HamiltonMP427
With Merc GP having pieces come out that are to be tested and potentially used in next years car, I thought it'd be great for motorsport fanatics like me and others to debate what team might have the best chance at winning next year. By talking about designs and new advancements that may show up on the F1 grid and testing.

Any articles that talk about F1 designs for next year are welcomed.

As I said before here are a couple of tid bits from Merc GP that may vastly improve them.

Merc GP new linked rear suspension

Merc GP new front wing F-duct like system
 
I think a McLaren-style nose is going to be the big-ticket item of 2012. The new regulations ban raised noses, and of the front-runners, the McLaren has the lowest nose, so I think that will be popular.

I also think we'll see a battle between Red Bull's tightly-wrapped rear end and McLaren's U-shaped sidepods; teams will either take one or the other.
 
I'm not sure, exactly - as far as I know, the full technical regulations for 2012 have not been released yet. The only references I can find are in Auto Motor und Sport; apparently, several personalities up and down pit lane (most notably Ross Brawn and Christian Horner) are dissatisfied with the regulations, because they think the cars will be "ugly". However, I do know that lower noses are mandatory next year, so maybe we're looking at something in the range of the current McLaren, the Brawn BGP-001 and possibly the current/next generation of Indycar (the front end of the ICONIC chassis isn't too different to the current design). Since the front end is the most important part of a car's aerodynamics - the easiest way to alter downforce is to adjust the front wing - the shape of the nose is going to influence a lot of the car's design.
 
The teams are reacting that way because they know raised noses provide more downforce, and they'll do anything to preseve their downforce because they know it translates into performance on the circuit.
 
I know that, just saying that the low nose cars are just as mesmerizing as the hign nose ones. Either way I think Brawn, Newey, Lowe as well as others will figure out ways to make better aero parts regardless.
 
The Mercedes front wing sounds very interesting... It's time for Mercedes to start competing for wins. I have high expectations for them next season.
 
You say the front is the most important, the next person will say the rear defuser is the most important. I've heard both being said on the bbc coverage on seperate occasions. This new front end looks interesting, It always amazes me when they come up with this innovative stuff each and every year.

I still think Red Bull will be the car to beat next year, but the changes do favour Mclarens front end concept, I really hope to see Mercedes and Ferrari back on form too.


As for the Brawn car, It is one of my favourite F1 cars to look at.
 
The rear diffuser is most important in the sense that it generates the most downforce. However, it is not easily changed because it does not work in isolation. The entire car is designed around the rear diffuser, so to change the design means significant reworking of the car. Teams might update the diffuser two or three times through the year, but it can be an expensive and time-consuming process.

The front wing, on the other hand, can be quickly and easily redesigned. Renault in particular were bringing upgrades to the front wing on an almost round-by-round basis in 2010. And not only can the front wing by updated from round to round, but it can also be adjusted from lap to lap - the driver can come into the pits and the team can add or remove downforce on the spot in a matter of seconds. In that sense, the front wing is the most important because it's easy to get more downforce from it in the short-term.

So think of it like this: the diffuser is the most important part on a season-by-season basis, while the front wing is the most important from race to race.
 
I think you're selling the front wing a little short there ludes. Its the most crucial piece of aerodynamics on the entire car! Because it shapes the airflow for the rest of the car, its critical for the front wing to work with the rest of the design of the car.
So I don't think you can really say that the front is "easily redesigned". Re-designing the front wing must take into consideration the rest of the car behind and the rest of the car must work with the front wing.

So I would say that design would start at the front wing and then work backwards. Currently, the design regulations are allowing a lot of room for design changes in the front wing, so we are seeing a lot of changes there. But that doesn't mean the front wing is easily re-designed, it means the teams are spending a lot of time and effort trying to get their front wings working with the rest of the car!
 
I'm surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet: off-throttle and exhaust-blown diffusers are banned for 2012, so there's a big change. I think the rules mandate that the exhaust physically exits the car at a pre-determined point. Ross Brawn isn't convinced the changes go far enough; he suspects there are loopholes that teams will exploit, particularly when it comes to the actual exhaust, so that they can at least get an exhaust-blown diffuser (if not necessarily an off-throttle one).

Ardius
So I don't think you can really say that the front is "easily redesigned". Re-designing the front wing must take into consideration the rest of the car behind and the rest of the car must work with the front wing.
Click to expand...
It can be done easier and faster in comparison to the diffuser. Introducing a new front wing is fairly straight-forward - you have to take into consideration the effects on the rest of the car, yes, but actually changing it simply involves taking the old front wing off and putting the new one on. When it comes to replacing the rear diffuser, you still have to consider the effects on the entire car, but you usually need to rebuild the rear suspension, gearbox, floor, exhaust and rear wing; probably the engine cowling and sidepods; and in extreme cases, parts of the actual engine mounting. We saw it when Red Bull introduced their double-diffuser in 2009 - they pretty much had to rebuild the entire rear end.
 
I've read all that I can find and it seems that using exhausts to blow onto a diffuser next year is set to be banned, and something about the exhausts having to be vertical? I would have thought they meant horizontal?.
I have not found anything relating to a blown floor specifically, but all in all it sounds like these are banned too, sort of a sub-category of blown diffusers.

Main point is that I am wondering how the changes will affect Renault for 2012 since these regulations do seem to put an end to (or ruin any possible advantage of) their forward exhaust+blown floor setup (They also have diffuser fins around the side, around the back edging of the sidepods).
Renault are going to use the forward exhausts again next year (optimised setup) but I'm not sure how they can with the rule changes? This is puzzling me, I guess all is well somehow with their system.

Feel free to correct me and make me look the fool but I see 2 clashing plans. :)
 
As far as forward exhaust being blown over diffusers goes, is that the consensus as to what RBR's advantage is? I'm also still upset about the flexible front wing controversy. Most laugh and write it off, but I'm not so convinced, from what see the front splitter could still flex on the track and still meet the load test. Apparently this loophole was changed part of the way into 2011 but who knows....

http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/category/aero-elasticity-wing-flexing/
 
Last edited:
No PM most people know by now if they keep up with the sport that exhaust blown is banned, I just didn't see it all that important to bring up since I really want to discuss the innovation more so than rule changes.
 
Not according to Ross Brawn. He reckons that there are potential loopholes in the 2012 regulations that would allow teams to run a partially-blown diffuser. Such a loophole would give any team that exploited it a noticeable advantage.

No doubt Brawn, who foresaw the problem of double diffusers in 2009, believes history is repeating itself and that 2012 could see a similar argument over rules as we saw three years ago. If the teams ignore his objections, look for Mercedes to run a partially-blown diffuser.
 
prisonermonkeys
Not according to Ross Brawn. He reckons that there are potential loopholes in the 2012 regulations that would allow teams to run a partially-blown diffuser. Such a loophole would give any team that exploited it a noticeable advantage.

No doubt Brawn, who foresaw the problem of double diffusers in 2009, believes history is repeating itself and that 2012 could see a similar argument over rules as we saw three years ago. If the teams ignore his objections, look for Mercedes to run a partially-blown diffuser.
Click to expand...

Probably, but I don't see how you can get around the mapping system, that is pretty straight forward.
 
It's not the mapping system Brawn is concerned about - it's teams finding a loophole that lets them blow exhaust over the diffuser. It generates more downforce than the FIA intends, even if it does not generate as much as mapping the throttle.
 
prisonermonkeys
It's not the mapping system Brawn is concerned about - it's teams finding a loophole that lets them blow exhaust over the diffuser. It generates more downforce than the FIA intends, even if it does not generate as much as mapping the throttle.
Click to expand...

Gotcha ya, my issue with all these aero rules is come 2014 even though there are HP regs these cars are going to remind me of those from the late 80s is this what Bernie is going for?
 
prisonermonkeys
Not according to Ross Brawn. He reckons that there are potential loopholes in the 2012 regulations that would allow teams to run a partially-blown diffuser. Such a loophole would give any team that exploited it a noticeable advantage.

No doubt Brawn, who foresaw the problem of double diffusers in 2009, believes history is repeating itself and that 2012 could see a similar argument over rules as we saw three years ago. If the teams ignore his objections, look for Mercedes to run a partially-blown diffuser.
Click to expand...

The FIA have clarified that engine mapping will be restricted to prevent teams from gaining an advantage in this way, which closes one loophole.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95572

This was based on its view that there was an aerodynamic benefit from a moveable part, plus it was being influenced by the movement of the driver through the throttle. Neither are allowed in the rules.
Click to expand...

This just in! All cars are banned for the Indian GP under the regulations because the FIA deemed that they are all moving aerodynamic devices which are driver operated, neither of which are allowed in the rules :rolleyes:

I think the rule change was ridiculous, it was a poor attempt to bring RBR back in line with the other frontrunners, but it creates problems (Including increased costs) for ALL of the teams.

I think Mclaren's U-shaped sidepods will catch on with a couple of teams, perhaps even Ferrari. I doubt Red Bull will change their approach though.
 
Well... would calling it "an aerodynamic device which can be controlled directly by the driver" make it clearer? Blown diffusers were a clever idea, but they want to get rid of all the active aero aids (or, as Webber calls it: "head patting, tummy rubbing complication..."). Personally, I thought blown-diffusers and driver-controlled F-Ducts were awesome and added a new technical element to the game. But then again, so did suction fans...

I like the idea in that article for a passive-active hydraulic system.. very neat solution to the problem and could perhaps open up for more flexibility in suspension design.

-

Thanks for links to Scarb's blog... some fascinating stuff there! Particularly this:

http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/a-legal-but-flexible-t-tray-splitter-the-see-saw-solution/

Which may explain the RBR conundrum. If true, it only reaffirms the genius of Newey and his technical team. Wonder if they'll be able to pull more rabbits out next year...
 
Scarbs' interpretation of what the low noses in 2012 will look like:

7q7t.jpg


So Virgin's needle nose from last year might be in vogue.
 
It's probably too low. The major advantage of a raised nose is that it helps channel more air over the front splitter, which generates more downforce. A low nose will block this. So, teams will try and get as much air over the splitter as they can by raising the nose, whilst keeping it within the regulations.
 
prisonermonkeys
It's probably too low. The major advantage of a raised nose is that it helps channel more air over the front splitter, which generates more downforce. A low nose will block this. So, teams will try and get as much air over the splitter as they can by raising the nose, whilst keeping it within the regulations.
Click to expand...

I thought you said they had to go back to low nose next year? That's why I asked about that style I posted right now.
 

Latest Posts

Back