2020 Formula 1 Calendar threadFormula 1 

  • Thread starter Dennisch
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TheCracker
Hush now. Please. No more talk about street circuits. Someone might start to think that they're a good idea*


*for single seaters. I actually think they work pretty well for touring cars.
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I don't know if Macau is a good idea for anything wider than a bicycle, for what it's worth......
 
Touring cars can hit the walls and not lose a wheel or wing so they're always gonna race harder, not that most touring cars would care if they lost a wheel or wing anyway..
 
Frank McGank
Car width isn’t a problem. From 1978 until 1992, the cars were wider than they are now yet the cars could race less than a car length apart for an entire lap. The issue is the length, weight, and downforce. Overtaking issues are directly correlated to those three factors. That’s why on-track action continued to fall throughout the 90s as the cars got narrower; the aero got too complex, the cars became heavier and longer which made them less agile.
Excess length means you have to commit to a line earlier (meaning you can’t be as bold under braking), excess weight means the cars are less agile (meaning you can’t be as aggressive on corner entry), and excess downforce means dirty air makes the cars too unstable at speed when they’re too close. Creating the unholy trifecta of cars that can’t follow closely, can’t adjust their line in a corner, or be aggressive with each other.

Width is probably the least important factor. If anything, a wider car is EASIER to overtake with because it’s more stable meaning you can push harder both on the throttle and on the brakes.
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Sigh, no. All those 3 factors contribute and so does width. No matter how stable the car is you can't overtake if there's no space to pull alongside.

Brakes being too good is another factor (less ability to brake later). Paddle shifts are another - I listened to a podcast with one of the older drivers and they say a big proportion of overtakes in the old days are when the driver ahead makes a misshift.
 
LeGeNd-1
Sigh, no. All those 3 factors contribute and so does width. No matter how stable the car is you can't overtake if there's no space to pull alongside.

Brakes being too good is another factor (less ability to brake later). Paddle shifts are another - I listened to a podcast with one of the older drivers and they say a big proportion of overtakes in the old days are when the driver ahead makes a misshift.
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Even the narrowest track averages 10 metres in width. I’ll admit maths aren’t my strong suit, but I’m fairly certain 2 metres plus 2 metres is less than 10 metres. Reckon there’s plenty of space to get along-side. Width is the least important factor when it comes to overtaking ability, and the people focusing on it I can guarantee have only been watching F1 for a decade or less and are thus only familiar with the 1.8m cars of 1998-2016. The main issue is as I stated: aero making it difficult to follow closely, weight/length making it difficult to be aggressive and take different lines, and brakes making it harder to be brave under braking.
 
Frank McGank
Even the narrowest track averages 10 metres in width. I’ll admit maths aren’t my strong suit, but I’m fairly certain 2 metres plus 2 metres is less than 10 metres. Reckon there’s plenty of space to get along-side. Width is the least important factor when it comes to overtaking ability, and the people focusing on it I can guarantee have only been watching F1 for a decade or less and are thus only familiar with the 1.8m cars of 1998-2016. The main issue is as I stated: aero making it difficult to follow closely, weight/length making it difficult to be aggressive and take different lines, and brakes making it harder to be brave under braking.
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It doesn't work like that. Physically there is space to fit 2 cars if they're parked, but under racing conditions you need more than just 2x2m for side by side racing. This isn't scalextrix where the cars run on fixed lines. It's possible to make your car "wider" than it physically is if you take good defending lines. Just watch Senna v Mansell Monaco 1992. Just like a wider track makes overtaking easier, so does a narrower car. Although I agree it's not the most important factor because there is a limit to how narrow you can make the car, for obvious reasons.
 
LeGeNd-1
It doesn't work like that. Physically there is space to fit 2 cars if they're parked, but under racing conditions you need more than just 2x2m for side by side racing. This isn't scalextrix where the cars run on fixed lines. It's possible to make your car "wider" than it physically is if you take good defending lines. Just watch Senna v Mansell Monaco 1992. Just like a wider track makes overtaking easier, so does a narrower car. Although I agree it's not the most important factor because there is a limit to how narrow you can make the car, for obvious reasons.
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Narrowest part of the narrowest circuit, two 2017-now cars side by side and they take up less than half the road. Look at Verstappen at Monaco in 2018, was able to slice through half the field and challenged a Mercedes for track position.
The reason the Senna Vs Mansell battle is so well-remembered precisely BECAUSE of the defensive drive put on. Because back then, you could overtake at Monaco. Overtakes didn’t fall off a cliff until around 1994-1995, and the absolute WORST era for on-track action was 1998-2008, when the cars were the NARROWEST they’ve ever been. That’s why circuits like China and Russia put on awful shows despite being massively wide, whilst Brazil and Suzuka put on great shows despite being narrow. Width is the least important factor.
 
Seeing as F12020 was on sale this weekend I bit the bullet...

Holy crap the Vietnam track is garbage. Lets not go there ever, please.
 
-Fred-
Seeing as F12020 was on sale this weekend I bit the bullet...

Holy crap the Vietnam track is garbage. Lets not go there ever, please.
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I kinda think, if they've build it lets at least go there, once :P

Blitz24
I don't know if Macau is a good idea for anything wider than a bicycle, for what it's worth......
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Macau is absolutely fine most of the lap apart from the hill section which is similar to Monaco.

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More than fair. Congrats to Lewis.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they renamed the track after him.
 
Liquid
More than fair. Congrats to Lewis.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they renamed the track after him.
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I like the idea of renaming Formula 1 into Formula Hamilton - until such time as his records are broken!
 
Liquid
More than fair. Congrats to Lewis.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they renamed the track after him.
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Just wouldn't sound as cool as when foreign circuits do it.

Autodromo Carlos Pace
Circuit de Gilles Villenueve
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
International Racetrack of Lewis Hamilton?

I jest of course. I'm sure one day a circuit will name in his honour.
 

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