Is the RedBull X1 a possible future F1 car?

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Speedster7

Speedster7

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rabbit_9-8
Before I get started, I would just like to say that this is just a thought I had today after hearing some F1 banter on the TV during qualifying for Monza. It is not factual at all...

So, anyone closely following F1 this season will probably have seen the first corner crash at Spa, which happened only 1 week ago. The crash resulted in a 1 race ban for Romain Grosjean.

Anyway, in this accident, incase you Haven't seen it, Grosjean's car flew over the top of Fernando Alonso's, narrowly missing his head.

Since then, there has been thought about the introduction of jet fighter style canopies ( the X1 has one of these) over the cockpit, in an effort to protect the drivers head in an accident

Also, the X1 runs a turbocharged v6, similar to those that the 2014 F1 cars will run. And the X1 has various devices fitted to manipulate downforce and G- effect, which has also been in discussion for re-introduction, possibly in 2014.

So, If the FIA decide to introduce all these mad things in the future, could we end up seeing F1 cars that are similar to the controversial RedBull X2010/11 prototypes?

What do you think?
 
As I have often pointed out regarding the X2010 / X2011, the car is entirely realistic. We can build one today, exactly like the in-game car in every detail. All aspects of it exist already and many features like the vacuum suction appeared in motorsports decades ago. The thing is basically an F1 car with a canopy, fenders over the wheels to reduce drag, no ballast (F1 cars have lots of weight added to bring them up to minimum requirements), a turbo, and vacuum/fan.

There are some reasons it won't appear in F1, however. For one thing, open cockpits and open wheels are a signature of F1, although many other series do the same, so they won't be quick to change this for F1. For another, the G forces would be rough and raise safety concerns. Then there's the concern about crashes at 250 or even 300 MPH. Remember, the FIA keeps trying to slow the cars, not speed them up. Then there were complaints about rocks thrown by the old fan cars of yesteryear.
 
Toronado
The entire point of the X1 was "this is what would happen if F1 had no regulations." So... no.
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This.

The X2010 is purely a fantasy car. There has never been any evidence that it would be realised as a working racing car. And even if the FIA were to make closed-cockpits mandatory in the future, then the regulations are unlikely to allow the X2010 to compete.
 
If only there's a rich fool who is willing to spend the fortune to build one for special events or tech demo, and a driver brave enough to drive it to the limit, I think it's plausible to have it in reality, but not for FIA regulated races.
 
I think people are interpreting this wrong. I said could we see the X1 as a POSSIBLE future formula car, and I didn't think people would take it literally. I just though that it's odd that there had been minimal talk about the new engines and canopies when the X1 was designed, but yet it had these features. I know the X1 is a fantasy car, but some of its principals such as the closed cockpit and v6 engine may be carried over into F1 some day. I perfectly accept that they will never build a racing car to Pursue pure speed, those days ended years ago...
 
I was thinking in a similar fashion, not as much power or aero as in the game. Maybe build similar design car, with canopy, closed wheel, sub 1000hp engine, 600kg, and less overall cornering G's ( smaller wing and fan ).
 
I think you guys are misinterpreting Speedster7... He's referring to the various features of the X10/11 that can be adapted for safety (e.g wheel covers and glass canopy), not adapting the X10 as a whole for F1 racing.

Besides, it is quite a plausible solution. It may not be proven to be possible, but it's modelled with realism taken into account.

With these wheel covers + canopy, not only safety is improved (by protecting drivers' heads + preventing wheels from flying out so easily), aerodynamics would be significantly improved (and simplified) too (due to them allowing for more efficient airflow, especially when the exposed wheels can cause a lot of drag)

IMO, F1 can easily adapt most of its features except for perhaps it's excessive downforce (from the fan) + crazy horsepower.
 
prisonermonkeys
FIA is not going to write the rules in such a way that it would allow a car that appeared in a video game to race in their series in real life. End of story.
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I think your missing the point of the thread. What speedster is getting at is not the WHOLE car being taken straight out of the virtual world of GT5, and put on the circuit.
But rather various components that could be copied (to an extent) then adapted and implemented into F1. For example safety features in the light of recent events, and with regulation changes in 2014. Not the whole car as it is in GT5.
 
Pagey279
But rather various components that could be copied (to an extent) then adapted and implemented into F1.
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No. That won't happen.

If any regulations are introduced, the teams will design the car that they feels best fits it. They will not look to the X2010. They will start from the ground up.
 
prisonermonkeys
No. That won't happen.

If any regulations are introduced, the teams will design the car that they feels best fits it. They will not look to the X2010. They will start from the ground up.
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Obviously the teams would design a car based on the regulations... What kind of team doesn't do that?

What speedster meant is that whether the FIA could consider adopt some of the (safety) features of the X2010 into the regulations for F1... Need you be so linear minded about it?
 
prisonermonkeys
No. That won't happen.

If any regulations are introduced, the teams will design the car that they feels best fits it. They will not look to the X2010. They will start from the ground up.
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You know this with absolute certainty?

And again I wasn't saying they were going to copy them bolt by bolt and strand by strand. But take the IDEAS that are there in the X2010/2011 and adapt them to fit their car, and to fit the regulations.


Also what hexoskeleton said.
 
Pagey279
You know this with absolute certainty?
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Yes. Because that's the way all cars are designed.

It has been suggested that closed canopies could be introduced for 2014. Between that and the new engine regulations, the 2014 rules would receive a major overhaul. Consequently, the 2013 regulations will not change very much from this year's. The end result is that the closed canopies are far more likely to be integrated into the existing car designs, rather than drawn from an external source.
 
prisonermonkeys
Yes. Because that's the way all cars are designed.

It has been suggested that closed canopies could be introduced for 2014. Between that and the new engine regulations, the 2014 rules would receive a major overhaul. Consequently, the 2013 regulations will not change very much from this year's. The end result is that the closed canopies are far more likely to be integrated into the existing car designs, rather than drawn from an external source.
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Fair enough, there wouldn't be a complete overhaul obviously.

After all, it'll take a while for the FIA to be able to first evaluate and implement substantial changes effectively.

And thank you pagey, good to see someone sharing the same understanding 👍
 
Too many different and long-standing technical regulations would have to change for the X1 to be a legitimate Formula One car anytime in the near future. Right now, it's still an open-wheeled series (the rules for that have been in place since the beginning of the 1958 World Championship), open-cockpit series (since essentially day one, despite a few testing attempts at bubble canopies, circa 1967-68), which has rules against ground effects (banned in all forms since 1983).

That's not to say it couldn't happen in the future, but so many rules would have to change at once to permit it to race, that it might be a long time coming for such sweeping changes. F1/FIA changes its rules comparatively gradually over time, even considering the rapid pace of technological advancements and developments. Like many other established racing series, Grand Prix racing can be slow to accept new changes to its rules, and it is even more rare for technical regulations to permit something that was once judged as unacceptable or blatantly disregarded the rules.
 
If anything F1 cars look like they are only going to become slower due to safety reasons, it would cost an awful lot of money to make something like that to.
 

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