Thoughts, post World Motor Sport Council

[Blake]

Something that really stuck in my head after reading the WMSC’s decision was how surprised Alonso was with Ferrari’s weight distribution.

3.8 Mr. Alonso replied to this e-mail on 25 March 2007 at 12.31 (they were in different time zones). His e-mail includes a section headed "Ferrari" in which he says "its weight distribution surprises me; I don't know either if it's 100% reliable, but at least it draws attention". The e-mail continues with a discussion of how McLaren's weight distribution compares with Ferrari's.

Having driven at Renault and McLaren in recent (V8) years, that implies that the weight distribution of the Ferrari is very different to that which he has experienced at those teams (in turn, implying that McLaren and Renault run similar-ish weight distributions).

Where am I going with this? Well, it reminded me of the Renault to McLaren transition that Alonso made, and the McLaren to Ferrari transition that Kimi made. Alonso settled in pretty much instantly at McLaren and was setting the sort of pace we’d expect.

However Kimi took a lot longer to get settled (arguably still isn’t). I’m thinking that the Ferrari has a very different weight distribution compared to McLaren and Renault, so Kimi may have had a lot of trouble adapting to the very different car dynamics that this brings.

Renault were, in 2004 and prior, very much known for their rearward weight bias which gave them exceptional performance from a standing start, but made the cars quite tricky to drive.

This makes me speculate (again, pure speculation) that the Ferrari weight distribution is further forward than Alonso would suspect – simply because Alonso has experience with a more rearward distribution and understands the advantages, so maybe would not be so surprised with that.

I know I’m all over the place there, so hopefully it makes sense. Agree? Disagree? Anything else in the WMSC decision stand out to you?

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Actually, I think that it's quite the reverse. The longer-wheelbase Ferrari is expected to have a rearward biased weight distribution, which is considered to be unfavourable in the control tyre formula. I suspect that Renault's drop-off in form is directly attributable to the fact that they have not been able to radicalise their design process with the goal of bringing the weight distribution forward.

McLaren and others are trying to bring both the centre of gravity and the centre of aero pressure forward to simultaneously aid turn-in, and also to protect the rear tyres, which are considered to be under-specced in the control tyre era.

I suspect therefore that Ferrari are running a much more forward weight distribution than simulations would have expected.

What struck me about it was the manner in which de la Rosa felt that he could "use" the data in the simulator. Would they be simulating the McLaren chassis with the red cars' weight distributions? Or would they be using it to inform the simulator to make a more accurate comparison of relative performance?

 

[Metar]

I did wonder, does their simulator have the ability to switch the weight-distribution.

I wondered about rear-tyres too. '70s, '80s, '90s rear tyres were wider and bigger than the fronts. Now, they seem pretty equal...

 

[Blake]

I suspect therefore that Ferrari are running a much more forward weight distribution than simulations would have expected.

That’s what I said…

 

[GilesGuthrie]

That’s what I said…

Yes, but you said it in the context of an assumption that McLaren were running a rearward weight distribution. I realised on my way home last night that I forgot to question your assertion that Raikkonen took longer to get up to speed with the McLaren than Raikkonen did with the Ferrari, since Raikkonen pretty much strolled the first GP. I think that both drivers were struggling to come to terms with the change to the tyres, especially since Alonso was used to driving a car with a suspension design based on extensive consultancy with Michelin to which McLaren didn't have access.

I think, therefore, that Alonso probably felt that McLaren's weight distribution was as far forward as it was possible to go, and significantly further forward than Renault's, but that Ferrari's - which he would be expecting to be further back based on the longer wheelbase - is further forward still. There have been some interesting articles on throwing weight distribution forward.

It's interesting that Ferrari seem to have the best start mechanism at the moment, but that they clearly don't have a rearward weight distribution, and nobody's really commenting on it.

 

[SouL]

What struck me about it was the manner in which de la Rosa felt that he could "use" the data in the simulator. Would they be simulating the McLaren chassis with the red cars' weight distributions? Or would they be using it to inform the simulator to make a more accurate comparison of relative performance?

The Ferrari is obviously of a completely different design principle. It seems odd to apply their data to a different car design. I would believe that, yes, they probably used Ferrari data to simulate its performance relative to theirs.

 

[Alfaholic]

I'm pretty sure that they would use all the data they have about the opposition to predict their race performance prior to the event, allowing them to adjust their own strategy accordingly. The accuracy of the predictions would of course depend on the accuracy of the data entered into the model. I suppose weight distribution would, among other things, have some significance in predicting tyre life, and therefore pitstop strategy. On the other hand, it was dismissed as being "too different" which implies instead that McLaren were attempting to use the Ferrari data to understand differences in performance between the two cars, and as a consequince improve their own. If the data included suspension geometry and things such as spring and damper settings, then McLaren probably wanted to try these settings on their own car, in the simulator, to see if it improved tyre life / performance, and decided they were irrelevant because of the difference in weight distribution. Or, they DID test, got unexpected results, and were trying to understand why.

As for adjusting the weight distribution in the simulator, I'd suspect that it is software driven, and it would then be quite possible that all parameters having an effect on dynamic performance could be altered by visiting a menu or two.