F1 Racing - UK (2019-12)

THE SEARCH FOR POWER

DESPERATION BREEDS SUCCESS

THEPATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE

F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 95

THE FAN CAR

Gordon Murray was tryingto save Brabham’s 1978 season witha

redesign of theBT46 to compete against theground-effectLotus

78 and79. But the shape of theBT46’s fl at-12 Alfa engine was

problematical so Murray’s solution was the fancar, the BT46B.

Murray’sthinking was: “Ifwe couldget [side] skirtsto seal like the

Lotus ones and have a coolingfan t hat uses more than 50% of itsfl ow

to cool the car and the restto suck the car down...” TheBT46B wonon

its only appearance, the 1976Swedish GP, and never racedagain.

THE TURBO ERA

Supercharged engines had fallen outof

favour since the early 1950s and, alliedto

various rules changes, nobody had deemed

the timeand expense of developinga

new one worth it. This wasuntil 1977

whenRenault entered F1 witha Gordini

1.5-lire V6 turbocharged enginein the

back of its own RS01 chassis.The search

for extra power had begun in earnest,

although initiallyRenault struggled badly.

Unreliability and awfulturbo lagtook a lon g

time to rectify butRenaultfi nally wonfor

the fi rst time in 1979, importantly onhom e

soil, and theturbo era was born. By 198 4

everyteam, bar Tyrrell, was poweredby a

turbo. Bannedfor 1989, whenF1 reverted

to a normally aspirated formula,they made

a return in 2014 as part ofthe current

1.6-litrehybrid technology regulations.

THE BIRTH OF AERO

Front and rear wings are now the norm in F1 and have beenfor many

years, but untilLotus turned upfor the 1968 Monaco GP with the 49B

(pictured), all F1 cars had been lacking in such appendages. It was the

appearance of the famous Chaparral 2F sportscar, with a high rear

wing, at the 1967Le Mans 24 Hours that had triggered the inspiration.

The small front and rear wingsfi tted on theLotus, initially in search of

extra downforce and, ultimately, grip, werefollowedby the outlandish

and eventually banned high rear wings, but thegenie was out of the

bottle.Ever since then aero has been king and a successful F1 car is

defined as muchby its aerodynamics as the power of its engine.

THE SEARCH FOR POWER

DESPERATION BREEDS SUCCESS

THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE

F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 95

THE FAN CAR

Gordon Murray was tryingto save Brabham’s 1978 season witha

redesign of theBT46 to compete against theground-effectLotus

78 and79. But the shape of theBT46’s fl at-12 Alfa engine was

problematical so Murray’s solution was the fancar, the BT46B.

Murray’sthinking was: “Ifwe couldget [side] skirtsto seal like the

Lotus ones and have a coolingfan t hat uses more than 50% of itsfl

to cool the car and the restto suck the car down...” TheBT46B won

its only appearance, the 1976Swedish GP, and never racedagain.

THE TURBO ERA

Supercharged engines had fallen outof

favour since the early 1950s and, alliedto

various rules changes, nobody had deemed

the timeand expense of developinga

new one worth it. This wasuntil 1977

whenRenault entered F1 witha Gordini

1.5-lire V6 turbocharged enginein the

back of its own RS01 chassis.The search

for extra power had begun in earnest,

although initiallyRenault struggled badly.

Unreliability and awfulturbo lagtook a lon g

time to rectify butRenaultfi nally wonfor

the fi rst time in 1979, importantly onhom e

soil, and theturbo era was born. By 198 4

everyteam, bar Tyrrell, was poweredby a

turbo. Bannedfor 1989, whenF1 reverted

to a normally aspirated formula,they made

a return in 2014 as part ofthe current

1.6-litrehybrid technology regulations.

THE BIRTH OF AERO

Front and rear wings are now the norm in F1 and have beenfor many

years, but untilLotus turned upfor the 1968 Monaco GP with the 49B

(pictured), all F1 cars had been lacking in such appendages. It was the

appearance of the famous Chaparral 2F sportscar, with a high rear

wing, at the 1967Le Mans 24 Hours that had triggered the inspiration.

The small front and rear wingsfi tted on theLotus, initially in search of

extra downforce and, ultimately, grip, werefollowedby the outlandish

and eventually banned high rear wings, but thegenie was out of the

bottle.Ever since then aero has been king and a successful F1 car is

defined as muchby its aerodynamics as the power of its engine.