Racecar Engineering – September 2019

SIDETRACK – MIKE BLANCHET

H

urrah! At last,aftera verylongtime,the

penny has droppedandtodayasI satdown

to write this columncamethehappynews

that F1 is finally adoptingcontrolledground-effect

aerodynamics in its majorrulesrevampfor2021.

Why this should havetakensolongis beyondme,

considering that flat-bottomswerebroughtinasa

panic measure decadesago.However,timetolook

forward and for chassisdesignersandengineers

this should be an exciting,if hectic,periodahead.

The opportunity tostartwitha cleanCAD

screen (drawing boardforAdrianNewey)

containing basically thedimensionsmandated

by the FIA and the fundamentalneedto

accommodate driver,fuelandpowerunitmust

be unique in recent times.Conceptratherthan

just endless iterationis surelya fresh

and welcome challenge.Unlessof

course you’re the personultimately

responsible for gettingit alldoneon

time and within budget.

Follow closely

Over a period of timetheideasthat

emerge will coalescetowardsthemost

obviously successful solutions,but

for a year or two it shouldbereally

interesting technically,mayshakeup

the pecking order a bitalbeitshort-

term, and – most importantly– result

in achieving the objectiveofallowing

cars to race in close proximitywithout

so much aero disturbanceforthe

one behind. Now there’srarelysuch

a thing as a silver bullet and the combinationof

short braking distances and the natureofmany

of the tracks will still present overtakingissues.

Nonetheless, a big step in the right direction.

This welcome change will not bewithout

its problems, of course. Primarily, thematterof

finalising the 2020 car designs this yearandthe

development of these through next seasonwhile

in parallel carrying out the massive amountof

R&D, simulation and design of a wholenewcar.

On top of which is the need for commencementof

manufacturing to be ready for testinginearly2021.

Not to be overlooked either is thesimultaneous

move to 18in wheels with low-profiletyres,which

one must assume will have a considerableeffect

overall on suspension geometry andspring/

damping concepts, as well as brakesandaero.

Thereducedpitch-sensitivitynatureofthe

shapedunderbodiesshouldworkwelltogether

withthereductionintyresidewallflexbutthere

arealwaysunknowns(F2teams,adoptingsimilar

wheeldiametersa yearbefore,mayfindthemselves

beingbefriendedbyF1engineerswhowould

normallyshuntheirpartofthepaddock).

Then,ofcourse,thereis theimpacton

packagingofthecompletepowertrain,whether

thisremainsinlinewithcurrentregulations

orbecomessomethingdifferent,plusallthe

associatedcoolinghardware.Inevitablyallthiswill

workconsiderablyinfavourofthebetter-resourced

teams.Thepossibilityofa moratoriumonthe

introductionofnewpartsafter,say,mid-season

nextyearshouldbeconsideredtotrytomitigate

thisadvantage.It’sdifficulttoseehowtherewould

beanydevelopmentrelevancetotheall-new

racecarsrequiredfor 2021 andthiswouldreduce

theburdenonthelesswell-financedoutfits.

Sometimesit paystofocusonwhatyou’vegotto

maximiseeveryaspectofit ratherthangetting

confusedwithtoomanynewdevelopmentblind

alleys.A currentexamplecouldbeHaasF1;its

erraticperformancesindicatethatmaybeit gets

lostonset-upandtyreunderstanding,ratherthan

havinga fundamentaldesignproblem.

Drivingchallenge

Driverswillalsohavetoadapttothedifferent

characteristicsthatthesechangeswillintroduce.

However,I don’tseethisasbeingtoomuchofan

issue,though,astop-classdriversbynatureshould

becapableofsoongettingtogripswithany racing

car,aslongasit hasa decentbalance.

There’sanotherreasonforoptimismabout

thefutureofF1,too.FIAPresidentJeanTodt has

givenmetheimpressionofa deadhandas far as

F1is concernedsincehewasfirstelected,being

mostconcernedit seemswithsafety,onroad and

track,andhavinganobsessionwithmotor racing’s

relevancetoautomotiveindustrytechnology.

Totheextent,infact,thatI wonderif hispolitical

ambitionsextendbeyondmotorsport.

Fillerthriller

Withtheaboveinmind,I’mhappytolearn that

Todtis nowactivelypromotingfuelstopsin F1,

somethingwhichI’veoftenbangedonabout.

I reallyfailtoseethelogicinhumping

probably70kgofdeadweightaround at

theracestart,incarswhicharealready

grossandwhentyrepreservationplays

sucha vitalpart.Let’sgetawayfrom

drivershavingtolapfiveorsixseconds

offqualifyingpace.Whilefireis virtually

unknownnowincrashesit’snotimpossible

forit tohappen,sothelessfuelonboard

thebetter.Muchmorerelevantis a

reduced-sizefuelcellwhichwillallow

furtherweightreductionbyvirtue of a

morecompacttub.Thisshouldassistin

providingthespacerequiredforthe 2021

underbodytunnels.Argumentsagainst,

basedonpotentialdangertopitcrewsand

addedcostofkit,don’tstandupto– look

toWECpracticeandexperienceif indoubt.

I haven’ttoucheduponengine/PUregulations

sofar,theylookunlikelytochangemuch.All

I cansayis thatcurrenthybridPUsarehighly

complexandexpensive– soit’snosurprisethat

newmanufacturershavefailedtojoinHonda

inF1.Giventheinitialhumiliationandthe

subsequenteffortexpendedbytheautomotive

giantinachievinga competitivelevel,similarly

withRenault,it’sevenlesslikelytohappen.The

onlyexceptionsI canforeseewouldbePorsche

andAudi,becauseoftheirLMP1experience,their

relevantresourcesandtheirunderstandingof

racing.Withsomuchchassisrevolutiontohandle,

maybea changetolesspolitically-correctand

simplerpowertrainscouldbestagetwointhe

revampofF1.In2023,after 10 years’returnon

investmentsincetheirinstigation?

The ideas that emerge willcoalesce towards themost obviously successful

solutions, but for a year or two it should be really interestingtechnically

SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.racecar-engineering.com 7

XPB

Refuelling hasn’t been a part of F1 since 2009, but 10 years on and Jean

Todt has suggested the possibility of its return to help spice up the show

Reverse engineering

Why the return of ground effect, and maybe even fuel stops, is good news for F