FIA’s F1 spray guard quest might be mission impossible
FIA’s F1 spray guard quest might be mission impossible
The FIA is taking on physics, nature and the wider needs of current Formula 1 cars with its 'wet weather package' - or spray guard - project to allow more running in the rain. Don't underestimate how difficult it's going to be, says Edd Straw [...]Read More...
Forgive the click-baity title and the fact this is from The Race. I thought it was still an interesting article about a topic that hasn't gotten a lot of coverage.
I really hope they can figure out something to enable true wet weather racing.
A little bit off topic but I'm seriously questionning how important is the completely open-wheel design. For a decade now we're hearing the turbulence the tire creates is a major hurdle to aero development that inevitably leads to cars that can't race each other. And I'm not talking about making aero cars like WEC but something more similar to a dialed down RedBull X2010. Open suspension, open cockpit but enclosed wheels. I just don't understand why the tires have to be out.
Sure this wouldn't fix the rooster tail spray modern cars create but it would mitigate all the water the tires displace. What am I missing here, why can't we cover the tires?
As far as I know the only reason F1 regulations require open-wheel designs is because of tradition, not because it has any performance benefit. When F1 cars were much simpler (50s and 60s) the fastest design paradigm was skinny open wheels, but as aero has become a bigger consideration open wheels have become a hindrance (from a performance standpoint).
I suppose the root question is how much of F1 regulations should be based in tradition and how much should be based in performance. Would an all electric RB2010 type car out-perform a traditional F1 car? Probably. Would it still be an "F1 car (TM)" though? Well, that's subjective.