F1 questions

[Ex-Bay]

I hope some expert can shine a light in a dark corner for me.

There are things about F1 racing that puzzle me. Commentators at this afternoon's GP made references to the Rules about gearboxes and Engines.

1 When is a 'new' gearbox new?
For instance one might strip the entire works out, replace the bearings and maybe a few cogs, but is it still the same gearbox which is supposed to last four races?
If a gearbox blows up on it's first race, what happens; any spares permitted?

2 Similarly, if an engine has to last two races, what bits can they change on it and still call it the 'same engine'. Surely it cannot be a 'plugs & points' job. Bearings, piston/s (rings?) or similar perhaps?

3 What are the changes to the Rules about 'aero-dynamics' for next year and what changes (apart from flat-out speed) will this imply ?

4 I recall last year hearing about McLaren having a chassis 'set up for Michelin tyres' and suffering as a result of having to use Bridgestone.
Why only one supplier ? What difference does the tyre type make (obviously it's substantial).



:S
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[propersplitbrainme]

I hope some expert can shine a light in a dark corner for me.

There are things about F1 racing that puzzle me. Commentators at this afternoon's GP made references to the Rules about gearboxes and Engines.

1 When is a 'new' gearbox new?
For instance one might strip the entire works out, replace the bearings and maybe a few cogs, but is it still the same gearbox which is supposed to last four races?
If a gearbox blows up on it's first race, what happens; any spares permitted?

2 Similarly, if an engine has to last two races, what bits can they change on it and still call it the 'same engine'. Surely it cannot be a 'plugs & points' job. Bearings, piston/s (rings?) or similar perhaps?

3 What are the changes to the Rules about 'aero-dynamics' for next year and what changes (apart from flat-out speed) will this imply ?

4 I recall last year hearing about McLaren having a chassis 'set up for Michelin tyres' and suffering as a result of having to use Bridgestone.
Why only one supplier ? What difference does the tyre type make (obviously it's substantial).



:S
.

The tyre suppliers thing is to establish a 'control' tyre - this is common throughout other classes of motor racing. Michelin also soured their relationship with F1 a couple of years ago having taken tyres to the Indianapolis GP that were not up to the job. As a result only the 6 Bridgestone shod cars started the race DT_Xtremez_09:

I believe the engines and gearboxes are sealed and have to be used, essentially, without having any parts changed at all apart from consumables such as filters and plugs. I'm not 100% sure about that and the F1 regs are too complex to go trawling through DT_Xtremez_14:

 

[Captain Slog]

Here’s the link to the official F1 Website which explains the rules and regs about engines and gearboxes.

http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules_and_regulations/sporting_regulations/6844/fia.html

As far as next year’s regs about aerodynamics are concerned, they are being introduced to make the manufacturers ensure that the air leaving their cars is smoother and not swirling as it does now (dirty air as you sometimes here the commentators call it). Hopefully, this will then make it easier for cars to overtake. In addition, they are getting the manufacturers to concentrate more on mechanical grip, i.e. by bringing “slick” tyres back.

 

[MrMasher]

Next season the upper surfaces of the cars should be nearly free of winglets and other aero devices.
The aero will be had from the underside of the car and there was talk of having a rear wing with a gap through the middle. This is supposed to make slipstreaming easier and more efficient with a big hole in the air?
But yes, slicks for next season too.
Bridgestone and Michelin. The obvious differences are the way they react to wear and heat. Slightly different compounds make for different grip characteristics. The Michelin bit more on the front tyres giving much better grip into medium to fast corners.
Last season you could see this as the ex michelin runners, like Alonso and Kimi, struggled for the first few races until they got used to the new tyre and set up which had to be adopted. I believe that Hamilton had already ran on Bridgestone during GP2, so to start with he had an advantage, which was evident.
The FIA went down the road of a single supplier of tyres for some reason loosely related to cost. But as PSBM stated, the michelins already had a black mark against em.
Gearboxes are a sealed unit with FIA stickers on them as are the ECU's. Engines are to a certain extent, but being such a large important component they cant be totally sealed.
If either gearbox or engine went a team would never change a few bits in it that went wrong. Why bother? Much better to slap in a brand new one!

Hope this has helped with your queries?

 

[Lights]

Then the brand new engine or gear box has got to got for the 2 races(as require for engine) or 4 races ( as required for a gear box).

Tyres next year are going to have no grooves what so ever for the dry weather, a return to true slicks, tewet weather and intermediates will have grooves.