2008 European Grand Prix

[PeterJB]

If you stick on the racing line, no. As the racing line will get progressively cleaner. But once you start going off the racing line things will get quite difficult I imagine.

Well once the roads reopen and cars start driving down them everyday then it should clean up the whole track equally.

 

[Sureboss]

But is that the plan with these roads? Because it really didn't look like street roads. They just put a racing circuit inside a city and called it a street circuit.

 

[Ardius]

But is that the plan with these roads? Because it really didn't look like street roads. They just put a racing circuit inside a city and called it a street circuit.

Well, going back to what was earlier posted:

Overlay of the circuit upon satellite/aerial images:
http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=39.4586782&lon=-0.3322721&z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2

Most of it looks like roads for the docks and some of it looks like part of the main roads for the city. I'd say its going to get worn down a bit more, but I think the real issue is the sand pit that Coulthard mentioned outside of town (plus the beach as well), with the heavy wind, the city is pretty dusty apparently.
It doesnt look like this track will improve over the years, I hope it does, but I think the large amounts of dust are going to be a feature of this track unfortunately.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Well once the roads reopen and cars start driving down them everyday then it should clean up the whole track equally.

Not really, it's an industrial area, so I imagine it'll get covered in all sorts of crap.

 

[Stevisiov]

Its not just offline though, the track layout itself does not lend to cars being able to follow each other closely and the cars soon spread out making the race look a bit like follow the leader but at a nice safe distance.

 

[Alex.]

managed to get hold of the start and finish onboards, some of which were not shown on TV

 

[Tobias123]

^Nice! I am loving the sound of those Ferrari and Renault engines. The Mercedes one, not so much.

It sounds like Kimi was getting too hot on the throttle and getting some major wheelspin at some points on his first lap...

 

[ExigeEvan]

I was amazed at home close the Renault (Alonso?) was getting to the walls when warming up the tyres. I could never zig zag a car that hard and so close to epic fail

 

[Alex.]

I was amazed at home close the Renault (Alonso?) was getting to the walls when warming up the tyres. I could never zig zag a car that hard and so close to epic fail

He was pretty close to home, he's spanish afterall

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Hahaha, Massa's waving at the end was hilarious. It looked like he was saying "hey... hey everyone. Look what I can do".

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

^Nice! I am loving the sound of those Ferrari and Renault engines. The Mercedes one, not so much.

It sounds like Kimi was getting too hot on the throttle and getting some major wheelspin at some points on his first lap...

I think it's called warming up the tires.

Pretty cool video, they should show the on-board warm-ups on TV.

 

[Alex.]

 

[Tobias123]

I think it's called warming up the tires.

Pretty cool video, they should show the on-board warm-ups on TV.

No no, I don't mean on the formation/warmup lap. I know they're supposed to heat up the tires then, but after the race actually started and he was chasing Kovi. Just something I noticed.

 

[Blake]

managed to get hold of the start and finish onboards, some of which were not shown on TV

Nice. That is literally the first time I’ve ever been able to hear the tyres sliding on a Formula 1 car, and that was only possible because Alonso was barely idling when he was warming the fronts.

 

[PeterJB]

What did that have to do with the European Grand Prix? Ah who cares?! It's Sebvet!

 

[PeterJB]

managed to get hold of the start and finish onboards, some of which were not shown on TV

I don't understand how the drivers at the back of the grid could possibly see the starting lights.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I don't understand how the drivers at the back of the grid could possibly see the starting lights.

It's a youtube video, the quality is crap and the screen is small.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Plus some circuits have several sets of lights along the pit wall.

 

[TheCracker]

Also, the cameras used on the cars have a wide angle, almost fisheye lens on them so they can capture as much of the action as possible. This has the side effect of distorting the image and shows things the the distance to be further away then they actually would appear to the driver.

 

[Alex.]

Precisely sod all, peter, it was just the latest F1 thread and I wasn't exactly going to post it in the German one.

 

[Only_in_f1]

Also many have engineers over the radio telling them when to do. That's what Damon Hill used to do anyway.

 

[PeterJB]

They should have the lights show up on the steering wheel like the lights that show up to show them when to change gear. 💡

 

[Alex.]

What if they malfunctioned in one car? be a bit buggered the driver would.

 

[Ardius]

Also many have engineers over the radio telling them when to do. That's what Damon Hill used to do anyway.

I imagine thats what many of the backmarkers do especially on some circuits that have the grid curve around at the back (like Monaco and Silverstone).
I bet from 10th place backwards its pretty difficult to see the lights.

 

[PeterJB]

I bet from 10th place backwards its pretty difficult to see the lights.

Especially when it's really sunny, when it rains it'll be darker, they just have to hope is isn't too foggy.

 

[kahthan]

im surprised the teams haven't invented some of automated start procedure, have the driver press the throttle and wait while the startline procedure commences, fix a camera to the lights and when the lights a signal goes to the car and the throttle is activated, and off he goes.. dont know if there any rules against something like that..

___________
kahthan
www.thefrontwing.com

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I would fall under the definition of launch control, which is illegal.

If it's really so difficult to see the lighting gantry, I imagine they'd go for a relatvely low-tech solution of patching the driver into a buzzer that would go "beep-beep-beep-beep-BEEP" in sync with the start countdown.

 

[TheCracker]

I imagine thats what many of the backmarkers do especially on some circuits that have the grid curve around at the back (like Monaco and Silverstone).
I bet from 10th place backwards its pretty difficult to see the lights.

They are very bright red and green lights. Believe me, you can see the lights at Silverstone from beyond 20th place

*edit*

Infact, using Google Earth, 25th on the grid at Silverstone is 270m away from the lights gantry. I can clearly see a set of traffic lights changing 280m away from my office window right now.

 

[ExigeEvan]

You know the measure tool on Google Earth isn't that accurate

 

[TheCracker]

You know the measure tool on Google Earth isn't that accurate

It's a good job i was rounding up to the nearest 10m then wasn't it