2018 F1 Constructor development/techFormula 1

[Dennisch]

Boullier has left Mclaren.

 

[adb]

We will see who replaces him, although announcing his departure without announcing replacement sounds like they are in deep stuff

 

[Jimlaad43]

Boullier resigned though, so they probably haven't found time for a replacement.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/boullier-resigns-as-mclaren-s-racing-director-1055781/

 

[Pete05]

We will see who replaces him, although announcing his departure without announcing replacement sounds like they are in deep stuff

Out of all the teams using the Renault engine, this lot are last & that points the finger squarely in their direction.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Boullier has left Mclaren.

Sounds like he was led to the window for a voluntary jump. Alonso is said to have "worked closely" with Zak Brown on the reorganisation which sees Gilles de Ferran as new Sporting Director and Alonso's old oppo Andrea Stella become Performance Director. BBC.

 

[Dennisch]

Now all Mclaren needs to do is get rid of Alonso and his paycheck and throw all that extra money into actually building a car.

 

[adb]

Oh, thought they would go for slightly bigger figure than de Ferran. Hope he can turn things around, or maybe he’s there for Indy transition

 

[Greycap]

In other words, Alonso is being allowed to do pretty much whatever he wants and then they're wondering why the car isn't performing. Next you'll notice the introduction of pull-rod front suspension.

 

[mustafur]

Oh, thought they would go for slightly bigger figure than de Ferran. Hope he can turn things around, or maybe he’s there for Indy transition

A highly successful former racing driver as a team principal sounds better then some random businessman though.

 

[adb]

A highly successful former racing driver as a team principal sounds better then some random businessman though.

True, it might have sounded a bit negative but obviously no disrespect to de Ferran

 

[DesertPenguin]

I saw FIA confirmed 18' wheels for next year? Great, now they'll all look like the Honda Civics in my high school parking lot.

 

[twitcher]

I saw FIA confirmed 18' wheels for next year? Great, now they'll all look like the Honda Civics in my high school parking lot.

18’ wheels, and no tire blankets

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/teams-react-tyre-blanket-ban-1061858/

Bye bye undercut

 

[mustafur]

Ban on blankets will spice up the Start big time.

 

[DesertPenguin]

The tire blankets I like because it will change a lot of dynamics but the rims is literally just an aesthetic to match road cars. Let these monsters be their own thing. They don't need to be comparable to anything. That's kind of the point. They aren't. Don't force that.

 

[twitcher]

I’m indifferent on the wheel sizes. I think they should be whatever yields the most performance. I agree that F1 wheels don’t really need road relevance....but at the same time, that’s pretty big marketing incentive for the wheel manufacturer.

The blankets I think is a good change, it’ll be fun watching these guys struggle on cold tires coming out of the pits. Makes strategy less precise too.

Edit:

 

[adb]

Looks wise, I hate 18s on open wheelers. Hope teams will at least do those aero shields/wheels or something
Performance wise, makes me wonder how are they gonna prevent brakes’ performance advancement? They are doing lots of stuff for 2021 to increase overtaking, but if they give them better brakes, stopping distance decreases and racing gets worse.
That could affect safety; later braking, new brakes, I don’t know, could get ugly.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Just because the space is bigger doesn't mean they have to allow bigger brakes. There's a short clip on Motorsport.com or Autosport's YouTube page with an explanation as to what can happen with the brakes if they increase wheel size.

 

[baldgye]

Looks wise, I hate 18s on open wheelers. Hope teams will at least do those aero shields/wheels or something
Performance wise, makes me wonder how are they gonna prevent brakes’ performance advancement? They are doing lots of stuff for 2021 to increase overtaking, but if they give them better brakes, stopping distance decreases and racing gets worse.
That could affect safety; later braking, new brakes, I don’t know, could get ugly.

The bigger wheels also add a decent bit more weight too... and in the worst possible place

 

[DesertPenguin]

The bigger wheels also add a decent bit more weight too... and in the worst possible place

But with less air in the tires maybe it evens back out?

 

[Dennisch]

The bigger wheels also add a decent bit more weight too... and in the worst possible place

There's a decent change that it's actually lighter, as they get rid of a lot of heavy rubber.

 

[baldgye]

There's a decent change that it's actually lighter, as they get rid of a lot of heavy rubber.

I remember Brundle talking about it a year or so ago during a race/quali build up program and he was saying they would be heavier. I've tried some basic google searches but the actual weight of the proposed wheels didn't pop up.
I'd be surprised if they where lighter, F1 tyres, as far as tyres go are pretty light... well pre-2017 tyres where!

 

[Dennisch]

I was searching for it too but couldn't find it either, but I know that the wheels are made from magnesium, and a magnesium wheel weighs nothing. My E24 had them and those 17 inch wheels were definitely lighter than the tyres.

 

[baldgye]

I was searching for it too but couldn't find it either, but I know that the wheels are made from magnesium, and a magnesium wheel weighs nothing. My E24 had them and those 17 inch wheels were definitely lighter than the tyres.

If they are lighter, than I'm all for them.
I like the look of the FAT tyres, but I couldn't give a **** really. I just want insane looking cars that are faster than everything that isn't rocket/jet powered and close racing.

I really like the '07 cars, while overtaking wasn't necessarily better, the weight of those cars allowed them to be thrown about a lot more and I'd like the sport to return to that. I want to see the cars dancing about on the limit of grip like giant insane go-karts

 

[twitcher]

Just for reference, some of Filippi’s basic impressions of the larger wheels.

 

[baldgye]

Just for reference, some of Filippi’s basic impressions of the larger wheels.

Though, I guess it's worth remembering he tested them on last years GP2 car. So the extra weight might still reduce the overall weight of the wheel for modern F1 cars.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

The tire blankets I like because it will change a lot of dynamics but the rims is literally just an aesthetic to match road cars. Let these monsters be their own thing. They don't need to be comparable to anything. That's kind of the point. They aren't. Don't force that.

Doesn't really make sense since the 18" tires as said before would be better and the cost of the current ones doesn't make much sense since they're the only cars in the world that use that set up. It could also open the door to other manufactures like those who were with F1 once upon a time. If it works for sport cars that are quite similar to F1, then why not F1 cars themselves? Plus this has been in the making for years now, it's not all that surprising.

 

[baldgye]

Doesn't really make sense since the 18" tires as said before would be better and the cost of the current ones doesn't make much sense since they're the only cars in the world that use that set up. It could also open the door to other manufactures like those who were with F1 once upon a time. If it works for sport cars that are quite similar to F1, then why not F1 cars themselves? Plus this has been in the making for years now, it's not all that surprising.

If they do add 18" rims I don't think blankets would make as big a difference as they would now.
The teams warm up the brakes before hand and there could be a way for that heat to filter through into the much thinner tyres.... maybe

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

If they do add 18" rims I don't think blankets would make as big a difference as they would now.
The teams warm up the brakes before hand and there could be a way for that heat to filter through into the much thinner tyres.... maybe

I'm not talking about prep, I'm talking about the general concept and the cost saving measure it could bring to the sport. Since I see the aesthetics argument brought up, that's not why it's being done.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

FIA looking to make a technical change to the placement of the mirrors on the cars due to sidepod obstructions but also the obstruction of view now created by the new era rear wings, as seen below.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/how-formula-1-s-new-mirrors-could-look-1061089/

Also Sauber will stop developing the 2018 car next week and shift focus to next years challenger.
motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-to-halt-2018-car-development-1062160/

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/137536/ferrari-trialling-unique-exhaust-system

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

somewhat significant news from Ferrari.