F1 to run narrow front tyres next year

Bridgestone trial new rubber to improve car balance

 
This season sees the return of slicks after eleven seasons’ absence from F1 and the removal of the grooves which were previously on the tread area of the tyre means that the proportional size of the contact patch of the tyres from the front to the rear has changed. “There are many differences between a slick and a grooved tyre, but the change of the proportional tread area in contact with the road is a very important aspect of the performance potential,” explains Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development. This year we are hearing a lot of talk about weight distribution and the balance of the cars and this is related to the big changes to the regulations for the cars and the tyres for 2009. “The latest aerodynamic regulations mean a lower and wider front wing, but a taller and narrower rear wing. This means the proportion of aerodynamic grip – the grip provided by the downforce pushing the car down onto the road – has moved towards the front of the car. “In addition to this, there is more mechanical grip – grip provided by the tyres interacting with the road surface - than before at the front of the car, due to the proportionally bigger contact patch of the front tyre, so the latest cars have a lot more grip on the front than previously.” The additional grip at the front means that the latest cars work their rear tyres harder than before. “We can certainly say that the current generation car has an oversteer tendency, where the rear of the car doesn’t have as much grip as the front, and this tendency is a focus for teams in their car set-ups and designs,” explains Hamashima. An oversteering car is generally one that is good at turning in to corners, but one where the rear of the car has trouble following the path of the front. In American terminology, the car is ‘loose’ meaning the rear slides around. This is often fun to watch, and can result in the cars being spun, but it’s not necessarily the fastest way around a race track. So, if there’s more grip at the front than there is at the rear, surely it’s time for more grip at the rear? “Of course, we could make more grip for the rear tyres through different rubber compounds or  construction or wider tyres. However, we can’t make use of different rubber and wider tyres, because of the regulations. When we make use of different construction, however it is the front tyre which has too much grip rather than the rear tyres not having enough,” explains Hamashima “When we moved to grooved tyres for the 1998 season, the opposite was the problem, as the front tyres did not have enough grip. To counter this we made a taller and wider front tyre. When the rules were changed to allow slicks back we recommended that the tyre sizes were changed back to the sizes before grooves came in – with smaller front tyres - however the teams’ car designs were already very far advanced for the same size tyres as used with the grooved tyres.” The size of the front tyre has a particular impact on a Formula One car’s aerodynamics. The front tyres present a large surface cross section to the airflow and cause a lot of drag, so a big factor in the design of the car’s bodywork and wings is trying to compensate for this.  For the future, Bridgestone has already tested a narrower front tyre and is working with the FIA and the teams regarding any potential change for the future. “For Bridgestone we can make front tyres of the current size, or of a narrower width, so it is not a problem for us once a decision is made about the tyre size,” explains Hamashima. “The size is set in the regulations, so it is not a change we would make in isolation, it is something that if it happens it will be because there have been consultations between us, the FIA and also the teams.”Bridgestone tested a smaller front tyre in Jerez in March. “The test in March, where eight teams were present, was useful for evaluating a potential new front tyre size by six teams,” explains Hamashima. “We went narrower on width, but based on what we learnt from running that tyre we would probably want to go a bit narrower still “For now, however, we have the excitement of the 2009 season. After the season has ended we will test the tyres for 2010, but we expect to make a decision before too long.”

F1 aerodynamic modifications on display in Bahrain

Force India and McLaren introduce new bodywork

More and more teams are treating the practice sessions on Friday as open testing. Using them to develop new parts rather than to find the best setup.

McLaren introduced a few updates at Sakhir, most notably a new asymmetric exhaust exit configuration. The left hand outlet is larger than the right as the left hand sidepod contains extra heat exchangers.A more extreme version was tested n Friday but the race spec variant (below) is less radical.

Force India also introduced a major new aero package for the VJM02 featuring a new floor, front wing end plates, diffuser and revised side pods

Renault adjusted the R29's exhaust exits and cooling on the engine cover.

Renault revises sidepods for Bahrain

Renault have been very quick introducing new bits on its R29 contender, and part of their rear end update at China was a heavily revised sidepod ending. In sharp contrast with version seen at the launch, the new sidepods have more openings to provide extra cooling. As such the team could slim down the bodywork quite a bit and ditch its undercut hot air channel between the rear wheels.

A disadvantage of allowing more hot air to escape earlier on in the air stream, the sidepod components are exposed to much more heat. After initial running at Bahrain today, the team decided to fit additional titanium plates close to the exhaust to prevent the bodywork from burning.

New floor and diffuser for Force India in Bahrain

Force India are making major revisions to their car for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, as the team continue the search for their first Formula One points. A revised floor and diffuser will be among the changes debuting on the VJM02 at Sakhir.
Drivers Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella have shown some promising pace in the opening three rounds of 2009 and team principal Vijay Mallya hopes the latest updates to their Mercedes-powered machine will keep them in touch with the rest of the field.
“We are planning to introduce a significant aerodynamic upgrade for the Bahrain Grand Prix, including a new floor and an interim diffuser,” Mallya confirmed. “Amongst other items, we also plan to use new auxiliary wings on the front wing and reprofiled sidepods to incorporate the amended rear end.”
The changes are not merely a response to the recent double-decker diffuser ruling, but have been planned by the team since the VJM02’s debut (at the end of February) as part of their aerodynamic development programme. “It will represent a good step forward for the team,” added Mallya.
Sutil is the man who has come closest to taking Force India’s maiden points. He finished ninth in Melbourne and was running as high as sixth in China last weekend before crashing out with less than six laps to go. The German has high hopes for the Sakhir updates, but admits scoring might still be a big ask.
“The new parts we have coming through for this race should keep us close to the others and I hope we will be able to have a good, competitive race,” said the German. “The goals for Bahrain are really going to be the same as for China. For sure I want to finish the job, but I think getting points here will be very difficult.”
Fisichella, meanwhile, believes the Force India package is basically sound and hopes the latest revisions to the car will help address its one major failing - an overall lack of downforce.
“Mechanically the VJM02 is good,” he said. “It feels quite balanced and consistent and is a big improvement from last year. We’re working well with the new team partners, McLaren and Mercedes, and I think we have a lot we can be positive about.
“We know where we need to improve: we are missing a lot of downforce and it shows, but now we have started to introduce new upgrades I am hopeful we can start to fix this problem.”

Newey: No double diffuser until Monaco

Red Bull's technical boss Adrian Newey has ruled out the introduction of a double-decker diffuser in the team's race-winning RB5 before the Monaco Grand Prix next month.

The Renault-powered car, driven by Sebastien Vettel, gave Red Bull Racing its maiden Formula 1 victory at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber finished in second as a car not fitted with a double-decker diffuser won a race for the first time this year.

Newey, however, decided not to travel to China in order to focus on the new floor, but he admits it will be a challenge to make it work properly given the car's rear suspension design.

"As has been speculated, given the design of RB5, it's not the easiest task getting it to fit the car and while we work on this one item, we also need to keep working on the general development of the car, to ensure we don't fall behind in other areas," said Newey.

"The unique feature of the Red Bull cars is the pullrod rear suspension, which is a good solution when you don't have a double-diffuser. But getting it to work with the diffuser will be more difficult. We won't have a double-diffuser before Monaco.

"It will certainly involve a lot of work," he added. "The challenge now is to try and integrate the new diffuser into the rest of the car. But I don't regard it as a shame, I see it as another challenge.

"Unfortunately, it will involve some more late nights! That's Formula One: you can't afford to sit around and feel sorry for yourself, you just have to get on with it.

"There is no doubt that a double-diffuser does give performance. How much performance depends on how you interpret the regulations and how you adapt it to suit your own car, so that some teams will get more out of it than others. It is worth doing for everyone on the grid. Our challenge is to adapt one to work on our car."

A new front wing for Alonso's Renault R29

Apart from a whole range of changes on the rear end of the car, Renault have also changed their front wing to be more efficient. The above detail image is the new Shangai version for Alonso, while the lower one is that used in the 2 earlier races and by Piquet at Shangai. The latter will undoubtedly soon also have this update once the team finish manufacturing of a second one.
Marked by the arrows is the trailing edge of the main flap, now featuring sharp cuts and a more elaborate gurney flap - the latter painted white as of Saturday's free practice.

Formula 1 teams revise bodywork in China

Formula One teams often wait until the first European race of any given season before introducing major updates, but in the wake of the FIA World Council descision on diffusers earlier this week a number of teams have new parts on the cars. Most notably McLaren.








The car also features an 'interim' diffuser which is a step towards the Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota solution, which is estimated to give those cars an extra 5% in downforce. The McLaren exhaust outlets were also revised.








Meanwhile Ferrari has fitted the F60 with McLaren style 'arrowhead' wheel covers. With an iteresting cut out dropping down from the 'point' of the cover.

Scuderia Toro Rosso has been experimenting with the front wing, for the first time testing the moveable elements. Not the white 'I-pod' wires running down to the actuators on the endplates. Most teams run the wires through the wing supports