General F1 news

[DarrenM]

Giovinazzi is the Ferrari reserve driver. It wouldn't surprise me if they've used their weight to get him experience as a potential replacement for Kimi next year.

[Duke]

Interesting article on Race Department, not sure if they are the original source...

Honda engineers were left scratching their heads last Christmas, when an engine specifications that worked on a mono-cylinder brought problems when transferred to the V6 engine. Having found the problem so late, the manufacturer was forced to compromise, leading to a disastrous preseason for McLaren.

In theory, with the team having known at the very least that these problems were possible, there should be a solution relatively soon, but that’s not for certain.

“We did some good progress in the mono-cylinder on the dyno, but as soon as we complete the V6 engine we had many issues,” said Honda F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa.

“What we achieved in mono-cylinder is at a very good level, but when we transfer the exact same specification to the V6 engine, it doesn’t work. We are very disappointed. But it was too late that we noticed that – at Christmas.

“After we understood the issues, it was the time we needed to confirm the final specification – we needed to have some compromise.”​

In preseason testing, Honda found that there was a big problem with vibrations, something that hadn’t been an issue on the dyno.

“When we have a gearbox, driveshaft, and tyre it has some resonance,” Hasegawa said. “I’m not blaming the chassis. We have to realise the situation on the dyno as well.”​

It’s a bit of a disaster for Honda. Hasegawa had said the engine was close to 2016 Mercedes levels which, whilst not great, would have been an improvement. Maybe what the team achieved on the mono-cylinder really was at that level, but every step they took closer to the engine that would actually be in the car revealed more and more problems, and they’ve yet to find solutions.

Rather than going forwards, the manufacturer has gone backwards, prompting speculation that McLaren will jump ship and return to Mercedes in the near future. But how is it possible to have been so wrong?

It all comes down to that “radical new design” Honda had been talking about before testing. Since the token system was scrapped, the manufacturer has been trying to replicate the technology its competitors use. The difficulty of this engineers underestimated.

“As a matter of fact, we were thinking [it was] too easy,” said Hasagawa. “And it was too difficult to achieve the new technology – that was my mistake.”​

Honda have started working on solutions, and McLaren will be glad to hear they already have “good levels of performance with the mono-cylinder engine”! Hasagawa also said he has some confidence that they will be able to transfer the technology to the V6 successfully.

The plan is to introduce updates by round five (Spain) or six (Monaco).

[wabbit]

How does an engine manufacturer know how its competitors unit performs?

[pab]

I seem to remember hearing a few years ago that they can get quite a bit of information on what the other engines are doing just by analysing the sound they make?

[Dr. Pain]

Yep. They've used sound in the past to tell fuel loads so would not be surprised if that's what they are doing.

Or they got a Merc engine cheap, fell off the back of a truck

[Duke]

Could they do simulation based analysis, replicating what others did in real life by tweaking their own data?

[Big Kev]

Certain parts of the engine have fixed amounts of power and things like the tyres and aero are within rule limits so from the lap data they can probably extrapolate the power needed to achieve another 2 seconds of time to catch up.

[Big Kev]

McLaren plans to start 3D-printing parts for its Formula 1 cars trackside at Grand Prix competitions shortly.

The firm believes the technology will give it an advantage over rivals allowing it to make last-minute changes.

[DarrenM]

Given how long 3d printing takes I can't imagine they'd be able to produce many parts between sessions. I have to assume it's a gimmick for their partner, but maybe they've found it can work for them.

http://blog.stratasys.com/2017/01/23/mc ... facturing/

[w00dsy]

Maybe they could print a Mercedes engines

[Dr. Pain]

They will be trying to manufacture a result then

[Big Kev]

Pascal Wehrlein will return to drive for Sauber at this weekend's Bahrain GP.

[Dr. Pain]

Giovinazzi was sending the team broke after China

[DexterPunk]

Given how long 3d printing takes I can't imagine they'd be able to produce many parts between sessions. I have to assume it's a gimmick for their partner, but maybe they've found it can work for them.

http://blog.stratasys.com/2017/01/23/mc ... facturing/

I've used Stratasys to print some 3D models for work. Expensive stuff... About $700 a model. The printer we have been looking at of theirs which is suited to our purpose, is nearly a million dollars. I dare say, for McLaren, they would be providing a machine that can print fast, rather than full colour high detail. Winglets etc need to be accurate, but possibly more so in regards to orientation and shape. Even consumer $3500 3D printers will print at a Z axis resolution of 20 micron, which would be more than enough. There's a big difference between the speed of a cutting edge commercial printer and a desktop one. You may be right though, a few token bits here and there, but more of a marketing/sponsorship deal.

[Dr. Pain]

Could be a good thing though. Throw anything at an F1 engineer and the development rate increases massively.

[DexterPunk]

Yeah for sure.

[w00dsy]

Alonso to race in the Indy 500 http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/04/12/a ... polis-500/

[Big Kev]

Yeah didn't see that coming

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix in May so he can race in the Indianapolis 500.

The double world champion has the full approval and support of McLaren and engine partner Honda, who are having a difficult season in Formula 1.

Alonso, 35, will race for the Honda-powered Andretti team on 28 May, and the car will be branded a McLaren.

McLaren are yet to decide who will replace him in Monaco that weekend, but Jenson Button is a possibility.

[GT VIRUS]

Alonso to race in the Indy 500 http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/04/12/a ... polis-500/

With JB stepping in. Feels like an april fools article, but there it is.

[Big Kev]

An agreement has been made "in principle" for the Turkish Grand Prix to return to the calendar. Istanbul Park last hosted a grand prix in 2011.

[Dr. Pain]

It's a shame that there are a few good tracks like Turkey just going to waste without a major event. They were built for a reason and event. Unlike here and the UK, USA and most of Europe, I can't see Turkey having a massive racing community to make use of it.

[Big Kev]

Hamilton said only the other day that he wasn't so fussed about going to places like Turkey where there isn't a following. He didn't understand that side of the F1 calendar. Good track in the wrong place.

[Big Kev]

Mark Miles and Zak Brown were friends before one became President & CEO of Hulman & Company and the other took over McLaren. But together they figured out a way to help boost the Indianapolis 500's profile and check off a box on a two-time Formula 1 champion's bucket list.

"I got a call from Zak a couple of weeks ago and he wondered if we could put a Honda deal together so Fernando could run in this year's Indy 500," Miles told RACER.com. "I said we would move heaven and earth to make that happen.

"So I contacted some Honda teams and he contacted one, but we couldn't find an engine. And then we got lucky."

Miles reached out to Stefan Wilson, who had been working on his own program for Indy, explained his dilemma, and suggested maybe there was a way the younger brother of the late Justin Wilson could help: give up his seat for Alonso next month, and let IMS add to the value of his program for 2018.

"As much as he wanted to run the Speedway this year, he was looking out for the greater good of IndyCar," said Miles. "Quite a gesture."

Brown then approached the McLaren board and Honda of Japan to make his pitch, and thus began non-stop texting between Miles, Brown and Michael Andretti.

For Alonso, Indy may be a daunting task since he's never been on an oval, but at least he'll have a chance to be competitive for the first time in 2017. His Honda F1 engine has under-performed and stuck him in the back of the pack - but his Honda IndyCar engine has won the first two Verizon series races.

"It's an amazing story," said Miles. "Fernando wants to go for the Triple Crown [Le Mans, Indy 500, Monaco], and McLaren is returning after a 38-year absence and all that history.

"Alonso has never been on a superspeedway, but he'll get a private test day at IMS and all that practice in May - and Alexander (Rossi) showed a rookie could win last May. The heroes of this story are Alonso, Zak, Michael and Stefan [ED: Along with Wilson's sponsors Gap Guard, Dale Pelfrey and Indiana Donor Network, who accepted the new arrangement]. And I think it's going to be a pretty cool story, and another great month of May."

[DexterPunk]

Pretty excited to see how he goes!


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[Dr. Pain]

He might have a chance of winning something. But it's an oval and how fast can he come to grips with it.