Diffuser row could hit 2010 season

[icegirljenni]

Quote:The introduction of double diffusers into F1 caused huge controversy at the start of last season, when rivals protested the concept that was used to great effect by Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota in the opening races of the campaign.

The matter eventually went to the FIA International Court of Appeal, where the double diffuser was deemed fully legal and other teams had to revise the rear end of their cars to make the most of the extra downforce the design produced.

However, with downforce and car speeds having increased since then - and the diffuser designs getting increasingly more complicated - sources have revealed that moves are now afoot to change the F1 regulations to outlaw them completely.

On the back of predictions that the downforce levels of cars will this season potentially go beyond what they were at the end of 2008, teams have decided to take action.

Read more here => Double diffusers set for Formula 1 ban

[Tension_36th]

Good move, it should have come for 2010 but there is no time now for that. Atleast they are doing it for 2011.

[Chrissie]

Excuse my ignorance, but aren't these double diffusers somewhat partly responsible for the complete lack of overtaking at most races last year??

[Tension_36th]

(01-08-2010 02:24 AM)Chrissie Wrote:  Excuse my ignorance, but aren't these double diffusers somewhat partly responsible for the complete lack of overtaking at most races last year??

You are not ignorant! Infact you have perceived accurately of what we have discussed all along until now.

Yes they are very much responsible for ruining overtaking last year and will even more hamper it in 2010.

[Chrissie]

Yay, I'm not as thick as I thought I was

So, yeah, totally ban those bastards

Shame they didn't ban them for this year

[TheProdigalSon]

Not according to Mike Gascoyne who believes removing the DDD won't result in more overtaking.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80766

[Tension_36th]

Its nothing more than technical posturing to the innocent public.

Gascoyne and Sam Micheal are two such people stubborn enough to not admit that they are not having other ways to be innovative and compete with other teams who were able to produce cars without the multi-deck diffusers and and still have high performance.

Sam Michael in particular is sore in the arse after arguing so much for the wheel fairings, now finally he tucked tail and backed banning them.

These guys are selfish and will always look for excuses.

Their nonsense is not fooling anybody in the industry, this is laughable that Gascoyne says it hasn't affected overtaking. This tells me he is banking too much on this area for his lotus project as the rest of the car looks rather uninteresting and hardly innovative.

To make it simple, the diffuser disturbs the streamline behind the car and this disturbed air ruins the wing efficiency especially at the front of the following car. Very easily simulated in CFD on any standard aerofoil. Can also be viewed in colored smoke visualizations.

This is nothing new its old news. No one in the industry will be shocked or bothered about Gascoyne or the likes of Sam, because they know these guys are bullshitting for their own agendas. I bet Gascoyne is one of those few who opposed in private the possible banning for 2011.

The wheel fairings and the diffusers have ruined overtaking this year and the cars were able to follow to some extent at the start of the first 3 races after which it went down hill. This will get only worse as the multi-deck diffusers get even more aggressive.

Rather than finding excuses Ross brawn said the awfully obvious that of course it ruins the wake, but they care about their own competitiveness and so they will do everything to make the most of that area at the expense of the show.

If you want real close racing:

1) lower the height of the diffusers,
2) make them single decked
3) no more than 4 vertical planes
4) 1 element plane rear wings
5) No sub-wings to the rear crash structure.
6) Let the sidepod body work be parallel instead of the coke bottle shape

[icegirljenni]

(01-08-2010 03:52 AM)Chrissie Wrote:  Yay, I'm not as thick as I thought I was

So, yeah, totally ban those bastards

Shame they didn't ban them for this year

Ya is too late to ban it this year itself, they have all their car design base on it.

[pete]

Hypicritical Last year Legal next year not.

Should have banned them last year and just run with 16 cars on the track that would have tought Brawn and Co not to cheat.

3 teams with the same idea at the intureputations of the rules what a crock of S**T.

Brawn just passed the info around so it wouldnt be just him in trouble.

His next cheating idea for the coming season will be sticky glue for the tyres

[Spyro]

Well like Pete said one year it is ok and the next it is not. Typical

[icegirljenni]

Diffuser row could hit 2010 season

Quote:McLaren engineering director Paddy Lowe said at the launch of his team's 2010 challenger on Friday that his team had pushed the diffuser regulations as far as it felt was possible.

"This is the first car in which we have had a clean sheet of paper to really exploit the interpretation [of diffusers] that was developed last year for a design of floors," said Lowe.

"You will see we have produced a fairly extreme incarnation of that but we won't be alone in that. We believe you will see some pretty extreme solutions on our competitors' cars as well."

The potential for these extreme solutions has led to Ferrari voicing fears that not every team is operating within the interpretation of the regulations that it feels is in place.

"We were and still are convinced that the double diffuser concept was illegal," Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We feel there may still be interpretation over this, as the rules leave the door open to many possibilities. It's up to the FIA to supervise, but we are rather worried."

Piero Ferrari added: "I expect a Ferrari worthy of the title, unless someone interprets the rules differently."

Lowe is more confident, however, that the rules are clear enough - and that the matter will not require intervention from the FIA.

"We think the interpretation is very clear," he said. "In certain aspects we have sought guidance from the FIA and they have come out with very clear interpretation, understanding and guidance - and we think that has been made available to all the teams.