Chris Jenkins
Driving til the wheels fall off
There's been a few conflicting reports over the past couple days about a ride height system that Lotus F1 (Renault) have been developing.
Here's the initial report from The F1 Times:
This would obviously be illegal under current regulations, which led to this follow-on report from Autosport.
Pretty interesting development for us to discuss!
Here's the initial report from The F1 Times:
The F1 Times said:
Lotus look to have stolen an early march on their rivals following speculation that the outfit has developed an adjustable ride-height system.
The system, which it's reported is driver controlled via a switch in the cockpit, would maintain the ride-height of the car under braking and acceleration to ensure the car is running at the optimum height at all times.
Giorgio Piola, a well known and respected technical journalist, reported the findings following the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi back in November.
Such a system would allow the driver to lower the car under acceleration, i.e. when the forward motion raises the front of the car, reducing the front-wing efficieny, and then raise it under braking, again ensuring the front-wing remains at a constant height, allowing the outfit to run their cars much lower than those without such a system.
With the ban on refuelling, getting the ride-height correct can make a difference in the region of two to three tenths per lap. As the cars start the race with full tanks (about 155kg), the engineers must take this variable into account when setting the ride-height to ensure the load doesn't compress the suspension, which in turn would see the car bottoming out and wearing on the plank.
As the fuel reduces, so does the weight, and the car raises as it becomes lighter. This increases the ride-height and reduces the level of downforce. If a team can develop a system which ensures the height remains constant under braking/acceleration and throughout the race, as it's believed Lotus have, then a considerable amount of time could be gained.
The system is likely to cause some discussion amongst the teams as the pre-season ramps up and could once again, as with the F-duct, prompt a development race as other teams attempt to copy it.
Though the legality of such a system could be called into question following the F-duct ban which was deemed a 'moveable aerodynamic device' - the proposed Lotus system works in a similar way as both are driver controlled.
Ferrari has contacted the FIA about the rumoured system to clarify whether such a concept would be legal, team principal Stefano Domenicali confirmed on Wednesday.
This would obviously be illegal under current regulations, which led to this follow-on report from Autosport.
Auto Sport said:Lotus's rivals look set to be forced to copy its innovative reactive ride height system ahead of the 2012 season, with the FIA happy the concept is totally legal.
There has been much intrigue in recent days about the mechanism that Lotus was reported to have tried out at the Abu Dhabi young driver test last year.
The mechanical system helps maintain a standard ride height during braking - when often the front of the car would dip down.
Rivals teams are understood to have looked into the system and its legality over recent days - with a report in Gazzetta dello Sport this week suggesting it was driver adjusted by the use of a pedal in the cockpit.
However, if the drivers were changing the ride height of the cars under braking then that would be a breach of the rules.
Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations states: "With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [the DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited."
AUTOSPORT can reveal, however, that the adjustment to the ride height - which improves aerodynamic performance and stability on the Lotus under braking - does not come from the driver.
Instead it is reactive to brake torque and is linked directly to the suspension - so cannot be classified as a moveable aerodynamic device in the way that independent mass dampers were.
The fact that the driver is not involved, and that the system is a part of the suspension, means it complies fully with the F1 regulations.
AUTOSPORT understands that Lotus has been in liaison with the FIA throughout the development of the brake system, having first been proposed in 2010 and been given an official green light by the governing as long ago as January last year.
With the FIA happy that the brake system is legal, it means that its main rivals will now have to propose their own systems to the governing body if they want to adopt such a concept for the forthcoming season.
AUTOSPORT also understands that at least one front-running team has already submitted plans for a similar ride-height adjustment device to be used in 2012.
Pretty interesting development for us to discuss!