The new racing lines of 2017's Formula1 cars and the evolution of the average speed at 2017 F1 GP Monaco

Transcription

1 The new racing lines of 2017's Formula1 cars and the evolution of the average speed at 2017 F1 GP Monaco Just over two months ago, the 64th edition of F1 Grand Prix of Monaco finished and just as we had expected this year's race brought us a new record; Kimi Raikkonen in Ferrari has driven the fastest lap ever in the streets of Monte Carlo. Its average speed of the qualifying lap was set at 1:12:18 with the fantastic average speed of 166,387 km/h. However, that record applies only to qualifications. You might have expected that the track record for one lap in the race would also be beaten, but that did not happen. The fastest lap record in the race still holds the legendary Michael Schumacher in Ferrari 2004 with an average speed of 161,528 km/h. Let's see if this year the cars could go faster than the 2004 record race. Currious is the fact that at 14 of the 20 races from this year's F1 calendar the fastest laps in the race have been taken long time ago; between 2004 and To make it a bit more clear, I have prepared a graph of the new F1 racing lines for the 2017 F1 GP Monaco compared to last year's. I've created a scheme and in a graphical form it was designed by my friend Nik, also a passionate lover of the Formula 1. Last October, I've analyzed the evolution of the average speed at GP Monaco from 1929 to the present days. This year, we've seen the fastest lap ever driven, so I put that fact into the existing diagram, as you can see. EVOLUTION OF AVERAGE SPEED (km/h) IN MONACO No. Year: Period: QUALIFYING (km/h) RACE (km/h) ,490 99,402 2 untill , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,561 F1 GP Monaco Average speed evolution

2 AVERAGE SPEED km/h GP MONACO "AVERAGE SPEED" EVOLUTION Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 163,397 km/h 2017 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 166,387 km/h Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 139,091 km/h 1971 Jackie Stewart Tyrell-Ford 137,737 km/h 1985 Ayrton Senna Lotus-Renault 148,299 km/h 1985 Michele Alboreto Ferrari 144,329 km/h Qualifying Race 2004 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 161,528 km/h 2017 Sergio Perez Force India 160,561 km/h (3.145 km) (3.145 km) (3.278 km) (3.312 km) (3.328 km) (3.370km) (3.340km) 2016 (3.337) 2017 (3.337) But the record lap achieved in the 2004 race has not been beaten yet, and I must admit, I've personally expected it. But there are certain reasons to consider why it did not happen. But let's start from the scratch; How do they measure the length of one lap, so accordingly the overall race distance? According to the FIA, which is the governing body of Formule1, and we have no reason to doubt it, the length of one lap is measured by measuring the centerline of the race track. Simply put, the distance from the right edge to the left edge, divided by two and so we get the central line. It should also be said that the calculation of the central line is further complicated by the fact that if we measure the length of the left edge and the right edge of the path from start to finish, the length is at the end different and even the width of the track is not even at a single path always prescribed minimum 14 meters wide, especially not in a city race like Monte Carlo, which is just 9 meters wide in the narrowest part. In Monte Carlo, the route configuration determines the buildings along the tracks that were built more than a hundred years ago. In that case, you should divide the path to a infinitive small sections and calculate the centerline of the path. Literally, point by point! Yes, you will say, all this is in the ideal case when the track is straight, that is, when the altitude ranges from start to finish at the same height. Yes, of course, if the entire path is on the same isohypse ((Greek = isos = equal, hypsos = altitude) are imaginary curves that connect geographic maps to places of the same altitude.)), which is certainly not the case. If we look at the ground plane then we get a certain distance in meters from the point A to point B per track and the center line, but we also have to calculate the elevation, that is, the climb or fall of the track, as well as the smaller or larger side slopes. You will agree that it is not the same whether there is a steep climb or fall, look at the track in Spielberg on GP Austria. Well, we will not go into the details, but we are aware of the issue. And again, we are facing other problem; the F1 bolids never go only exactly along the central line, I could say quite freely that they are driving along the track in a very small percentage on the central line. Drivers of F1 cars (just like in other racing cars or motorcycles) are trying to find the ideal path with respect to the turns that are inevitably in a lap of a circular race, and you will agree: the races are being won in the turns and exceptionally rare (only in street race - along the centerline!) on a straight line, which can then be just in the middle line of the track. It's not all that complicated with today's tracking technology which is quite accurate to determine how much the F1 driver passes distance in one lap on the track. This information for sure have all teams, but we probably would never know exactly. In accordance with all of the above, the length of the lap depends on the style and the driving technique of each individual driver. We will return to this fact a little later in this text. Many parameters need to be considered in order to determine the driving technique on a particular track. Let's see how they stand next, I would say the "primary" parameters: the width of the car, the length of the car, the wheelbase of the car. The weight of the car, the height of the car, the aerodynamic construction of the car, the engine power, the height and the construction of the kerbs or the fences, the weather conditions, the asphalt condition, the traffic at the passage at the passing moment, the mood of the driver, the tyre pressure, the tyres itselves and each of these "secondary" parameters and how much they affect the speed achieved in one lap. And, I'm quite convinced that we have much more such parameters. Some of you have never really thought about some, like the relative density of air! We probably not, but F1 teams are I'm quite sure! First of all, this year the cars are wider, primarily the tyres are wider than the last year, and accordingly, the car "went" in width from 1,800 mm to 2,000 mm. The length of the car from last year's 5,000 mm is now on some models even slightly larger, and the longest is the Renault R.S.17 which is exactly 5,207 mm long. Some designers have a different design philosophy of the car, and this year the shortest is, Force India VJM10, which is only 4,966 mm long. Another fact should also be taken into account: the wheelbase - because the larger the wheelbase, the more difficult it is to drive the car on the narrow and winding streets of Monte Carlo (especially in Turn 6 the Grand Hotel Hairpin, former "Station" or " Loews " turn), while in the straight and fast sections the cars have better stability. This year's Ferrari SF70H of Kimi Raikkonen has a wheelbase of 3,594 mm (as well as Haas VF17). The shortest wheelbase of this year's cars has the Williams FW40, while the longest has the Mercedes F1 W mm. Monte Carlo has never been a race in which the engine power was dominant, but you should not be fooled, if the

3 difference of the strongest and weakest engine is about 100 hp, do not count on that the weaker will have equal chances of winning. There is also a downforce of the car that has a big role, so the better car holds in turns, the speed on the straight will never be as high as in Monza circuit or on the 2.2 km long start-finish straight in Baku. The table below shows the compared dimensions of the F cars (length and wheelbase). If we only look at the wheelbase in millimeters, we'll see whether they grew up compared to the previous year's cars (green), or remained the same (gray), or whether they are shorter (red). No. Car 2017 Car lenght (mm) 2015 Wheelbase (mm) 2016 Wheelbase (mm) 2017 Wheelbase (mm) 1 MERCEDES FORCE INDIA RENAULT HAAS FERRARI MCLAREN RED BULL SAUBER TORO ROSSO WILLIAMS F1 car dimensions comparison 2015/2016/2017 Let's first look at the results of the race, because this year, the fastest lap ever in the race (Michael Schumacher in 2004 Ferrari) on the Monte Carlo track in Formula 1 history has not been beaten. And here, of course, we take in consideratiom only the average speed of the lap, so there would be no confusion about the track configuration changes while in 2004 the circuit was m long, or 3 meters longer than the track layout after This year, Mercedes has the longest wheelbase (3,760 mm), so the Monte Carlo track generally does not suit them, regardless of the engine's maximum power and supreme car design. Indeed, if we look at the finish line of the race, Bottas finished 4th and Hamilton 7th. Compared to 2016, when Mercedes "luckily" won the race due to Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo's botched pit stop at the end of the race, this year's Mercedes car has a longer wheelbase; mm in total, so it was in an unfavorable position. Unlike the Mercedes, the Ferrari has a "only" 3,594 mm or 166 millimeter shorter wheelbase. And that is one of the reasons why the Ferrari track in Monte Carlo corresponded, but not the only one. Vettel and Raikkonen had in one part of the race the fastest laps, but that were only 2nd and 3rd fastest lap. It should be said that they were the fastest laps in the race at that moment, but unlike Perez in Force India, who drove the fastest lap in the race close to the end of the race, on the 76th lap of 78 race laps when he had four fresh tyres, and his car had quite a bit of remaining fuel and was the easiest car. He was additionally frustrated by the scorched race because of the contact with the Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso car a lap earlier, so he had to go to the box for new tyres. If so, there are the raesons he set the fastest lap time, though I'm not quite convinced that it was Perez's ultimate goal of that day. His fastest lap time was 1: 14,820, at an average speed of 160,561 km/h. Vettel and Raikkonen drove their fastest laps on 38th on 38 + Q2 qualifying laps old tyres, respectively Raikkonen on 39th lap on the 5-lap old tyres, thus in the middle of the race with much heavier car. So, not even this year, the fastest lap time, set 13 years ago, has not been beaten during the race, though in official Formula1.com reports, Sergio Perez has been nomimated as the owner of the fastest lap on the streets of Monte Carlo since 2017! Maybe it is, but Perez drove the Monte Carlo fastest lap at an average speed of 160,561 km/h, while Schumacher made it with 2004 Ferrari at an average speed of 161,528 km/h. Further more, the track Schumacher was driving was 3 meters longer than Perez's. What are the reasons for such a long-standing record in the streets of Monte Carlo, but also at 14 of this year's 20 circuits in the F1 calendar? There are several of them! However, it should be said that this is not the only track in the F1 calendar, which has taken quite a while since the fastest lap time was set. See the table below that shows that 14 and 20 races of this year's calendar the lap records are "still" run by drivers and cars between 2004 and The fact is: 9 fastest times were set in Between 2005 and 2009 twice, in 2008 once. New circuits like Baku or Sochi I didn't enter into the table because they have been driven only recently, so we have no parameters from the previous years. From this table in the F1 calendar for this year there is missing only the GP Germany at Hockenheim, but it will also return to the calendar next year after not being held this year. No. GP Circuit: Fastest lap in race: 1 AUSTRALIA, Melbourne Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1: (2004) 2 BAHRAIN, Sakhir Pedro De La Rosa, McLaren-Mercedes 1: (2005) 3 CHINA, Shanghai Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1: (2004) 4 SPAIN, Barcelona Kimi Räikkönen,Ferrari,1: (2008) 5 MONACO, Monte Carlo Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1: (2004) Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1: (2017) 6 CANADA, Montreal Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari 1: (2004) 7 HUNGARY, Hungaroring Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1: (2004) 8 GERMANY,Hockenheim Kimi Räikkönen,McLaren-Mercedes, 1: (2004) 9 BELGIUM,Spa-Francorchamps Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault, 1: (2009) 10 ITALIA, Monza Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari 1: (2004) 11 MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur Juan-Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 1:34:223 (2004) 12 JAPAN, Suzuka Kimi Räikkönen,McLaren-Mercedes, 1: (2005) 13 BRAZIL, Sao Paulo Juan-Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 1:11:473 (2004) 14 ABU DHABI, Abu Dhabi Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault, 1: (2009) F1 long-lasting race lap records

4 So in 2004, at 9 of the 14 races, the Ferrari F2004 set the fastest laps in races six times (5 times Michael Schumacher and once Rubens Barichello), twice the fastest was Juan-Pablo Montoya in Williams-BMW, Kimi Raikkonen with McLaren-Mercedes once. See the table below showing the dimensions comparisons and other technical details of 3 cars: the 2017 Force India VJM10, 2004 Ferrari's F2004, and (I believe, many of you will be wondering why!) of the road SUV 2017 Audi Q7. I'll explain it a bit later, don't worry, the reasons for listing these 3 cars in a comparative table. Dimensions (mm) 2017 FORCE INDIA VJM10 Sergio Perez 2004 FERRARI F2004 Michael Scumacher 2017 AUDI Q7 3.0 TFSI quattro Lenght Widht Height Wheelbase Front wing width Front track Rear track Tyres front (dry) 305/ / /40 R 21 Tyres rear (dry) 405/ / /40 R 21 Gearbox 8 (+1 Rev) 7 (+1 Rev) 8 (+1 Rev) Engine configuration V6 turbo-hybrid V10 V6 Power (hp) > ERS min. weight (kg) (race) (incl.driver, no fuel) (no driver, no fuel) (no driver, no fuel) F1 Dimensions comparison (VJM10, F2004 & Audi Q7) I believe that, only few of our Formula 1 fans saw actually - from a close proximity a real, non-"showcar" F1 car, while the Audi Q7 was seen, I believe - a lot more times. If I'm right, then we can say that the Audi Q7 is a pretty big car, and the length of Q7 is here somewhere like the Force India VJM10, while it's about half a meter longer than the F2004. The width of the VJM10 and Q7 (without the rearview mirrors) is almost identical, the F2004 is 20 centimeters narrower. The height of Formula 1 cars are, of course, almost twice lower. As for the wheelbase (the distance from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel) F2004 and Q7 are near (Ferrari is 5.6 cm longer), but compared to this year's VJM10 wheelbase both F2004 and Q7 are nearly 70 cm shorter. For this analysis it is necessary to know something about the wheel track, by definition it is the transverse horizontal distance of the center of the tread of the wheel. The front wheeltrack (see FIA's Technical Regulations for the 2018 figure below) is at VJM10 1,600 mm, at F2004 1,470 mm, and at Q7 1,679 mm. The rear track of the VJM10 is 1,550 mm, at the F2004 is 1,405, and at the Q7 1,691 mm. If we take the weight of the Formula 1 car, then the VJM10 weighs 728 kg (including the driver, liquids and lubricants, without fuel), adding even the maximum weight of 105 kg fuel, we can say that the VJM10 weighs 833 kg. Unlike that, the F2004 was 600 kg (no driver, no fuel), and when we add the average weight of the driver about 70 kg, and the fuel (then it was the rule that during the race the car could be refuled) 60 kg per stint, we find that in 2004 the cars were roughly 730 kg in the "race mode. Compared with the 2017 F1 bolids the F2004 was lighter on the track approx. 100 kg (when both cars were in full racing mode). Of course, today's racing cars are running with a full tank, so how the race is nearing the finish line the weight is dropping.

5 If we compare the current and present tyres on F1 cars, 2004 tyres had to have longitudinal channels (grooves) on the tyre tread (see below the pic of a 2004 F1 tyre), which, compared to today's modern F1 "slick" tyres, can not fit the performances not even nearly, if you understand me Bridgestone F1 tyre Today's tyres are made by construction, materials and grip much, much faster. In 1998, the FIA introduced dry tyres with longitudinal channels to reduce the amount of grip and thus slow down the car for safety reasons. But engineers have compensated the loss of grip by developing aerodynamics. All this resulted in the negative effect of "dirty air" affecting the car that was just behind. Slick dry tyres came back finally in After all, in 2017, aerodynamics gained about 25% more downforce, so the cars get faster and faster, they say that some turns are "flat out" this year, that is, the cars come with the full speed without breaking. But it is interesting to note that the 2004 cars had front tyres larger than those on today's cars, so front tyres in 2004 were the size of 355/ compared to 2017's 305/ Let's go further, the F2004 had the engine power of roughly 950 hp, compared to the maximum power of today's cars that can reach hp at a certain point. Of course, the 2004 engines had a maximum revolutions per minute of 19,000 rpm, while today, despite the limit of 15,000 rpm, they rarely exceed 11,500-12,000 rpm. The 2004 engines were naturally aspirated V10's, and 2017's engines are turbo-hybrid V6's. It should be said that there was no DRS in The gearboxes then had 7 (+1 reverse) gears, and today 8 (+1 reverse), so there is a fairly big difference in it. What about the brakes on today's cars compared to those in 2004? It's hard to compare them! There are the whole different story! From all this, the above-mentioned F1 cars in 2004 were fast, if not the fastest in the history of Formula1, which can be read from the charts of long-lasting lap time records. But this year's cars in total are looking faster! 2017 driving technique and change of the track racing lines Let's go back to my assertion that, especially in the narrow and winding streets of city races like the Monte Carlo track, it's not simply to beat the record lap time in the race even with today's almost perfect F1 bolids. The fastest lap time record in the race holds still the legendary Michael Schumacher in Ferrari 2004 with average speed of 161,528 km/h. He drove it in the 23rd lap, when his car was probably the lightest before he went to the box for additional fuel. However, he did not finish the race because Juan-Pablo Montoya hit him during the safety car period, so Schumacher crashed into the fence, and his race in Monaco that year was over. Michael Schumacher - Ferrari F2004

6 The scheme below shows Sector 3 of the circuit in Monte Carlo, because I think it is crucial to the final outcome of the Monaco race. Sector 3 F1 GP Monaco racing lines There are the Turns 15, 16, 17 (La Rascasse), 18 and 19 (Anthony Noghes) where the track is very, very narrow, mostly only 9 meters. Especially crucial Turns 15,17 and 18 are important, as we often have the opportunity to see how the cars "enter" the fence, which is surprisingly quite flexible and in most of the passages the car remains untouched. Sometimes it ends with the front inner wheel damage and then the story ends for them that year. It's not harmless exit from Turn 16 and we often have the chance to see the cars end up into the fence, just like we have a "mini-wall of champions" similar to that in Montreal. But look at the headline scheme from the top of the text; The green line is the racing track of this year's cars, and the red line is of the last year's cars, and a bit more extreme of the 2004 cars since both were about 1,800 mm wide. Of course, the difference is between the 2004 and 2016 cars the length of the whole car, and certainly the difference in wheelbase lenght, which was 600 mm shorter in That there would be no misunderstanding, all of the other parameters mentioned above have their influence! However, the 2017 track racing line is extremely distorted or skewed, so the cars more or less can not take a "straight" line when passing through the turns. The swimming pool section (or 'Piscine') kerbs at the Monaco Grand Prix 2017 Why is that so important in Monte Carlo? Well, on the track in Monte Carlo you can not "extend" the turn and move over the kerbs to pull it out. Of course you can do it here in some turns, but in Sector 3 it is simply not possible. Even if you run over the kerbs in Turn 16, it will launch you straight into the fence because of its construction. We had a similar situation in Baku this year in the case of Kimi Raikkonen and Vallteri Bottas, and Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. In both cases, these last mentioned were "guilty" for the collisions. And finally, in both cases, we are talking about the city circuits, right? Let's go back to this year's bolids (see the comparative dimensions in the table above) and you'll see that their front wing is wider than last year's and the 2004 car, so the first contact point when entering the turn is much wider. After that, the front inner wheel, which, by the dimensions of this year's car (not the 2004 cars), it's wider by 100 mm if we look at the purest longitudinal axis of the entire car. Not only is the car wider for 100 mm on the inner side, but there is also the outer side of the car with an additional 100 mm, so when entering the same turn, we have to take a short arch on the preparation of the entry into the curve several tens of meters before, on the left track side. There is, of course, a wheelbase that is considerably longer than the 2004 car. Are you wondering how Formula 1 drivers are preparing for a particular circuit? Firstly, they spend time in the tactical preparations of the track, then "ride" in the most advanced simulators in which the track is loaded, and further more what's not unusual today, the drivers play very sophisticated video games on the Playstation or some other hi-tech gaming consoles. Just remember the rookie Lance Stroll, who declared on Friday's free parctice after carshing in the Massenet turn that he played the F1 GP Monaco video game many times on the gaming console! After all, in the preparation of video games, their authors carefully prepare, measure and enter all track coordinates. Okay, after the drivers go through GP weekend preparations, some more - some less, they put in memory the routine of the ride on the track. It's so many repetitive routines which the drivers

7 know in a millimeter - when to hit the breaks, when to accelerate and at what point on the track and how much they have to rotate the steering wheel. Of course, this is just about ideal situations when they are the sole car on a certain part of the track. When the race starts, the things become more complex, but then, most of them drive routinely behind the car infront, but the thing changes dramatically when they are preparing for overtaking. Regardless, this year's GP Monaco racing track is quite different from the previous years, so the routine has not yet come to the perfection. It is not easy even for those drivers who were driving in 2004, and only four of today's drivers were in the race: Alonso (Renault), Massa (Sauber), Button (BAR Honda) and Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes). It is difficult to adopt a new path after years of driving on old trails. We would say, it is difficult for an old dog to learn new tricks! Do you still wonder how Raikkonen drove the fastest lap time in qualifying this year? Record-breaking lap time in qualifying was held by Sebastian Vettel in Red Bull-Renault in 2011 with 1: 13,556, at an average speed of 163,397 km/h. This year, Kimi Raikkonen in Ferrari has driven the fastest lap ever in the streets of Monte Carlo. Its average speed with the 1:12:18 lap time was fantastic: 166,387 km/h. Kimi obviously composed the most perfect lap this year, and it should be said that in qualifying drivers, besides having an ideal set-up for one lap, 1-2 laps old new and the fastest tyres, the least fuel in the car, the highest engine power and probably the smallest traffic on the track at the time when they set the fastest lap time. In addition, it is important to note that the drivers take more risk in qualifications than in the race, because if they crash in qualifications on Saturday, the mechanics will repair the car until Sunday and they will start the race even if they have to start from the pit lane. The risk is worth it, because if you are on the pole position in Monte Carlo, then you have a good chance of staying in front of all others on Sunday's race and you'll have the best winning chances. And yes, it's just one lap! I'm quite convinced that it can not be replicated in 78 laps long race, even when the track at the end of the race is ideally rubberized, because then the track becomes ideally dirty. I have already said in the upper part of the text that the precise path of particular driver knows his team, but I am sure that they are different across the circuit and we are talking of a few meters difference! If you've ever driove a circuit track, even karting, you will know what I'm talking about. So, in karting when entering the turns you can take a large arch or smaller. It would be ideal that the arch is shorter, but then at some point you will break heavily, blocking yourself with the front wheels as the front wheels are transversely positioned on the racing track. Obviously, it should take a little bit of a more gently path, and it's all just about the driver's sense and sensibility, and after that, he has to repeat and bring it to the perfection F1 GP Monaco opening lap packing order At the end, this year's F1 cars are fast, probably the fastest in the Formula 1 history, but due to increased downforce, their speed dramatically falls on the straights, even for km/h when comparing the last year's run. On the other hand, this year's cars are extremely fast in the turns, so the shortage of speed on the straights is well compensated in the overall lap time. I'm sure that next year Monaco will see Michael Schumacher's 2004 record beaten, and the question is just the moment in which all the parameters will fit. If by any chance I was engaged in one of the F1 teams I would be looking towards the progress and the perfection of the racing lines. Regards, Zvoc