Originally Posted by
ACU:
“I think the vent in the nose is used for the W-duct. system, Mercedes have a similar vent on their nose. This Site has a youtube video that explains how it works. Although that video shows a ferrari, it seems that they dont have that system anymore. I am assuming that the RB system works in the same way (I could of course be wrong).”
I don't think it will be.
I must say, I'm not really sure how Mercedes get away with some of the stuff they do.
The whole point of the "F-Duct" was that it was simply a hole that a driver covered with his hand.
There are specific rules banning devices which alter a cars aero' and a hole (or a driver) wasn't classed as a "device".
Thing is, The Mercedes F-Duct really WAS a "device" built into the rear wing which, when air pressure built up on it, would open and allow air through rather than going over the rear wing.
That should've been banned right from the word go but it seems like the FIA took the view that "everybody's doing something similar and the Merc' one isn't that good anyway so we'll let it slide".
Anyway, thing is that you're not allowed anything that channels air from the nose into the tub.
The Mercedes W-Duct is legal insofar as it's self-contained within the nose but if it works in the same way as their F-Duct did it might be technically illegal because it'll have mechanical parts which alter the air flow at different speeds or in corners etc.Course, if it IS totally passive and just relies on the direction of air inlet then it's legal.
The clever thing about the RBR gizmo is that although there's a "scoop" built into the nose, the actual "duct", itself, is built into the tub.
What happens to the air after that is anybody's guess though.
I don't think the RBR duct can be anything to do with the front wing cos that WOULD mean that there's air-flow between the tub and the nose (even though it's going the "wrong" way) and that's illegal.
I should say, I'm not complaining that RBR (or Merc') are trying this stuff. I was just pointing out that McLarens conventional nose might mean they won't be able to adopt a similar system if it proves useful.
Quote:
“I would have thought a big team like Ferrari would have carried computer simulations on different exhaust/bodywork configurations. Turning up, with different configurations hacked together, seems a bit amateurish to me. Its what I would expect the smaller teams to do. Then again when you turn up at tests you probably spend as much time looking at competitors cars as you do your own.”
It seemed very half-arsed the way Ferrari were chopping about the bodywork during testing. Pretty much every day there was a new shaped exhaust tip and a different lump cut out of the body to accomodate it.
You would have thought if they planned to experiment with different configurations they'd have produced different bodywork panels to suit each one.
Course, they might have simply established that the bodywork shape in that area wasn't particularly important so they figured they'd just chop it about as required, find the optimal solution and then build all future bodywork to suit that specific design.
Originally Posted by ACU:
“I cant believe that Ferrari would just ignore the rule regarding nose height. For one if the FIA didnt point it out, the other teams would have, and there would have been a big fuss about it. Then again the other teams may be waiting till the first to mention it...especially if Ferrari did well. I would think the nose used by Ferrari does comply with the rules, if it didnt someone at Ferrari is in big trouble.”
There's nothing illegal about the F2012. It's just that the new rule, itself, is a bit lame.
The new rule simply specifies that the car must now be (IIRC) no more than 550mm tall at the front wheel spindle instead of 650mm.
Instead of curving the entire nose down to suit that, every team other than McLaren has just put in a step and then kept their noses as high as possible.
Dunno why the FIA didn't just make a rule that specified a maximum nose height.
Course, if they did that I suppose a team could carry on with a high nose and then just have a narrow, slender tip on the nose which conformed with the rule.