In the past, few "fans" forums would pay so much attention to the new Formula 1 racing car. Due to changes in technical rules, racing will obtain the main downforce by strengthening ground effect . Despite the strict rules, the new racing car launched in 2022 is surprisingly surprising.
The highly anticipated Formula One racing car opens the chapter of the new season. The fleets have taken more measures to gain more equal opportunities, adopted more safety configurations, and have lower manufacturing costs. This is how each team launches their own new surprise models. Some critics have complained that the new car looks exactly like Indycar, except that it is only a slower time of up to 5 seconds per lap. The engineer's free play, the appearance full of space technology, all the wonderful ideas that belong to motorsports and can produce dramatic effects on the track seem to come to an end. Is this true? The curtain slowly unfolds, let's take a look at the style of the new racing car. The first batch of 2022 cars use the new 18-inch Pirelli tires . In fact, the new car looks much better than many people expected. Unfortunately, we can't see the wide top and narrow bottom in the front view. The team hopes to introduce futuristic elements and surpass their established goals. Of course these cars will not be mass-produced. The eight teams interpreted their understanding of the new rules in their own unique way. The models displayed have their own unique personalities in the front, front wing , suspension, side box, engine hood, bottom air intake and exhaust port positions. Even laymen can tell which brand is the work.
Take the side box as an example, each has its own advantages in design. The last time there were so many dazzling personal designs was in 1983, when the FIA required the car to adopt a flat bottom design. Aston Martin AMR22 adopts a relatively round design style. The McLaren MCL36 shrinks very narrowly in the Coke bottle area. On C42, the side box extends backwards, and the passage formed with the bottom plate allows the airflow to pass quickly, while AlphaTauri is in place in one step. On the Williams FW44, there seems to be no side boxes installed at all. And the new Ferrari F1-75 is very wide in the same position, but surprisingly, it has 14 shark gills as cooling outlets that are hidden in the depressions of the side box.
One Hundred and Eighty Degrees Turning
McLaren even dared to adopt the block side box that has been deactivated for decades. aerodynamics plays an important role. This McLaren car uses a front pull rod rear push rod suspension, the front pressure rod becomes a pull rod, and the rear suspension is completely opposite, and the push rod is replaced by a pull rod. This creates more space for the Venturi passage, increasing the air flow rate at the bottom of the vehicle, thus creating greater downforce.
Ferrari team proved its excellent courage. Because no other race car has shown so many independent solutions, from sharp nose cone styling to wider side boxes, the cooling entrance is very slim. According to team owner Mattia Binotto, the biggest innovation is under the red shell. The recessed upper surface design of the side box gives full play to the aerodynamic advantages, and the engine is implanted deeper into the car than other models. The cross arm of the rear axle is located higher, creating a lot of free space on the top of the diffuser.
In addition to the slender nose cone, the design style of the new Mercedes-Benz W13 is the opposite of that of the Ferrari . The car is now painted silver again and leaves a lot of available space on the bottom of the body. The unevenness on the trim makes people feel hidden under the shell is a custom suit for everyone. There are obvious 5 waves in the bottom plate, and the purpose should be to increase the downforce of the bottom plate by strengthening the interaction between the edge vortex and the high-speed airflow under the vehicle.
only Red Bull did not respond. The world champion team doesn't seem to want to reveal their trump card so easily. The new RB18 is a prototype car they showcased, and the actual participating vehicles may be different, and Red Bull hopes that competitors don't understand their designs so quickly.
is closer to
in a short time and will not increase to the level of the second order equation. The last time it was predicted that it would be 1 second in the beginning of 2021, but nothing happened by the end of the year. Andy Green, technical director of Aston Martin , claims that despite his limited budget, he is still looking forward to the most radical race in racing history. "No one knows all the answers to the new rules. At the beginning, everyone is working on their own in different directions. Some methods will soon prove to be just a stopgap measure. Due to strict regulation, I estimate that everyone's results should be closer in a short period of time." As a result, Aston Martin and McLaren designed their cars more flexible so they could make quick corrections.
There is no specific data from the track, nor does there be meaningful reference data about the previous year. Engineers can only do research and development in the laboratory. "No one knows the situation of other teams, no one can tell whether their computing models are close to reality, and of course there is no benchmark for calibration. Only when the car really appears on the field can we know who is better," McLaren Technical Director James Key believes in this. Faced with so much uncertainty, he only dared to say: "The starting lineup at the beginning of the season will not be like it did in Abu Dhabi last year." Mercedes-Benz team owner Toto Wolff warned: "We will not copy any team's design. Brown GP won the championship in 2009. Whoever carefully studied the new regulations will get the lead. This is true for any team."
suspension is as hard as kart
Although the new 18-inch Pirelli tires were proven to be stronger in the trial run last year and are not very sensitive to temperature, no one is completely sure about it. "There is no experience showing what effect tires can have on racing cars with ground effects," Green disagrees. The only thing that seems certain is that the engine using E10 fuel loses about 20 horsepower. From the driver's perspective, the virtual world can only simulate part of reality for the time being. Due to the lack of real experience, the simulation software is developed based on hypothetical premises. "There are still many very inaccurate possibilities for models, especially tire models. In general, although the new car will give us a refreshing feeling, the specific situation can only be truly known how the effect is if the vehicle appears on the track," predicted by Sebastian Vettel. The experience that racing designer Green has gained is: "Ground effect racing cars work best with low chassis. Racing suspension can be very hard and even reminds racers of their own feeling when driving a kart." The rules of
are also new in themselves, and are no longer for ordinary users, but for engineers who design racing through computers. Vehicles are divided according to the so-called CAD drawings, and each shape is explained by an coordinate system . Except for the minimum weight of 795 kg and the maximum wheelbase of 3600 mm, there is no specific data in this FIA technical Bible.
Durability Test started in Barcelona on February 23. Each fleet will deliver its best work. Overtaking will become easier, and participating vehicles no longer need to overtake by closing the tail wing. Despite the weight gain of 43 kg, will the car be as aggressive on the track as we would have expected for the ultimate driving machine? If the first place is separated from the last place in just 1 second soon, will there be five or six teams winning the race? Nikolas Tombazis, technical director of
FIA, hopes: "Even if there are big differences at the beginning, I hope the team will be closer to the top teams from the start of the fifth race. Then, we will see our projects going on track." According to Tombazis, there will be no situation when there are major rules changes like those in 2009: "So far, no one has found a loophole. Nothing can compare to the 2009 double-layer diffuser.
