re: 2022 Formula 1 Season Thread

Did he piss himself?

I gotta stop saying this in this thread but...I'm new to F1...

But I think the porpoising debate and what will or should be done is pretty fascinating.

The most fair thing is to do absolutely nothing. If it's not happening to every team and RB and Ferrari are doing just fine, then it's not truly an issue and teams need to figure it out on their own.

But at the end of the day, the people in charge have to factor in a lot of shite when making these decisions, and one is the entertainment value of it all. If they did that, and RB/Ferrari just became absurdly dominant and untouchable compared to every other car, is that really entertaining and good for the sport? Will that still contribute to growing the brand? I'm sure you could argue some of the biggest growth came with Mercedes dominating, so maybe that doesn't ultimately matter either?

Ferrari is porpoising. Their car just settles under braking and into the turns much better than everyone else.

quote:

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But I think the porpoising debate and what will or should be done is pretty fascinating.

The most fair thing is to do absolutely nothing. If it's not happening to every team and RB and Ferrari are doing just fine, then it's not truly an issue and teams need to figure it out on their own.

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You'll see that F1/FIA are prone to allowing these types of changes. I too want the teams forced to do something within the rules, but reality is that playing the 'safety' card is a trick teams use to try and reign in the best teams. Don't be surprised when there is a rule change.

Full AMuS article translated;

Drivers' complaints about their cars being too stiff were successful. The FIA ??is now limiting the amount of bouncing allowed. If excessive vertical forces are measured, the ground clearance must be increased. That can turn the World Cup upside down. We have the details.
Michael Smith
06/16/2022
The FIA ??has never reacted so quickly. In Baku, many drivers complained that their cars bottomed out too much and, above a certain speed, began to sway so violently that they developed back problems and headaches that could lead to loss of concentration. Already in Montreal, the teams are supposed to get their hands dirty if they drive their cars too low and thus create the aerodynamically and mechanically generated bouncing.
The world association wants to check the vertical oscillations and forces on the drivers in all cars with immediate effect. To this end, not only the wear and tear of the plank under the car is regulated more strictly, but also the measured values ??of the two acceleration sensors near the center of gravity of the vehicle are evaluated in order to determine data on the up and down movements.
If a certain limit is exceeded, the team has to adjust the setup and possibly change the vehicle height or the spring rate. The limit will be communicated to the teams before the third practice session. Cars that do not meet this value will be considered unsafe and will be disqualified.

Classification as "dangerous construction"
The FIA, in its Technical Directive TD039, states that the phenomenon of vertical oscillation, commonly referred to as "bouncing" or "porpoising", is a property that has been observed with growing concern since this year.
Combined with little ground clearance, low adjustment and minimal suspension travel, they have led to many drivers complaining about too much grounding on the track. This can lead to health problems or even accidents.
"In a sport in which the participants regularly reach speeds of over 300 km/h, the driver must be fully concentrated at all times," explains the association in a statement. "Fatigue and pain can have a significant impact if it disrupts concentration. The FIA ??is also concerned about the medium-term physical impact on the health of drivers, many of whom have complained of back pain after recent races."
The world association now regards cars that rob the driver of full control as a "dangerous construction". Therefore, under Article 1.3 of the Technical Regulations, any car that is classified as dangerous can be disqualified. The measures were therefore introduced with immediate effect in order to reduce the rocking of the cars to a tolerable level. They apply from the Canadian GP onwards.

The limit is fixed by the third training session
In a first step, the wear and tear on the floor panel under the car is studied more closely. For this purpose, a metric value is defined as a criterion for the extent of the oscillations. An analysis of how this parameter is determined is ongoing and will continue over the two training sessions on Friday.
The so-called "Az signal" for the vertical acceleration during the up and down movements is transmitted directly to the FIA ??control unit. In this way, the scrutineers can see at any time how hard the car hits the road at high speeds.
It is still being discussed how the Az signal should be evaluated, whether peak values ??or average forces should be taken into account. The teams measuring these values ??for their own setup analysis are invited to share their methodology with the FIA.
The teams still don't know what the rule holders consider an acceptable value. He should be known before the third training session. Teams then need to determine the oscillations over three consecutive laps with DRS disabled at race speed. If there is a suspicion that the driver is deliberately driving slowly, the attempt is considered failed. The same applies when you close the gap on another car.

Ten millimeters up for violations
Once the FIA ??has determined a "safe set-up" for each individual vehicle, the ride height, spring rates and damper settings, and aerodynamic configuration may no longer be changed. Exceptions are:
1. The car may be set even higher
2. Weather Changes
3. Cooling demand adjustments
4. Tire pressures
5. Front wing adjustment
If a competitor wishes to return to a previously used setup, they must first demonstrate to the FIA ??that these adjustments meet safety criteria. All parameters such as vehicle height, suspension travel and aerodynamic configuration must be submitted to the FIA ??in the voting sheets after the third practice session, together with the corresponding oscillation values.
If a competitor is not able to meet the FIA ??limits and therefore a safe setup, they must use the setup that is closest to the limits and then increase the rear ground clearance by a further ten millimeters without changing the suspension travel or the aerodynamic configuration.
Because of the short-term announcement, the teams for the Canadian GP are considering allowing a second support cable for the floor a little further forward or stiffening the floor, as Haas did in Barcelona, ??for example.
For 2023, phenomena such as bouncing should be ruled out from the outset. Thus, the edges of the sub-floors could be raised, the floor area reduced and a ban on wings on the floor edge could be considered. The teams are therefore asked to report to the FIA ??on the results of the development of the 2023 cars.

Bad for Mercedes, good for Red Bull
The FIA ??campaign could turn the world championship upside down. Teams are particularly affected whose cars have been subject to strong bouncing movements on the straights and who have landed hard on a bumpy track surface. These include Mercedes and Ferrari in particular. But the McLaren and Alpha Tauri drivers also complained about excessive shaking movements after the Azerbaijan GP.
The lawsuits from Mercedes drivers may have backfired. If the cars have to be raised as a consequence, then they will slow down. This hits the Mercedes W13, which only works in a small window, particularly hard. Ferrari has more leeway in terms of vehicle height. Red Bull will be happy about the new technical directive. The cars of the championship leader were never affected by bouncing.
Some teams in midfield could also benefit. Teams like Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo or Alpine. Aston Martin has made the car more resilient to changes in ride height with its B version and can now go higher without losing too much speed. From the start, Alpine and Alfa Romeo let themselves down when it came to ground clearance and therefore never complained about bouncing problems.
In these circles in particular, people are satisfied with the way the FIA ??has reacted to the drivers' criticism. Tenor: "It would have been bad if the rules had been changed now just because some teams can't deal with this problem. Like the minimum weight. And like you try with the inflation surcharge. The solution to this problem is as simple as it is the FIA ??now prescribes. If you hit the road too hard, you simply have to put your car higher."

There is a lot of vagueness in that.

The impact seems to be what they are going to have to define. How often and what level. Will be surprised if it gets enacted this weekend.

I do like the basis of the solution. Will wait to see the application.

Holy shite, this is going to piss off some teams. I love it. I hope we see another little shakeup of the order. Yes, this could very well backfire for fans if one team ends up dominant. But I feel like this could make the mid-field more competitive.

The bottoming is the issue and that will be the the part they have to measure. Haven't seen data associated just to that yet.

The plank issues could backfire on some teams, especially since it doesn't differentiate between riding the board in the curves vs riding on the straight.

Hopefully the street tracks are behind us as well as the wild bottoming (no knock on Bottas).

Really smart. Canada is a high power track as well. Might be fun to watch him come through the field.


Alpine is going to have to do the same. They are screwed on engines.