F1 2014

Bit late I know but who is watching this season? I wasn't sure if I was gonna like this season with all the rule changes etc but after watching the first 2 races im rather impressed. Makes a nice change to see someone else winning instead of the usual knob! Love the Williams livery and glad that they have improved this year.

Are they running tubbys on the cars now pete ???

Yeah, turbo'd 1.6 V6 engines with duel energy recovery systems and 8 speed gearboxes

i think its now even more boring,racing is a little better so far but its so quite you can nearly hear them talking in the crowd

Yeah basically brakes operate from a variable micro switch so basically fly by wire, and braking, drs recharges the electric motor which spools up the huge tubby so no lag
Clever stuff

robd wrote:i think its now even more boring,racing is a little better so far but its so quite you can nearly hear them talking in the crowd

I think it has livened it up a bit as all the drivers now have to be more cautious exiting corners due to the extra torque from the ERS and the decrease in rear down-force. The noise of the engine is a bit disappointing as they are too quiet but I do like the turbo whistle as the rpm builds up.

I used to listen to it at work
You could hear the commentary but still hear the cars in the background last week all you could hear was commentary

GTI-R US wrote:Yeah basically brakes operate from a variable micro switch so basically fly by wire, and braking, drs recharges the electric motor which spools up the huge tubby so no lag
Clever stuff

I have to correct you there Bob, the DRS is only there to decrease drag it has no play in the energy recovery. I thought the electric motor is only there to add power to the transmission and the wasted exhaust gas which would come from the wastegate turns a separate turbine to charge the batteries?

Meant ers Pete, typo

Was speaking to someone today and was informed that it was used to spool the turbo to avoid lag but not looked into it myself only what I was told so stand to be corrected if that's not the case

Found this so think we are both right


The normally aspirated 90-degree 2.4-litre 18,000 rpm V8s were relatively uncomplicated, even with their KERS. But the new 90-degree 1.6-litre 15,000 rpm V6s are far more complex. The turbocharger reappears for the first time since 1988, but there are also two forms of energy harvesting, using two separate Motor Generator Units (MGU), which convert mechanical and heat energy to electrical energy and vice versa.

The MGU-K works like an uprated version of KERS, converting kinetic energy generated under braking into electricity (rather than it escaping as heat). It also acts as a motor under acceleration, returning power to the drivetrain from the Energy Store (ES). The MGU-H, meanwhile, is connected to the turbocharger and converts heat energy from exhaust gases into electrical energy. The energy can then be used to power the MGU-K (and thus the drivetrain) or be retained in the ES for subsequent use. The MGU-H also controls the speed of the turbo, speeding it up (to prevent turbo lag) or slowing it down in place of a more traditional wastegate.

The basic engine produces around 447 kW (600 bhp), but compared to 2013 KERS, the new ERS has twice the power (120 kW [160 bhp] as opposed to 60 kW [80 bhp]) for 33s a lap. That’s twice as much power for nearly five times longer than the V8’s system and a performance effect around 10 times greater. Thus the V6s, turbocharged at 3.4 bar (50 psi) will develop similar power overall to the V8s, 567 kW (760 bhp). And there will be far more torque - 425 Nm (570 lb ft) at 10,500 rpm even without the energy recovery systems, as opposed to 300 Nm (402 lb ft) at 17,500 rpm last year. The new energy systems deploy automatically according to the chosen mapping, rather than needing to be selected by the driver, and electronic fly-by-wire rear braking is allowed to cope with the altered characteristics of the brake energy harvesting.

I stand corrected lol
I had a few beers though so that's my excuse   

Well the Bahrain race proved that F1 can still be exciting. Good to see team mates competing against each other. Reckon Maldonado should have the book thrown at him for his avoidable collision!

Maldonado makes stupid mistake far to often, but the money he brings with him sponsor wise means he will have a seat for a while

Yeah that's about right, was smug to see vettel being dominated by his team mate