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> F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. I found this a bit confusing. Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? I openly admi

by f00zz 5y ago

> F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. I found this a bit confusing. Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? I openly admit my ignorance about F1.

windthrown 5y ago
There isn't a speed limit but by placing strict limitations on the engine design, they indirectly limit the speed of the cars.
skytreader 5y ago
I'll defer to someone better informed than me but I understood that as a reference to the rules and regulations around F1 cars. The "Formula" in "Formula 1" means there are certain constraints (i.e., the formula) to how you can design your car. Very quick illustration, check out the buzz on the new F1 car spec for next year. It is already touted to be faster than this year's cars mostly because of aero changes. Even easier illustration: the current (and I assume all future) spec has this halo whose sole purpose is to protect the driver. It's a ~7kg frame that's basically dead weight to the car. You can remove that and instantly gain maybe a few seconds of laptime at the expense of safety (I am in favor of the halo's presence, btw.). The spec aside, the rules and regulations also try to enforce a competitive line-up so they regulate budget and, next year, wind tunnel testing time. So in theory if teams had carte blanche for car R&D we can have faster cars. But they won't be F1-compliant so they lose by default.
AtNightWeCode 5y ago
There are a lot of rules to reduce cost, assure safety and to make it more competitive. You can not for instance have moving parts. If you could the top speed would increase a lot.
rodgerd 5y ago
> Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? F1 cars are mostly optimised for massive aerodynamic downforce and lightness, which allows for unholy levels of braking, acceleration, and cornering speeds, but eventually the downforce hobbles top speed. The LMP (Le Mans) formula of a couple of years ago has heavier cars with higher peak outputs, but lower downforce. They're slower around an F1 style track because their cornering and acceleration suffers due to the extra weight, but they have a higher top speed if they're on a long straight.

by f00zz 5y ago

> F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. I found this a bit confusing. Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? I openly admit my ignorance about F1.

windthrown 5y ago

There isn't a speed limit but by placing strict limitations on the engine design, they indirectly limit the speed of the cars.

skytreader 5y ago

I'll defer to someone better informed than me but I understood that as a reference to the rules and regulations around F1 cars. The "Formula" in "Formula 1" means there are certain constraints (i.e., the formula) to how you can design your car. Very quick illustration, check out the buzz on the new F1 car spec for next year. It is already touted to be faster than this year's cars mostly because of aero changes. Even easier illustration: the current (and I assume all future) spec has this halo whose sole purpose is to protect the driver. It's a ~7kg frame that's basically dead weight to the car. You can remove that and instantly gain maybe a few seconds of laptime at the expense of safety (I am in favor of the halo's presence, btw.). The spec aside, the rules and regulations also try to enforce a competitive line-up so they regulate budget and, next year, wind tunnel testing time. So in theory if teams had carte blanche for car R&D we can have faster cars. But they won't be F1-compliant so they lose by default.

AtNightWeCode 5y ago

There are a lot of rules to reduce cost, assure safety and to make it more competitive. You can not for instance have moving parts. If you could the top speed would increase a lot.

rodgerd 5y ago

> Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? F1 cars are mostly optimised for massive aerodynamic downforce and lightness, which allows for unholy levels of braking, acceleration, and cornering speeds, but eventually the downforce hobbles top speed. The LMP (Le Mans) formula of a couple of years ago has heavier cars with higher peak outputs, but lower downforce. They're slower around an F1 style track because their cornering and acceleration suffers due to the extra weight, but they have a higher top speed if they're on a long straight.