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FIA conducted tests on cockpit canopies several years ago. They fired a tire and wheel at it, which deflected off the canopy and into the air. It kept going, an
by AmVess 11y ago
FIA conducted tests on cockpit canopies several years ago. They fired a tire and wheel at it, which deflected off the canopy and into the air. It kept going, and going, and going. It was an alarming test. The last thing you want to do is launch car parts at the spectators.
Sometimes solving one problem causes another. This is why there isn't a solution yet, but the FIA are still working on it.
- Loque 11y agoYea but a designer thinks they look cool and hasn't researched these things so we must push forward... thanks Wired... Jokes aside, I do find articles like this quite vexing, they take a glance at an area that has a huge amount of depth, form an opinion with little research, and push it forward like it has authority from specialists in the field asking "why are not moving forward?"... even, when there are loads of interesting discussion points as to why we are where we are, that has actual consequence and real discussion that get even more ignored as sensationalised items take president. Not to be a _total_ buzzkill about some fancy looking pictures of new F1 cars that could interest some people :`P
- monk_e_boy 11y agoF1 is cool because the cars are open and you can see the driver. If you want closed cockpit racing, choose a different class, le mans is closed cockpit and really cool. F1 has got pretty boring, and the drivers think it could be better. I hope they simplify the back wings so racing can get closer... at the moment most of the overtakes are done under DRS, so driver skill isn't so much of a factor in race position.
- k-mcgrady 11y ago>> "F1 has got pretty boring, and the drivers think it could be better. I hope they simplify the back wings so racing can get closer... at the moment most of the overtakes are done under DRS, so driver skill isn't so much of a factor in race position." Quite subjective - a lot of people find the current format very exciting. It seems to me a vocal minority who don't remember how boring it can really get (i.e. the Schumacher years). As for overtakes if you watch the last couple of races there has been some great race craft. DRS isn't perfect but when it works right the driver is given just enough help but still has to work really hard.
- monk_e_boy 11y agoIMO the last few races have been really boring. Lewis hovered 2 - 3 seconds behind Nico and could do nothing. Sure, both of them are 'managing' the race... but as soon as they both left the start line and Lewis was behind, we had to wati 33 laps before the pit stops before any action. Then when nothing happened we had to wait for the last 5 laps to see if anything would change. There was some mid-field fighting, but nothing too interesting. And Monaco - OMG. Most tedious race ever. You actually start wishing someone would crash just to make it interesting. Sure, for the drivers it is 100% concentration for the whole race.... but for us spectators? Nothing freeking happens. Qualifying is 99.99% of the race. Last year was really good. This year is a bit meh.
- k-mcgrady 11y ago>> "Lewis hovered 2 - 3 seconds behind Nico and could do nothing." I guess it depends on your perspective but THAT IS EXCITING. For me at least. It showed Nico still has what it takes to beat Hamilton + it brings the championship battle even closer. I agree with you that the last few races have been slow but only compared with the last few seasons. Particularly during Vettel's dominance we got lots of close races. But F1 is always talking about how to make the sport more interesting and exciting - the discussions never end.
- odabaxok 11y agoAgree. Exciting != Number of overtakes.
- monk_e_boy 11y ago>> I guess it depends on your perspective but THAT IS EXCITING. For me at least. Who is best at lift and coast. Who can manage tire temps, who can manage tire deg, who can break the 1 sec DRS, then hover at about 2 sec infront... On lap one, when Lewis was attacking we all knew he had one, maybe two laps to over take, otherwise his tires would be screwed. I want to see that attack last twice as long -- 4 laps! Hell, maybe 5 or even 6 laps! Out of 60. I think we'd all like to see Lewis and Nico battle it out, balls to the wall. And when will f1.com offer streaming? Huh?
- odabaxok 11y ago> at the moment most of the overtakes are done under DRS and if we take away the overtakes under DRS, we will get still more overtakes per race than in the golden era: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/11467434/Formula-One-2015-Forget-the-good-old-days-the-sport-has-never-been-better.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/11467...
- monk_e_boy 11y agoI watch on the BBC and when DC says "DRS open - and now it's a drag race to the end of the straight" ... YAWN. Biggest engine wins. I'd rather 1 interesting overtake with skill than 10 through DRS.
- dchest 11y agoVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e87HIlOIYFA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e87HIlOIYFA
- AmVess 11y agoYes, same test, but this video doesn't demonstrate how far the tire and wheel went after it deflected off of the full canopy.
- monk_e_boy 11y agoAnd F1 wheels are tethered. So this isn't a true test of what would happen during a race. A more likely scenario is a car flipping, or one car going over another.
- AmVess 11y agoTethered wheels pop off all the time.
- monk_e_boy 11y agoOccasionally. And a lot of energy is dissipated snapping the tether. Sure, it's not perfect.... but canopies on F1? Nah.