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Technical Roundup - Indian and Abu Dhabi GP's
Monday, November 04, 2013
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As we approach the end of the season
and indeed this regulation set it became apparent that it would be
better to combine the technical content of these two races.
Red Bull headed to the Indian GP
with what was almost an unassailable lead but continued to demoralize
their opposition. Although the team could get the party started with
Vettel helping himself and the team to their 4th
consecutive championships, Mark Webber once again felt the wrath of
an alternator failure which ended his GP early. Vettel started the
race on the Option tyre and even though many of us had predicted a
short opening stint, none of us were brave enough to venture that he
would dispatch of the tyres quite so early. The approach was
mirrored by Webber who also ran a very short (3 lap stint) on the
Option tyre signalling Red Bull's clear dislike of the option tyre
around the Buddh International Circuit.
The team are clearly leaps and bounds
in front of the rest of the field in terms of performance and have
even taken to running much less rear wing over the last few races to
yield a higher top speed through the traps. This however hasn't
stopped the team from developing the car with the team taking further
parts to each GP. In India they tested a new pair of Vertical
Strakes behind the Cascade replacing the straight versions with a
pair of triangulated versions. My friends at Sutton Images didn't
manage to get a shot that weekend so I produced this drawing to
illustrate it.
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However the time on the car during Free
Practice proved enough for it's inclusion on both car's at Abu Dhabi.
For anyone unaware of their purpose, these strakes create a vortice
that has an onward effect on controlling the airflow around the front
tyre.
Mercedes
now find themselves in a dog fight til the end of the season with
Ferrari for 2nd place in the constructors championship.
You may say 'But who cares?', well it's a fairly large deal, not only
is there the obvious adulation of besting their opponent but also
prize money and perhaps most importantly the allocation of the 2nd
pit lane garage next season.
The problem for both teams now though
is that with the Championship done Red Bull can afford to switch off
development for 2013 and instead actually even consider developing
and testing concepts with an eye on 2014. Mercedes seem to have
conceded that they too cannot afford to focus further development on
2013 and have instead been focusing on setup and tyre management.
They have also taken to using DRD (Drag Reduction Device) during the
initial setup phase, likely to gain a lap delta from which they can
extrapolate a setup conducive for use in both qualifying and the
race. However there is something to be said in that it's application
might still be viable for 2014 (I'll cover this in the forthcoming
2014 articles).
Ferrari have spent the last two
races doing much the same as they have for the rest of the season,
getting lost in the wilderness. The team returned to the use of the
Rear Wing endplates last saw on the car back in Silverstone which
feature a tyre wake slot. Unlike the slots used by other teams the
ones on the F138 are placed right on the leading edge of the Endplate
and run ¾ the length of it.
The team also toyed with increasing the
strakes at the base of the Endplate as they have in the past to 9
rather than 8.
Unable to extract performance from
parts bought to the track seems to be a trait the team have become
accustomed to this season, for Abu Dhabi the team arrived with a new
set of Sidepod Airflow Conditioners akin to those used by the team in
Montreal and then abandoned. Either failing to meet expectations or
perhaps part of their 2014 development the team didn't run them
beyond FP1 & 2.
Lotus have obviously been
grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons for the last few
races but in terms of the technical aspect, there is still much to
talk about. For India the team revised the Vortex Generators above
the Sidepod inlet shortening them in height and twisting the outer
two of the three.
In India the team also tested an increased
number of rear wing endplate strakes but decided to run their usual
endplates.
The Endplates featuring more strakes however made a
return to Kimi's setup who also returned to using the Short Wheel
Base E21 in Abu Dhabi. The Finn had struggled with the transition to the longer
wheel base car, this allied to his dislike of the change in Pirelli
tyre construction has totted up to some disappointing results of
late. The development of the LWB E21 was born from work carried out
in the teams simulator and suggestions made by the vehicle dynamics
department. This of course is an area that Kimi has always excluded
himself from over the years and so minuet changes that suit Romain
might not suit Kimi. Furthermore Kimi has since his move to Ferrari
was announced been ex-communicated from the team, unable to be privy
to sensitive details pertaining to 2014 the team can't allow him to
visit the factory etc.
McLaren have their sets firmly
set on 2014 as they have had for some time now, however the team are
still trying to understand some of their errors in 2013. They tested
a different position for the FOM camera housings briefly in India
perhaps with the intention of learning something about their current
package but moreover perhaps with an eye on 2014. The FIA have
realised that although their camera's are shaped to give aero
neutrality inevitability the teams have found different ways in which
to leverage an advantage. This advantage will be curtailed in 2014
(as I will discuss in the Nose section of my look at 2014) by
prescribing where the camera's must be placed.
McLaren usually position their FOM
camera's between the front wing pylons looking to glean an advantage
from the centralised portion of the mainplane. The test in India saw
them place the camera's either side of the nosecone just ahead of the
suspension.
Sauber
I've talked previously about Sauber's
rise since the return to the 2012 tyre construction and although the
team will now be concentrating on 2014 they did introduce a new set
of rear brake ducts ahead of the Indian GP. (The inset shows the older arrangement, with the newer configuration featuring the sharp tail section that will influence the airflow in and around the Diffuser)
Williams
An incredibly frustrating season for
the once great team who have found themselves struggling to stay with
the midfield pack. A stark contrast when we consider the victory
that Pastor Maldonado took at Barcelona last season. Their problems
this season have been systematic of the issues caused by their
exhaust and for me I've been wondering for some time why they haven't
made the switch back to a layout akin to their 2012 configuration.
Although Williams trialled a 'Coanda' arrangement several times
throughout 2012 they never actually ran it in race trim. This was
for good reason too, the team were and still have been struggling to
accurately model the 'Coanda' effect in CFD and the Wind Tunnel then
ratify the results on track. An inconsistent exhaust plume
trajectory during on and off throttle moments and during yaw result
in a loss of downforce as the Diffuser loses efficiency.
For Abu Dhabi the team arrived with
some components that intended to simulate the loss of downforce that
may be apparent in 2014. This was done by removing the Sidepods
Vortex Generators and adjusting the trajectory of the exhaust with a
new piece of bodywork. The result of the test actually convinced the
team and drivers that they would actually be more consistent running
the specification for the rest of the weekend. This is because since
the beginning of 2013 the team have been managing the inconsistent
performance of the Diffuser based on the smaller advantages it was
giving them when the crescendo of airflow fell in the right place.
The larger problem with this however is that you then end up also
chasing and managing tyre life more closely as the surface of the
tyre moves around as the driver tries to balance the loss/increase of
downforce with the mechanical grip available to him. I'm quite sure
the boys at Williams are rubbing their hands together knowing that
all teams will have to abandon the chase for the best EBD in 2014.
With the centreline exhaust and energy loss through turbo recovery of
the exhaust plume making it almost a performance dead end, other
area's will become critical in managing the Diffusers performance.
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