Anyone watching the grand prix did any of you notice the wheel nut ub cap thing on the front trires of the Ferraris? Very interesting large bascially full cover hub caps

These for air flow you think? anyone thinking that these are 100% legal? Because they are the only ones doing it and ever doing it in F1 so I am wondering, that and those plane style wings on the nose are the more noticeable changes to the cars and they are quicker
Other teams have complained about the wings at the moment becuase they vibrate about a lot and Ferrari had to change the nose early last season becuase they moved

They are not a new idea.  Im pretty sure they were used at the end of last season also.  Just on the back wheels.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37137

Some rivals moaned at the time that the fairings came close to flouting the rules about moveable aerodynamic devices, because, undeniably, they spin in excess of 300kph with the motion of the wheels. But, because they are fixed securely to the rim and therefore arguably do not move, the FIA ultimately gave the concept the all-clear.

What is controversial this time is the fact they were on the front wheels.  Which do move.

Quote from: CypherThey are not a new idea.  Im pretty sure they were used at the end of last season also.  Just on the back wheels.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37137

Some rivals moaned at the time that the fairings came close to flouting the rules about moveable aerodynamic devices, because, undeniably, they spin in excess of 300kph with the motion of the wheels. But, because they are fixed securely to the rim and therefore arguably do not move, the FIA ultimately gave the concept the all-clear.

What is controversial this time is the fact they were on the front wheels.  Which do move.

Thanks for that, yeah if you go with the rules from the last one which were border line on the front must be dodgy no?

Their wings on the nose as well are being questioned becuase you could see them move a fair amount during high speed turns

Not sure, I havent seen any articles yet of any of the teams complaining.  I dont think there is anything to argue over.  Pretty sure renault and bmw were using them on their rear wheels.

The wings are allways going to move to some extent.  Its the nature of the material and what they were designed to do.  I was sure the whole fleixble wing argument was resolved last year with ferrari forced to et rid of them if memory serves.  

When they were using it it last year it the flexible material wings meant they could get extra down force in corners but less when they were in a straight line which would normally slow the car down.  That was my undertanding anyway.

F1 is entirely about pushing the envelope with design to give you an advantage for a season, then when they ban it move on to something else.  One of the engineering fellows at my college designed a lot of BMWs active stuff, until it all got banned

The front rim shields on the Ferrari are designed primarily for directing the heat generated under braking to beneath the car...

http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2007/778/444.html

formula 1 is all about technology. all of the top drivers are pretty much a few milliseconds off each other, an it relies on technology to make up the difference. always has always will. i read about the 6 wheeled f1 car which kicked arse, untill they banned more than 4 wheels on the track :/

Its more than mili seconds red.  Renault are hurting partially becuase they dont have a driver of alonsos pace let alone a consistant one.  Mostly because they have not adapted to the bridgestone tyres as well as others.

He could get at least another half second out of the current renault car it has been estimated.

You dont get a world championship just by having the quicker car.

Honda Still have amazed me, how can you have a car not to far off winning races with button behind it to building a car for the new season that is so bad the older car is seconds faster
I bet a few people got a right yelling at for that one

Id put it down to the costant change of rules tbh.  It either works for you or hurts you and is a true test of a team and its infrastructure.  The tyres have been the big change this year, the worst thing that could happen is that you could design a car that ends up going through tyres in a few laps if you dont understand them properly.

Honda are a big outfit (not to point out the obvious) it does suprise me at times there lack of consitancy and developent of the car.  Must be the eco friendly livery.

Quotei read about the 6 wheeled f1 car which kicked arse, untill they banned more than 4 wheels on the track :/

AFAIK, the only 6 wheeled F1 car to actually win a race was the one made by Tyrrell.  I dont think they won any more races, and whoever did drive them labelled them as rubbish.

QuoteHonda Still have amazed me, how can you have a car not to far off winning races with button behind it to building a car for the new season that is so bad the older car is seconds faster

You never know, BMW could be in the same situation next year as Honda are in this year.  

Since the MAJOR body and tyre changes in 1998, Williams has no longer been a competitive package.  It can all work for you one year, a few years, a decade, whatever...it can all change the year following.  Ferrari had complete misery for over 20 years - something that would kill off most teams nowadays - but have resprung due to long term team structure.  As we keep getting told on TV, "there is no quick fix".  

QuoteHonda are a big outfit (not to point out the obvious) it does suprise me at times there lack of consitancy and developent of the car. Must be the eco friendly livery.

I was surprised how Honda could not find a title sponsor given their results last season. . . however, Im betting anyone who even considered signing is well glad they didnt now.  Itll be hard for Honda to retract the whole Eco statement now....but itll probably be harder to attain a sponsor.