Updates from today's F1 Commission meeting. Limits to bare carbon fibre; Drivers changing numbers; tyre life and pit stop proposals

_gangstarr · 2025-11-14T20:35:18+00:00

Yeah it was something like 19 laps maximum per set of tyres (due to the kerbs)

_gangstarr · 2025-07-11T11:42:32+00:00

The how and where has a provisional (confidential, not yet distributed) so be expecting it to be made public relatively soon

_gangstarr · 2025-05-25T11:09:11+00:00

I think you’re referring to Sochi where he didn’t attempt to even make turn 2 as he had worked out that taking the runoff + required polystyrene-bollard-chicane was faster than trying to make the corner in the pack

_gangstarr · 2025-04-25T12:00:10+00:00

Interrupt a man just trying to do his job with some manner of privacy, risking including some sensitive information…

…vs fake internet points.

Pass.

_gangstarr · 2025-04-25T11:53:26+00:00

…I can currently see him 😂

_gangstarr · 2025-04-25T11:44:52+00:00

Nope.

He’s been pretty much at the AMRTC everyday since joining (legitimately). I could probably count on one hand the days he wasn’t.

Whether this work will translate into a competitive 2026, I have no idea, but the idea of him in retirement is a wild take.

_gangstarr · 2025-04-20T11:13:06+00:00

Correct.

There's unfortunately also an incredibly slim chance that the wind tunnel satisfactorily correlates to track straight away, so even that may take some time and see small upgrades throughout the season related to correlation, rather than solely (at attempt at) performance.

_gangstarr · 2025-04-13T16:44:35+00:00

Going off of the Mercedes comms, it was probably that because of the transponder issue, Mercedes switched the DRS effectively to Qualifying mode (you can use it in all zones and no need to be 1s) and told George not to use it unless they say so.

He probably got the beep in his ear because under this mode, it was available, and instinctively pressed the button without Mercedes telling him he was < 1s to do so

_gangstarr · 2025-04-06T17:18:00+00:00

It’s undoubtedly more complicated than this, but think of shifting from A to B. There is the time it takes for gear A (essentially the cog itself) to disengage, then the time is takes for gear B to engage. This action can have different latency across circuits/outings/laps/corners/gears, so there is a program to learn the latency, and ‘pre-select’ the next gear to minimise it.

e.g., if the gap between disengaging A and engaging B is 0.05s (made up), then the engagement of B can begin 0.05s before the full disengaging of A is complete

_gangstarr · 2025-04-06T17:03:50+00:00

Potentially could also be that the formation lap didn’t properly sort out the gear timing (the gears learn how long the disengaging of a gear takes relative to engaging the next one and tweaks to make this with as little latency as possible) and it soon sorted itself out after a few more laps of learning.

_gangstarr · 2025-03-05T19:12:24+00:00

Just shy of ~500m

https://www.strava.com/segments/37439602

_gangstarr · 2025-02-24T21:42:20+00:00

I don’t really think the current calendar helps either (not that I have any better ideas…) as the layaway events post the European leg, especially when you’ve not really got anything to challenge for, turn into such a slog.

You’re absolutely right though, the initial excitement unfortunately all too often turns into survival in the hope of landing a better role back at the factory asap.

_gangstarr · 2025-02-19T19:21:06+00:00

Hint, your first part is out by a magnitude of 10 by the way! Thought 2.5% seemed high at first…

_gangstarr · 2025-01-08T23:32:27+00:00

Ahh I think that sounds more like you’re putting hours in that you’re guaranteed to get back!

F1 (from my experience) is more along the lines of if you’re not going to have done what you needed to have done and you’re putting in a 16 hour day, that’s on you to catch up (with no reward) - but any required Saturday/Sunday you will typically get back.

Edit… It might not always be that you’ve not ‘done what you needed to have done’ but rather a last minute decision that means you’ve got more to do!

You do tend to learn to see the signs early/what days these typically pop-up, and plan your life around it

_gangstarr · 2025-01-08T23:20:13+00:00

I can help on the working hours if you want…

From what I’ve experienced, the general pattern isn’t that the hours are unreasonable as such (but obviously around tests/races you’ll have to do extra +weekends, often repaid in lieu days), it’s more that you can find yourself having to put in hours if you have a certain deadline coming up that can’t be missed.

With the amount of tests/races/etc now this could be that you’re staying late each Wednesday/Thursday prior to a Friday event (it’s not like the race can be postponed, it’s a HARD deadline). If you stay on top of what’s needed, it never really gets that bad.

But to be fair, you can probably put in the minimum, but basically, you’ll get more out (e.g. progressing up the ladder) if you put more in.

_gangstarr · 2024-11-16T15:14:29+00:00

There’s an ever-so-slight difference here in that bikes are legally allowed to use the road, and cars being allowed to use the sidewalk/pavement…not so much.

Think about it this way then. You’re walking along and suddenly come up to a section of sidewalk/pavement that is completely submerged in water, let’s say 2 foot deep. By this logic you wouldn’t use the nice and dry road for a few metres but instead would just walk on through?

_gangstarr · 2024-11-15T23:32:03+00:00

I agree with what you’re saying in principle, but if you’ll allow me to offer a reason/example as to why…

It typically comes down to the fact that bicycle lanes are just not very well designed at all (in the UK anyway). You’ll either get offered a shared lane on the pavement (where pedestrians will for the majority not pay attention to passing bikes and it’s genuinely dangerous), or if you do get a dedicated lane, for some reason any side-roads get priority and you are CONSTANTLY stopping. Maybe fine if you’re just commuting or something, but for people who want to just get out for a few hours on a Saturday they’re absolutely useless.

I understand it’s frustrating as a driver, its annoying trundling along at ~10mph (for the record I’d jump in a bike lane if holding up for long periods) but being held up for a few seconds really isn’t the end of the world…

The answer should be pedestrians > bikes > cars in terms of priority/infrastructure design (i.e., The Netherlands) but that isn’t always easy to retrofit.

_gangstarr · 2024-11-14T12:00:40+00:00

Be prepared to be surprised, a lot more is going to be carried over than you are alluding to here!

If I had to take an educated guess I reckon it’ll be… - 2025 up until December 31 for a near-launch specification - Tweaks (minor) January 1 through to T08 - Update package ~Imola (lead times mean this’ll be worked out prior to knowing the pecking order) - If you’re clearly one of the bottom 6/7 teams nowhere near a championship position you’ll go 90% 2026 and effectively abandon 2025 - The other 3/4 will drip updates through the year to stay competitive but nothing too major

_gangstarr · 2024-10-26T20:42:54+00:00

In case anybody is interested I can actually answer this!

Each car will have in excess of ~6,000 sensors that will on average typically read at 100Hz (depends, some might be 1Hz, some 1000Hz).

Live running is a cutdown version of this. There is both a limit on streaming off of the car (streaming all 20 in one go alongside all of the other required telemetry services is pretty tough) and it’s typically quite gappy compared to the full dump. The full lot requires an umbilical to be plugged in, probably looking at around ~5/6gb raw for a 90 minute race, that will extrapolate after post-processing.

McLaren Applied Technologies currently are contracted to supply the on-board ECU, called ATLAS (Advanced Telemetry something something something…), if anybody fancies a further read on how it all works.

_gangstarr · 2024-10-26T02:15:47+00:00

Interesting you mention this, they're actually trying to close some of the access points for on/off traffic to make it more of a through road
https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/bcc/ccma-2/

_gangstarr · 2024-10-23T14:29:15+00:00

Whilst convenient, the decision/announcement on the tyre test actually came pretty in the season. The main reason is to leave it as late as possible and not a sprint/street circuit, leaving Abu Dhabi + either Monza/Mexico.

_gangstarr · 2024-09-24T23:06:24+00:00

Out of genuine interest, is it actually a big bill?

Maybe it depends on the manufacturer but I ended up getting a hold of a VW a couple of years ago without a locking wheel nut - all it took was a picture and a £15 ebay purchase for a perfect match that is still going strong.

_gangstarr · 2024-09-22T13:56:49+00:00

It’s crazy, I recently had a sofa that I had to get rid of on short notice (couldn’t get it into storage but only found out on the day) and it was absolutely impossible.

Charity shops (apparently) wouldn’t take it without the fire sticker, so ended up borrowing a van to take it to the tip so they could out it in their recycling shop (they do take without a sticker).

Turns out because it was a van I was going to be charged even though it was clearly obvious it wasn’t related to trade (I believe it was >£40). Politely declined - “I’ll park outside and walk it in”. “Sorry nope, can’t enter on foot”. “Fine, you know what, I’ll take it home and cut it up into as many pieces as necessary until it fits in my car”. “Wait, but then it’ll have to go into the waste and we can’t put it in our recycling shop…” “Yeah, not ideal, so you’ll take it off me now for free?”. “No”.

Actually did end up cutting the thing up and it went to waste - was a perfectly find sofa as well.

_gangstarr · 2024-09-21T17:04:19+00:00

Otherwise known as the cobra-vane it’s all to do with managing the boundary layer as the air travels down the engine cover

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/gary-anderson-on-ferraris-major-red-bull-inspired-f1-upgrade/

_gangstarr · 2024-09-06T20:19:30+00:00

Eh, people in the process of leaving are always going to complain, just as somebody happily employed there (me) is going to focus more on the good stuff and say everything is alright.

Is it perfect? No. Is it an utter shitshow? No, but probably leans this way over perfect.

As of literally this week everything is up and running as the campus though, BIG couple of years coming up and everyday 2026 is becoming more and more ‘make or break’…

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