With the new Merc (V8) was about 4.5-5 seconds slower than the
quickest. Allowing for the driver, future developement and reliability
etc I suppose they'd be looking for no more than a couple of seconds
slower - 100bhp used to be worth about 1 second a lap, but it could be
closer to 2 with the aero efficiency. 200bhp loss (as it will probably
be) will be worth 4 seconds by that tally. With decent developement
they could be within 2.5 by the start of the year.

Looks like the cars will be less point-and-squirt, which is good.
Wouldn't be at all suprised to see the wheel-base a bit shorter, so the
cars could look pretty small, particularly with the shorter engine.

Prefect_Being wrote:
Also remember these are interim testbeds, mainly current cars with V8's
in the back. As the V8's are smaller, lighter, etc, the cars are
simply using spacers to try and keep the same wheelbase and suspension
geometry as the V10's. Despite that, the centre of gravity will have
changed quite drastically, as will the PMI. A chassis designed around
the V8's will make a substantial improvement in itself. Then add on 6
months of development and testing, and running the V8's to their race
potential (which is not happening yet), and the laptimes will fall from
+4.5s.

Throughout the mid-90's when Renault engines were winning
championships, they averaged a 19hp increase per season. The ballpark
figures for engines are a 10% hp increase will gain you 1.2s per lap.
I can't go into any more detail on that, like what circuit
characteristics etc, so don't ask.

Given a current V10 is approx 950hp, and we're looking somewhere in the
region of 750-775hp from the V8's in Australia next season, that's a
20% decrease or about +2.5-2.7s per lap. Of course the new chassis
designs (wheelbase, weight distribution, PMI etc) will have an effect,
as will any other rule changes regarding other technical aspects of F1.

In the good ol' days, corner exit speed was everything, as it dictated
your speed all the way along the following straight. In current F1,
the power, TC and aero characteristics mean that the cars get up
towards Vmax so quickly that corner exits aren't as valuable as they
were. Now a good lap is more about being fast, late and stable under
braking and at turn-in. Hopefully, as you say, less power will
differentiate more between the drivers who rely on the electronics too
much and the drivers who understand and can control the car and carry
the highest apex speed through to the exit. This sort of thing will
play slightly into the hands of good left-foot brakers, such as Michael
or Button, although not as much as a ban on TC would.

Top speeds will be down, slipstreaming will decrease (lower speeds lead
to less of a slipstream, and less power means less acceleration once in
a tow), and braking distances will also decrease. Without any kind of
change in the aero department, it could well be that there is less
overtaking next season than there has been in 2005.

A shorter wheelbase is better for slower corners, whereas a longer
wheelbase provides fast corner stability. A longer wheelbase is also
better for traction. There are complications with staying long though,
using spacers (or equivalents) means you lose control of the weight
distribution a bit, but the alternative is to extend the gearbox and
rear suspension which makes it trickier to design and control. The
general consensus seems to be 'as long as is convenient', but naturally
everybody is being very tight-lipped at the moment. I wouldn't be
surprised (simply going on recent history) if Renault use some kind of
spacer and go as long as they can.

On 15 Sep 2005 17:23:02 -0700, "Nick" <catisfitspam (AT) hotmail (DOT) com>
wrote:

<great post snipped>

How will all this affect tyre wear? If the reduction in speed affects
things like slipstreaming, can we assume that it will also help in
preserving the tyres longer?

banjaxed wrote:
Assuming the aero remains the same, cornering speeds will remain the
same. Horsepower has no effect on cornering speed-you might not be
going so fast when you approach a corner, but you still brake to the
same speed (dictated by mechanical and aero grip).

Braking distances will be shorter, but the difference will be at the
top end (let's say some random figures, instead of 200mph->100mph, it
might be 190mph->100mph). Braking distances are shorter because you
don't have that extra 10mph to worry about, but that will always be
where the aero loading is high. In other words, locking up and
flatspotting will be just as regular as it is this year. The reduction
in braking distances will mean a slight reduction in tyre wear.

The TC will allow the wheels to spin at their optimum slip ratio, so
the wear due to acceleration on the immediate exit of a corner will be
pretty much the same as it is now, despite the lower horsepower. This
is because this first part of the acceleration is where most tyre wear
occurs, and this is also the part of the corner where TC is involved.
Generally, tyre wear will be slightly less because the reduction in
power will mean the TC gets disengaged earlier (ie acceleration will
become power-limited rather than grip-limited earlier than it does this
season).

Through a fast corner, a shorter wheelbase will make the car more
unstable and will result in increased tyre wear. A similar wheelbase
to 2005 will also probably increase tyre wear, as the weight
distribution will change. That would be more of a balance issue (one
end of a car wearing more than the other), which can be rectified to a
certain extent by car setup.

There are some turns (such as Eau Rouge, Blanchimont) which don't
require braking. Next season the cars will be approaching these types
of turns more slowly, so tyre wear through them will generally
decrease. It also (unfortunately) means that Eau Rouge and other
similar corners will be easy flat, even more so than this season.

Of course, this all assumes that no other changes (eg aero) are made to
the cars. In general, a guide is that tyre wear over a GP will
decrease, but not by a significantly large amount. Disclaimer: it's
always difficult to predict six months ahead in F1, especially with
such drastic changes, so take all this with a pinch of salt.