Soldato
New regulations this year about cockpit bulkhead and nose height.
Ferrari launch thread
- Thread starter Duke
- Start date
I wonder what effect the duckbilled part of the nose has on the downforce etc, would it deflect the air over the driver and into the airbox.
I've never been a fan of ferrari but you could always count on them to have a nice looking car, ah well hopefully the mercedes will look nice or at least go fast
I've never been a fan of ferrari but you could always count on them to have a nice looking car, ah well hopefully the mercedes will look nice or at least go fast
Regulation change dictates a maximum nose height some 7.5cm lower than in 2011, but with the maximum height of the carbon tub remaining the same.
Most teams have kept both at the maximum and joined them up with a straight line. McLaren have dropped the front of the tub a bit to allow a smooth curved transition.
Soldato
Oh dear dear 
If you look back at the previous years, McLaren have had a consistently lower nose than everyone else. The difference is clear to see here:
I think they have a good few years of experience in making this lower nose solution work, and have their infamous "snowplough" in the front wing support to help direct the airflow under the nose somehow.
Many other teams (like Ferrari in the above picture) have had their cars designed around having as high a nose as possible in order to get the maximum airflow underneath, and are still designing noses as high as the regulations will allow.
Different philosophies is all, I think - and McLaren and Red Bull were on pretty similar pace at the end of last year.
Soldato
Just managed to take my eyes off the nose long enough to realise there's a secondary inlet on the engine cover - like last years McLaren. I assume it's for oil/KERS cooling.
Thanks
Found a more detailed expalination here: http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/2012-nose-height-regulations/
Mainly safety related, as normal.
2014 tip of the nose has to be no higher than 25cm, thier going to look old school!
Soldato
Could do with a decent snow plough round here this morn, wonder if Ferrari will lend me their new car for a day or two 
Soldato
Exhaust exits look interesting, shame the rumours about unconventional side pods turned out to be false.
ps, eeeeew that nose
ps, eeeeew that nose
Soldato
They can't easily be changed. To change them, the raised part would need to be lowered, and to achieve that the tub may need to be changed (which is impossible as IIRC that is homologated for the entire season) and also the front suspension geometry would need to be completely reconfigured which would basically mean starting from scratch with regard to car balance.
The sharp angle is caused by the height of the front of the carbon tub. The carbon tub is not only a long winded thing to design and built, but it must also be crash tested an homoligated. Moving to a McLaren style nose would require a new tub to go through all this, so would take some time.
Most teams had to punch holes in their tubs to copy the F Duct designs in 2010, and that took probably 1/3 of a season for most people to catch up, so I would assume the same here. This is more complex than just putting holes in a tub design though, so might take far longer. I would assume the designs will morph, but will remain fugly for most of the year.
The above is completely incorrect.