Renault R31

[i70q7m7ghw]

I'm not sure I'd consider that "mild shock"? He was clearly launched a few meters in the air before slapping back down onto the tarmac. A vertical load that I doubt the were designing for (unlike side impacts, cornering g-forces, etc).

Mild relative to Senna's - that's what I had in mind.

I agree to be honest, I would have expected Petrov's wrists or fingers/thumbs to break before the steering column did. Based on what we saw it wouldn't be impossible to break the steering column in the Renault with your hands...

[i70q7m7ghw]

[ajdavison2]

=D>

[PlatinumZealot]

I'm not sure I'd consider that "mild shock"? He was clearly launched a few meters in the air before slapping back down onto the tarmac. A vertical load that I doubt the were designing for (unlike side impacts, cornering g-forces, etc).

Mild relative to Senna's - that's what I had in mind.

I agree to be honest, I would have expected Petrov's wrists or fingers/thumbs to break before the steering column did. Based on what we saw it wouldn't be impossible to break the steering column in the Renault with your hands...

I guess it was some coupling near the steering rack that broke not the column itself.

[i70q7m7ghw]

Mild relative to Senna's - that's what I had in mind.

I agree to be honest, I would have expected Petrov's wrists or fingers/thumbs to break before the steering column did. Based on what we saw it wouldn't be impossible to break the steering column in the Renault with your hands...

I guess it was some coupling near the steering rack that broke not the column itself.

Still, should it be so easy to break?

[ringo]

This car seems to have raw speed. Meaning no matter what setup it is on it will be top 3.
It's a brute of a car. Not the fastest, but consistently quick.

the front exhausts are also giving it a drag reduction advantage.

[vinuneuro]

the front exhausts are also giving it a drag reduction advantage.

How so?

[Formula None]

the front exhausts are also giving it a drag reduction advantage.

Source? They have highest top speeds of the top 3 teams, though, if anything can be drawn from quali trap speeds.

2011 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX

Quali Speed Traps

Pos No Driver Time of Day Speed
1 14 Adrian Sutil 16:21:14 311.4
2 7 Michael Schu. 16:22:50 311.0
3 8 Nico Rosberg 16:23:18 310.6
4 15 Paul di Resta 16:04:32 308.8
5 4 Jenson Button 16:36:21 306.8
6 10 Vitaly Petrov 16:42:42 306.4
7 9 Nick Heidfeld 17:04:25 306.2

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/ ... _trap.html

2011 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Quali Speed Traps

Pos No Driver Time of Day Speed
1 16 Kamui Kobayashi 17:40:42 314.2
2 17 Sergio Perez 17:13:12 313.5
3 8 Nico Rosberg 17:32:49 313.4
4 4 Jenson Button 17:10:03 312.8
5 3 Lewis Hamilton 17:08:29 312.7
6 7 Michael Schumacher 17:40:23 312.6
7 14 Adrian Sutil 17:08:31 311.7
8 12 Pastor Maldonado 17:08:46 311.7
9 15 Paul di Resta 17:06:08 311.4
10 11 Rubens Barrichello 17:08:52 311.3
11 10 Vitaly Petrov 17:19:16 311.1
12 9 Nick Heidfeld 17:07:35 311.0

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/ ... _trap.html

[ringo]

qualifying is different as the DRS is used almost everywhere.

The exhuasts manipulate the wake behind the front tyres.

[myurr]

You just listed Button as faster than them...

[Formula None]

qualifying is different as the DRS is used almost everywhere.

The exhuasts manipulate the wake behind the front tyres.

All cars use DRS in quali. Until we get trap speeds from the races, its all I can refer to.

You just listed Button as faster than them...

Yes, so in 2 out of the four trap speeds I listed, Renault were faster than McLaren & 4 out of 4 compared to Red Bull. That's why I said:

They have highest top speeds of the top 3 teams, though, if anything can be drawn from quali trap speeds.

[Caito]

Is it me or it seems lke Renault's KERS is really good?


The starts and overtakes suggest that to me.

[mx_tifoso]

[TURU]

[img]http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/gall ... um.jpg[img]

They seem to have changed insulation of the exhaust pipes.

[marcush.]

After almost two decades since Senna's tragic crash, Petrov's incident shown that steering can suffer fatal damage from quite mild shocks of the chassis. Senna's chassis was broken/ripped from the impact in concrete wall, Petrov's just severely stressed and it resulted in steering fatigue.

I would not call that a fatigue failure... the damn thing snapped as a result of the vertical impact...if not -my dear.. we are really close to disaster ...