Rubinhos misterious retirement...

[Monstrobolaxa]

Well..Ferrari hasn't up to now published a press release mentioning Rubens suspensio faliure during the Hungarian GP....

But after looking at the accident a couple of times after the GP I conclude the following:

- I couldn't be a structural gearbox manfunction....cause since the rear impact absortion system is mounted on top of the gear box...and the rear wing is mounted on this deformation zone...so if there was a breakage in the gearbox casing probably the rear wing would have changed ists position.

- A drive shaft manlfunction generaly doesn't "explode" like that....it breakes in 1 place and generaly that's it!

- A push rod breakage....well you'd see the rear wheel do what Firmans front wheel did in Brasil....it wont explode to the side....it would come up and hit the engine cover!

- A track-rod breakage....well....I would do the same that happened do Webber in Melbourne.....the wheel would desalign....and basicly that's it...

- A wishbone breakage....well...would do more or less the same as mentioned in the push rod breakage.

- Since the wheel and suspension jumped off the car....it could (in my point of view) 2/3 things..... a cluster malfuntion (but not very likely cause the other wheel would have stoped)......a differential problem.....or some kind of wheel bearing problem in the cv joints......

So the mistery is here to stay.....at least until Ferrari issue a press release latter today.....

And if this post is correct.....well....they might want to contract me!!!

[drspeed]

This is how the wheel looks like now. What the heck are these wires?[/img]

[Monstrobolaxa]

I've already seen that pic....well...the wires are the steel cables that should hold the wheels in case of an accident.....

Looking at the images...again....it's almost an impossible "explosion"....the wheel should have jumped off going up not to the side!!!!it's so strange.....something like that would happen if there was a bomb there....but there wasn't!!!!

[Steven]

hmmm idd... my first idea was that some part of the rear suspension bent a little by the overall heat, and the hot air from the exhausts...
but seeing this once again... I find it too very strange the wheel almost immediately jumped off, away from the gearbox.

The yellow-gold wires are in fact the wheel tethers, and if I'm not mistaken it's kevlar... well don't know for sure, but it is certainly not steel

[Monstrobolaxa]

Well.....I watched the accident for the 20th time.....and I saw all the possible cameras at slow speed...and it seems to me that:

- the left rear track rod broke instantes before Rubens started braking! In slow motion the camera that is on the side of the track you can see that the whell bends slightly to the back, which is correct given that the car is travelling forward! When Rubens startes braking the whole suspension rotatesm due to its momentum the wheel tends to continue rotating...and twisted the whole suspension! In a normal situation the suspension does not twist because the track rod tends to hold it in position. (if someone didn't understand...just let me know)

But ir seems to me that a track rod was to blame.

Well in terms of the wheel tethers....for sure they're not steel (my mistake) but....in spite the fact that they seem to be kevlar...the only way I see it is that it's raw kevlar....(without resin)...but I doupt it...cause raw kevlar/carbon fibre/fibre glass, etc....doesn't have enough strength! and if it has resin and had been autoclaved...it simply would shatter and no rip like seen in the picture.

[guest]

monstrobolaxa the wheel tethers are in fact kevlar tethers - sort of like a rope. As such there is no need to use resin or to autoclave them which would make them stiff, and not much use as a wheel tether.

[drspeed]

I too think it's the track rod that broke off. As it broke, the wheel must have had too much toe out, pulling the rear of the car to the left -as seen on pictures and videos- and eventually, ripping off the rest of the rear suspension elements. When the wheel broke off, the rear of the car shifted to the left for a sec and then became straight again as it was detatched.

[Monstrobolaxa]

Thank you guest for teaching me something....now I know they're made out of kevlar...

Well...now it's official....the rear left upper wishbone broke in the rear pick-up point.....at least that's what they think.....it seems to me that....a track-rod breakage.....would also do the exact same thing...and since they're not sure.....you never know...I might be right!!! lolol