Ever wonder how everything that is not a driver's helmet and hands fit inside a tiny Formula One car? Nico Rosberg explains. "Foam is very heavy" pretty much sums up F1.
An aspect he didn't mention is how tight it is for your feet. If you're a grown man, driving shoes are the only option... It is simply that narrow down there.
Well why would you be wearing sneaking in a F1 car, or any formula car for that matter? Foam is very heavy, I wonder how many scales that read in fractions of a gram are in an F1 factory.
I've been lucky enough to try a top F1 team's simulator, fitted with a former race chassis. I guess it's pretty much the only context where you can try to crawl into an F1 car with regular shoes... My point was: it's hard to imagine how small it actually is.
To me it seems these guys wear the cars like suits. I kind of wish they would make it so drivers do not have to be either Midgets or super fit anorexics :)
In most biology laboratories you will find gram scales and even microgram scales.
Although it sounds weird, as we think of foam as being a light material. I imagine that most foam cushion pads will weigh in around 50-250 grams each. You often have to pad more than one side, so it starts to count up rather quickly. Also, you have to use adhesives that function well under heat and extreme g-loads (thus friction forces by the drivers body). The regions that have to padded are also the regions where the hard carbon seat buggs them, so friction forces and friction heat will be even greater here.
Don't forget, 1 kg of feather will fall with the same acceleration as 1 kg of iron in vacuum. So 1 kg of foam if still 1 kg of weight positioned in the car where the mechanics don't want it.
Consider that in top-notch one-make series like GP2, the seat is completely made of foam. This gives an idea of how F1 is a completely different league even compared to his best feeder series...
Interesting vid!
ReplyDeleteI've seen an "HARVEST" button on the wheel, do they use it when they go off track? :)
As you say, "foam is heavy" is really a statement of what F1 is nowadays...
An aspect he didn't mention is how tight it is for your feet. If you're a grown man, driving shoes are the only option... It is simply that narrow down there.
ReplyDeleteWell why would you be wearing sneaking in a F1 car, or any formula car for that matter?
ReplyDeleteFoam is very heavy, I wonder how many scales that read in fractions of a gram are in an F1 factory.
I've been lucky enough to try a top F1 team's simulator, fitted with a former race chassis. I guess it's pretty much the only context where you can try to crawl into an F1 car with regular shoes... My point was: it's hard to imagine how small it actually is.
DeleteTo me it seems these guys wear the cars like suits. I kind of wish they would make it so drivers do not have to be either Midgets or super fit anorexics :)
Deletesneakers*
ReplyDeleteIn most biology laboratories you will find gram scales and even microgram scales.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it sounds weird, as we think of foam as being a light material. I imagine that most foam cushion pads will weigh in around 50-250 grams each. You often have to pad more than one side, so it starts to count up rather quickly. Also, you have to use adhesives that function well under heat and extreme g-loads (thus friction forces by the drivers body). The regions that have to padded are also the regions where the hard carbon seat buggs them, so friction forces and friction heat will be even greater here.
Don't forget, 1 kg of feather will fall with the same acceleration as 1 kg of iron in vacuum. So 1 kg of foam if still 1 kg of weight positioned in the car where the mechanics don't want it.
Consider that in top-notch one-make series like GP2, the seat is completely made of foam. This gives an idea of how F1 is a completely different league even compared to his best feeder series...
ReplyDelete