The Lotus team, now the sole Lotus team on the grid, have developed a revolutionary mechanism for their 2012 challenger. The innovative idea is the "reactive ride height system" and its job is basically to keep a standard ride height while under braking
It is now thought that Lotus's key rivals may have to copy or re-develop the concept after it was deemed legal. Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations reveals: "With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [the DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited." This means that the device is legal and many teams, like 2011's blown diffuser, will be playing catch up
The device is said to be worth a few tenths of a second and it has been rumoured that another front running team has already put forward plans for a similar device. The adjustment of the ride height makes the car more stable and gives an increase in aerodynamic performance under braking, but is not in the driver’s control. Instead it is reactive to brake torque and is linked to the suspension.
We will have to see at winter testing whether or not the device is crucial to deciding the performance of the grid, or just gives those who have it a little bit of an advantage under braking.
Comment your views below, is the performance gain enough for the rest to follow? How much will this impact their perfomance?
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
It is now thought that Lotus's key rivals may have to copy or re-develop the concept after it was deemed legal. Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations reveals: "With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [the DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited." This means that the device is legal and many teams, like 2011's blown diffuser, will be playing catch up
The device is said to be worth a few tenths of a second and it has been rumoured that another front running team has already put forward plans for a similar device. The adjustment of the ride height makes the car more stable and gives an increase in aerodynamic performance under braking, but is not in the driver’s control. Instead it is reactive to brake torque and is linked to the suspension.
We will have to see at winter testing whether or not the device is crucial to deciding the performance of the grid, or just gives those who have it a little bit of an advantage under braking.
Comment your views below, is the performance gain enough for the rest to follow? How much will this impact their perfomance?
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