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| (c) The Flying Lap |
Scarbs is a TFL regular and in this exclusive article he talks about the host, Peter Windsor, as well as his dream of a full time job in F1 and the technical era's from the past and present.
1) Your twitter bio says"Everything technical in F1", so when did you start following the sport?
I was taken to GP's as a young boy and grew up during the Hunt/Lauda era. I made models of F1 cars, starting with the 1975 Ferrari 312T and through into the ground effect era. That was probably what sparked my technical interest in the cars, trying to understand how the mechanical parts worked and why the sidepods were wing shaped. But it was probably the early turbo era of the early eighties that found me following the season race by race and I've followed the sport closely ever since.
2) Looking at the technical aspect of F1, which era would you say was the best for it?
Every era has its technical interests, but for me the mid eighties with the turbo engined flat bottomed cars, was really the most interesting. With very different solutions for mechanicals, aero and powertrain. For the first time teams had bigger resources to research chassis, engines and aerodynamics. Although the vastly different directions being taken were being lead by the hunches of the designers.
3) If we look back at the past seasons, which innovations have impressed you the most?
Probably the active era really impressed me, using electronics and hydraulics to control the suspension to allow the aero to work. This was a development that really drove the understanding of how the cars dynamics worked. What was learnt from the era has carried forwards and directed the passive systems we see today.
4) Moving on from that question,which ones have shocked you or made you laugh?
I recall being at the Williams FW26 ‘Walrus’ launch, for a team that had been quite conservative, the twin keeled tusk-nosed car was quite a shock. Perhaps too the F-duct was quite a surprise too, I certainly laughed when first heard the driver operated with his knee!
5) In F1's current state, what innovation or design has impressed you the most from 2012?
In 2012 two things have struck me, firstly the Mercedes D-DRS system, which like the F-duct of 2010 shows such a full understanding of the rules and chassis dynamics, that is all adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
Secondly the amount of redirection the teams have been able to force into the exhaust gas flow. The down washed exhaust and sidepod combinations are for more effective than I thought. When I first drew the exhaust layout I through teams might just Babel to bend the exhaust to blow under the beam wing, but they are now blowing the floor some 20cm further down!
6) People have said the removal of the blown diffuser has closed the 2012 F1 field up, why would this be?
Clearly some teams had the EBD solution wrapped up into an integrated set up, complete with extreme rake and deflecting front wings. A lot of what allowed teams to make the EBD work was the engine mappings. For the Cosworth teams this was a great handicap and Williams re-emergence this year is in part to the Renault engine and its better mappings. Removing the EBD has levelled the playing field, although some teams have been quicker to recognise the potential within the new rules.
I personally think the revised tyres are responsible for the closing up of the field rather than the exhausts.
7) I have also seen your work at F1 Racing Magazine, how did that come about? It’s a massive platform or your work.
I have done a little of work for F1Racing over the years, because i focus on the technical stuff, the Photo Editors come to me for an image of a specific part. So I’ve had some photos and illustrations published, but this tends to fly under the radar, this year I have done a lot more work with magazines, with; Autosport, Motorsport, Autosport Japan and FIA's IQ magazine.
8) Your also a regular on The Flying Lap, what’s it like working with Peter Windsor?
Peter is so enthusiastic and full of ideas in exploiting the potential of The Flying Lap; it’s been great working with him. He also knows so many people in the sport and has such an incredible memory of races and drivers, my technical knowledge seems to pale into insignificance next to him. I have to thank Peter for bringing my work to a wider audience, appearing on the show is an important and fun part of my F1 work.
9) You also hold a full time job outside F1; would you like to swap the job with one inside F1?
My dream would be a full time job covering F1 and attending races. However in the these hard economic times,technical coverage is not valued by magazines, so it’s going to be hard to achieve this until the economy picks up, or one of the big F1 TV broadcasters needs a technical correspondent.
10) Lastly looking at 2012, who has the fastest car and who can win the titles?
Who has the fastest car seems to vary each weekend, even differ in between the race and qualifying! It’s subjective, but the McLaren looks to be fast more consistently and that should bring the championship, but Red Bull aren’t far behind since their Bahrain updates.
I think the best thing is we should a wide variety of pole and race winners this year.
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