DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - So I take it we don't need wet tyres anymore in F1

**CevepBiageCefm** · 06-13-2011, 08:06 AM

I think that the reason to suspend the race had nothing to do with spray but free standing water.

On the run from turns 8 & 9 to L'Epingle (the hairpin) and back up Casino Straight, during the stoppage there were crews with shovels and ploughs scooping the water off the track.

F1 cars do not have a specified minimum ride height (though it might be implied by the skid blocks under the car), this means that they run very close to the ground indeed. If the water was sufficiently deep enough, then instead of just the wheels aquaplaning, the whole underside of the car would act as a giant aquaplaning thing with a couple of fins underneath.
That's all fine but the drivers are paid to drive cars, not ill-handling boats.

Charlie Whiting would have been talking to Bernd Maylander and the racing drivers, so this was more of a consensus thing than you probably expect.

I think that the stewards made the right call.

06-13-2011, 08:06 AM	#9
CevepBiageCefm Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 589 Senior Member	I think that the reason to suspend the race had nothing to do with spray but free standing water. On the run from turns 8 & 9 to L'Epingle (the hairpin) and back up Casino Straight, during the stoppage there were crews with shovels and ploughs scooping the water off the track. F1 cars do not have a specified minimum ride height (though it might be implied by the skid blocks under the car), this means that they run very close to the ground indeed. If the water was sufficiently deep enough, then instead of just the wheels aquaplaning, the whole underside of the car would act as a giant aquaplaning thing with a couple of fins underneath. That's all fine but the drivers are paid to drive cars, not ill-handling boats. Charlie Whiting would have been talking to Bernd Maylander and the racing drivers, so this was more of a consensus thing than you probably expect. I think that the stewards made the right call.
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