spinning off

Communication has always had its pitfalls, dependent as it is on noises accepted as ways of passing on thoughts to others, plus the miracle of squiggly lines that crystallise them on stone, parchment, paper or screen. Just ponder how those squiggles can take you into the mind of someone you have never met and has been dead for a couple of centuries. Spooky. Humanity owes a great debt to it, more than animals, which have a limited vocabulary, expressing themselves by non-verbal cues. We can also use these shortcuts by, say, flipping the bird at someone or frowning. A raised eyebrow while listening to someone can convey a whole mindset, not to mention eye rolling. Steven Pinker, a linguistics professor, claims that human language is different from animal communication not just in…

steering clear of danger

Timing can be everything. Had the more ‘racy’ attitude of the stewards in the second half of this year’s F1 championship been in place since the start, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel would likely have won the controversial Canadian GP. If this had been the case, it is feasible that many of the latter’s current difficulties might have been avoided. The confidence that winning brings cannot be underestimated – Vettel was denied that. Ironically, of course, it was that very incident which forced the revision in interpreting similar actions – one can also question if it’s fair to change the sporting rules, any more than the technical regulations, in the middle of a season? Vettel is going through a lengthy dismal patch, that’s for certain, for reasons which can only be speculated upon.…

a glimpse of the future

The fact is that from purely technical perspectives the changes outlined in the draft regulations are minor in the bigger scheme of things That F1 faced paradigm technological and sporting shifts – potentially the largest in its 70-year history – was clear immediately Liberty Media completed its purchase of the sport’s commercial rights in January 2017. Over time, the sport had become bogged down in the antiquated ways of its out-of-touch tsar Bernie Ecclestone – who, it was said, could not send a text message, let alone fathom social media. Not only did the American company immediately boot Bernie, who had ruled F1 with an iron-clad glove since the mid-70s, ‘upstairs’ as chairman emeritus – saliently, without executive powers – but it also employed technical legend Ross Brawn as managing director of…

why the need for financial regulations?

Commercial sponsorship was first permitted in Formula 1 in 1968, and after that grand prix racing’s budgets and grids exploded as tobacco manufacturers exploited the opportunities provided by a global sporting activity that increasingly came to dominate primetime Sunday afternoon television viewing. So powerful did the tobacco barons become that they dictated deals across Formula 1, from driver contracts through team ownership – Marlboro, for example, brokered the sale of McLaren to Ron Dennis’ Project Four operation, while British American Tobacco bankrolled the BAR team – to race venues. If countries banned tobacco branding they found themselves dropped from the calendar, as Belgium discovered in 2003. However, as World Health Organisation and European Union laws started to bite, so tobacco sponsorship was phased out, with major motor manufacturers immediately stepping into the…

clockwork orange

‘The team has done a great job in stepping back and thinking about the philosophies in each area and making the changes accordingly’ Few would argue should McLaren receive the ‘most improved’ award for the 2019 season, and that’s because the papaya team is currently sitting fourth in the constructors’ championship. Not only does this make it the best of the rest, but it is the team’s highest position since 2012. Since then McLaren has endured some turbulent times to say the least. Its relationship with Honda through the 2015 to 2017 seasons was far from fruitful and the late decision to switch to Renault for 2018 led to several design compromises on last year’s car, the MCL33. This, along with other factors, meant that 2018 was not the resurrection that McLaren,…

tech spec: mclaren mcl34

Chassis Carbon fibre composite. Safety structures Cockpit survival cell incorporating impact resistant construction and anti penetration panels; front impact structure; prescribed side impact structures; integrated rear impact structure; front and rear roll structures, Halo cockpit protection device. Bodywork Carbon fibre composite, including engine cover, sidepods, floor, nose, front wing and rear wing with driver-operated drag reduction system. Power unit Renault E-tech 19; 1.6-litre V6 ICE; 90-degree bank angle; max speed 15,000rpm; direct injection, single injector per cylinder, 500bar max; single-stage compressor and exhaust turbine, common shaft; MGU-K (max speed 50,000 rpm, max power 120kW); MGU-H (max speed 10,000rpm). Transmission Carbon fibre composite main case gearbox, longitudinally-mounted; 8-speed electro-hydraulically operated seamless shift; epicyclic differential with multi-plate limited slip clutch; electro-hydraulically operated, carbon multi-plate clutch. Front suspension Carbon fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and damper system. Rear suspension Carbon fibre…