Next up in looking at the detail of the #F1 2022 regs: the gearbox.
To date the reg dimensions of the gear cluster and outer cases has been limited. Just minimum gear width 12mm, weight 600g and material (steel).
Gearbox case lengths were in excess of 800mm, the cluster c180mm
Most teams run a cassette gearbox, a self contained case sits inside the carbon outer carrier case
Inside 8 fwd gears +reverse, are driven from the clutch, then through the cross shaft to the diff. Selector forks operate alternating gear pairs for seamless gear selection
In 2022 the diff is tied to the rear axle line within 60mm & at 250-60mm high.
The cluster must be a min 175mm & 415-450mm from the diff. The gearbox mustweigh 22kg
This pushed the gearbox rearwards and prevent extremely short or light cluster designs.
For 2022 the gearbox will be homologated. This design can only be updated once from 2022 to 25. Other than reliability fixes.
The outer carrier case can be changed.
Teams will elect their gear ratios and will have one chance to alter them midseason in 22. But not thereafter
Gearboxes had to last 6 races in 2021, now the teams have a set of 4 gearboxes for the year, as with PU components
Should a gearbox fail, it can be replaced penalty free with one from pool.
Use up your 4 gearboxes and then penalties are imposed. An issue if theres lots of crashes
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More 2022 #F1 regulations: Power Units.
There aren't huge changes to the power unit rules. F1 will continue to run +1000hp 1.6 litre turbo hybrid engines. These will be the last generation of the post-2014 units and will race thru till 2025, when new PUs come in for 2026.
#F1 PUs are made up from seperate components, that sub assemblies to be allow upgraded or replaced individually.
As part of the budget cap, teams pay a maximum of $15m for a seasons supplyof PUs.
Currently the PU manufacturers are not capped in their spending
Each PU component can be upgraded once in 2022.
Thereafter this will be the PU raced until 2026.
Homologation dates are different for each component, either March or September. Inc fuel & oil
After that changes can only be made FIA approval for reliability, cost or safety reasons
Let's have a closer look at the 2022 #F1 regs on a bit more detail.
First off: suspension. The regs detail the outboard & inboard suspension.
Outboard the suspension must pass into the bigger wheels & must not change ride height +2mm. This bans the exposed pivots & pushrod mounts
The change in the sloped chassis will affect suspension.
Up until 2021 the taper from nose to cockpit, could slope up to 625mm high. This created space for the inboard pushrod suspension.
For 22 the taper must be linear, creating no space, this will lower the inboard suspension
The option of pushrod or pullrod geometry opens up.
Having a lower inboard set up, flattens the effective geometry of the wishbone/pushrod. The pushrod must be inside the wheel & no lower 40mm below the axle.
So, it may be better to have a pullrod.
Odd Q on reddit made me look into steering wheel electronics.
Most teams have had a maximum of 9 rotary switches on front of the wheel. I thought this was a limitation of the internal hardware.
But Ferrari have 12!
All the buttons, paddles and switches connect to a spec interface unit, that aggregates and joins them via canbus to the ECU.
This is what limits the number of controls. With 18 buttons and 11 rotary switches, plus a pair of extra controls.
The 18 buttons are on both the front of the wheel plus the paddles on the back. The gearshift paddles can have redundant switches in case of failure
The 11 rotary switches are the multi position controls, but are also used for the two clutch paddles. Hence 9 are left on the front
From the @ScarbsTech archives, Ferrari 126k 1981.
When #F1 cars were made mainly from aluminium!
The chassis was steel tube clad in alu, just 20cm of front crash structure, rocker arm suspension front and rear.
Front wing off the ground to feed the underfloor tunnels
Power came from a 1.5l 120° V6, with a hot 'V' nestling two turbochargers and a central wastegate.
Alu inlet plenums outside the V, just visible either side of the cylinder heads
Analogue Cockpit: Veglia dials, gear stick, steel roll hoop, extinguisher & medical air tanks, ARB adjuster, boost adjuster, in your face extinguisher outlet.
Following yesterday's 2022 rule tweet.
Here's what the underside of the car will look like
A small diffuser & flat floor will be replaced by bigger venturi tunnels. This will (wrongly) be called ground effect as in the 80s (+ no skirts)
Bargeboards & the Y250 front wing replaced
The old flat floor (yellow) with the short diffuser (blue) is switched. For a tunnel set up with long inlet leading to a curved floor (not totally flat) and longer diffuser section.
This creates more downforce and is less sensitive behind another car
In 2021 the front wing and bargeboards all served to create outwash and a messy wake behind the car.
Flow into the 2022 underfloor is largely influenced by the front wing shape and inlet fences. The rear brake duct fence will also help manage airflow at the back of the floor.