Craig Scarborough Profile picture
Everything technical in Motorsport.
Nov 20 9 tweets 6 min read
I've given a short delay to respect the hard working @WilliamsRacing staff.
But their excellent video on the post-brazil rebuild shows some nice details, we rarely get to see.

A thread...
Damage
#F1 #F1Tech Image
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Damaged sidepod radiators Image
Mar 25 7 tweets 4 min read
Some analysis into the #MV33 brake failure & fire at the #AustralianGP.
RBR said the right rear caliper was stuck on, which would have been detectable by pressure sensors.
So, it wasn't a blocked brake duct (my initial guess).
thread....
#F1 #F1Tech
📸 F1TV
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The heat from the brake being constantly on, set the brake duct on fire.
However, the brake disc did not explode when entering the pits. As the disc was still visible & intact in the pits.
The blast was probably the wheel/tyre failing releasing the air & blowing debris everywhere
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Nov 29, 2023 11 tweets 9 min read
It's been exactly 3 years since Romain Grosjean's huge accident in Bahrain.
The monocoque was on at the @F1Exhibition in Madrid this summer.
I took some time to look over the tub and noted the damage, which included elements I wasnt aware of...
#F1 #F1Tech
Thread....


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Summarising the crash
The car went intact into the barriers at 197kph, at an angle on it's right hand side. This was the biggest deceleration, 67g.
The car jammed in the barrier and flicked around to the left, breaking apart in doing so, the survival cell remaining in the barrier Image
Jun 17, 2023 6 tweets 6 min read
Williams are another team bringing a big update to their car.
The FW45 has had a thorough aero review, with one set of bodywork readied for #AA22 at the #CanadianGP.
#F1 #F1Tech ImageImage The floor is the key change. Mostly the underside, but the inlet fences, floor edge and diffuser are more visible changes. The rear brake ducts are reworked accordingly.
#F1 #F1Tech ImageImage
Jun 17, 2023 5 tweets 6 min read
The first big update to the AMR23.
Heavily revised sidepods, floor edge and cooling outlets.
#F1 #F1Tech #CanadaGP ImageImageImageImage The waterslide is narrowed and starts with a distinct edge. This may be to contain the rotating airflow, which marries up with the revised undercut, to create more load over the diffuser.
#F1 #F1Tech #CanadaGP ImageImage
Apr 1, 2023 5 tweets 3 min read
Corner entry deceleration issues for RBR persist.
#F1 cars 'brake' in several ways. There's the hydraulic brakes, hybrid braking and engine braking. All affect how the car slows & rotates into a turn. From inputs at the pedals, calculated by the ECU.
#F1Tech #AustralianGP Simply lifting off the throttle gives engine braking. This map can be varied from the steering wheel button (EB or Torque). Altering the throttle/fuelling at that moment.
More EB (up to a point) gives stability/understeer. Less EB gives more rotation.
Apr 1, 2023 5 tweets 4 min read
Speaking to guests after #AustralianGP Quali, Lawrence Stroll revealed part of the reason for AMR's pace & why LS was a little slower than FA, but much closer today
The bulged sidepods are driven by exhaust vibrations to ease boundary later build up over and the car
#F1 #f1tech Boundary layer is a phenomena where there's a layer of air stuck to the car. Over long surfaces it builds up & upsets the aero.
AMR tech director Dan Fallows discovered at Red Bull, during the exhaust blown diffuser era, that vibrating the bodywork reduces this. As used on planes
Mar 5, 2023 7 tweets 6 min read
Given the initial success, here's a closer at what probably the most changed car in the grid, the @AstonMartinF1 AMR22.
#F1 #F1Tech Given the car's pace, the floor edge is very simple so far.
Just a single section, scroll and cut out. No floor edge flap.
There's a lot of development potential in this area.
#F1 #f1tech
Feb 27, 2023 7 tweets 8 min read
During the unveiling of all the new #F1 cars, the terminology of all the shapes and features gets out of hand.
Here's a simple overview of some of the sidepod jargon we use.
Starting with 'coke bottle' this is the way the sidepods slim between the rear wheels
#F1Tech #F12023 This year a new term and popular design feature is 'waterslide', also described as downwash sidepods.
It's where the top surface slopes down the rear.
#F1Tech #F12023 #F1
Feb 26, 2023 6 tweets 6 min read
I had to draw the @WilliamsRacing #FW45, such nice lines and livery. It's much more conventional this year, which is probably a good idea.
#F1 #f1tech #F12023 Image The sidepods are a mix of a downwash waterslide ontop, combined with a ridged shoulder and deep front undercut.
This seems to tick every design option and meet all of the aero functions
#F1 #f1tech #F12023 Image
Feb 26, 2023 6 tweets 6 min read
Here's my closer look at the @redbullracing #RB19
Very much a RB18+ with lots of evolution of the 2022 car. No bad thing given its success and the aero testing limits for RBR this year.
#F1 #F1Tech #F12023 Image Suspension follows last season, which has seen other teams follow its raked wishbone set up and low steering rack/trackrod position.
#F1 #f1tech #F12023 Image
Feb 19, 2023 4 tweets 4 min read
Other details on the @MercedesAMGF1 #W14 the front wing endplate.
For 2022 the endplate was made larger and straighter to reduce the outwash turbulence it created for the car behind.
So Merc created a cutout to create outwash, but this was banned over the winter.
#F1 #F1Tech To be legal, the wing tips must meet the endplate in a specific orientation. Merc have done this with small legality parts connecting the two, as well as adding an extra fin.
Which all allows the large cut out.
#F1 #F1Tech
Jan 25, 2023 13 tweets 6 min read
#F1 suspension has evolved massively over the years. Especially how the spring/dampers are mechanically operated.
From the Sixties till Today, I’ve drawn up a normalised & simplified set up to show the major variations over the years.
/long thread...
#F1 #techTalk 1-Outboard
We start with the outboard mounted spring/damper. This worked as it's simple, plus the spring/damper travel was close to wheel travel.
Back in the day, the chassis was much wider than now, so short spring/dampers could fit in the narrow gap.
#F1 #TechTalk
Oct 13, 2022 4 tweets 6 min read
Ride height is critical for an #F1 car, adjustment may be only a by a millimetre. But, how do they adjust it?
Its most commonly done with the push (pull) rod length. By changing shims in the rod.
Thicker shims raise a pushrod ride height. The opposite for pullrod.
#F1 #TechTalk The carbon rod and (typically) metal end are bolted together. Creating space for a shim.
Teams have a lookup table, relating a ride height change to a specific thickness of shim.
There's a box of different sized shims in the garage, matched to the list.
#F1 #TechTalk
Aug 16, 2022 6 tweets 6 min read
2026 #F1 power unit regs are out. Summary, the same layout and power output (~1000hp).
But new; eFuel, less fuel flow, and greater ERS-K, to compensate for the loss of combustion power, the ERS-H & Variable trumpets.

#TechTalk This means we keep the power, but more will come from the hybrid system, not quite 50/50.
#F1 #TechTalk
Jul 20, 2022 9 tweets 10 min read
One of the most interesting cars, #BritishGP spec deep dives
@redbullracing #RB16
#F1 #TechTalk @BremboBrakes bespoke machined with metal bridges to add stiffness . Heated flow out of the brakes ducted back through the scoop outlet.
#F1 #TechTalk
Jul 20, 2022 9 tweets 10 min read
More #BritishGP spec deep dives
@WilliamsRacing FW44 (long sidepod version)
#F1 #TechTalk ImageImageImage Cockpit details, drivers seat (Latifi), removable panel houses the @F1 360 camera and the @EMMotorsport GPS unit.
#F1 #TechTalk ImageImage
Jul 19, 2022 9 tweets 11 min read
#BritishGP spec @AlpineF1Team A522
#F1 #TechTalk Headrest padding and seats, #EO31 Has the raped seat, #FA14 the tidier version.
#F1 #TechTalk
Jul 19, 2022 7 tweets 8 min read
Continuing the @ScarbsTech #BritishGP spec deep dives...
@McLarenF1 Mercedes MCL36
#F1 #TechTalk Mcl went with a complex floor edge far earlier than most. With a finned scrolled edge towards the front, a flap in the mid section and a well supported deck in front of the rear tyre.
#F1 #TechTalk
Jul 18, 2022 8 tweets 9 min read
Next up @MercedesAMGF1
#BritishGP spec deep dive:
#F1 #TechTalk The updated floor, in particular the floor edge, with a wavy edged flap, mid flap and a simpler treatment ahead of the rear wheel
#F1 #TechTalk
Jul 18, 2022 7 tweets 8 min read
First up in #BritishGP spec deep dives.
Aston Martin AMR22:
#F1 #TechTalk Brakes and ducts, missing the discs in each case, but usefully shows the hub where desc/bell mount to its splines
#F1 #TechTalk