Most important technical development in F1?

[WhiteBlue]

Regarding the first use of an electronic engine control unit with ignition and fuel injection in F1 I have come across the Bosch Motronic of 1982. It was first used in an F1 race in the Brabham BT50 with the BMW turbo engine. It was later used by most teams including McLaren with their Porsche designed TAG engines.

A competitor was Ford's ECC-IV unit which appeared 1984 in F1. Has anybody a different view of the history of this technology?

[Just_a_fan]

Unfathomable, WB organizes a poll regarding a rather important subject an he gets 14 members to respond?

Guess Hamilton's new bimbo would raise more interest, pathetic.

I see where you're coming from there, but it's hardly 'technical' is it? It's just asking people for an opinion on a contrived list of points. Most of them aren't directly the product/invention of F1 either. If the idea is not that they're things invented by F1 but are important to F1 then the omission of carbon brakes is amazing for example.

Oh, and at the end of a some period of time someone will announce that "the most important development in F1 is 'X'" because a few people on here offered an opinion. Again, hardly technical.

I do admit that it's better than some of the crass threads hereabouts that have huge posting densities...

[seenathkumar]

ECU can make some more progress in F1.

[WhiteBlue]

We haven't covered carbon/carbon disk brakes introduced by Brabham between 1976 and 1979.

Brabham's most fertile period of technical innovation came in the 1970s and 1980s when Gordon Murray became technical director. During 1976, the team introduced carbon-carbon brakes to Formula One, which promised reduced unsprung weight and better stopping performance due to carbon's greater coefficient of friction. The initial versions used carbon-carbon composite brake pads and a steel disc faced with carbon pucks. The technology was not reliable at first. In 1976 Carlos Pace crashed at 180 mph (290 km/h) at the Österreichring circuit after heat build-up in the brakes boiled the brake fluid, leaving him with no way of stopping the car.[67] By 1979, Brabham had developed an effective carbon-carbon braking system, combining structural carbon discs with carbon brake pads.[68]

They remain a fixture in F1 and a unique performance element which Gordon Murray can take credit for.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I have to ask, is it important in F1 that we have full size front and rear wings?
They do more harm than goodwhat with all the following issues. So I wouldnt say its important in terms of spectacle.

Same goes for carbon fibre tubs and semi automatic gearboxs. How is it that they have contributed to the racing? Ok Carbon fibre tubs are very safe nowadays, but semi autos?

[autogyro]

I doubt that with the speed increases since manual gearboxes, that few drivers would be able to use them today.
The ability to change gear manualy is only a skill developed because of the lack of any decent control in the past over the power train and the seriouse limitation in torque band of the ic race engine coupled to the 19th century concept manual gearbox.
F1 could go right back to its primeval routes if you like.
Mobile steam condensor engines perhaps?

[DaveKillens]

The advent of communication between team and driver.

In 1926, recognizing that he himself was not a great racing driver, Neubauer had an inspiration. He invented the position of racing team manager (Rennleiter).

Racing drivers in those days being isolated from the outside, they often did not know their position in a race. Occasionally a driver would be surprised to learn after a race that he had won. To overcome this situation, Alfred Neubauer devised a well thought-out system, with flags and boards, to give his drivers tactical information. When he tried out the system for the first time at the Solitude races on 12 September 1926, the chief steward demanded angrily that he leave the track, since his ‘antics’ were irritating the drivers. To Neubauer’s explanation that he was the Rennleiter, the organizer responded: ‘Are you mad? I’m the Rennleiter’.

[autogyro]

The advent of communication between team and driver.

In 1926, recognizing that he himself was not a great racing driver, Neubauer had an inspiration. He invented the position of racing team manager (Rennleiter).

Racing drivers in those days being isolated from the outside, they often did not know their position in a race. Occasionally a driver would be surprised to learn after a race that he had won. To overcome this situation, Alfred Neubauer devised a well thought-out system, with flags and boards, to give his drivers tactical information. When he tried out the system for the first time at the Solitude races on 12 September 1926, the chief steward demanded angrily that he leave the track, since his ‘antics’ were irritating the drivers. To Neubauer’s explanation that he was the Rennleiter, the organizer responded: ‘Are you mad? I’m the Rennleiter’.

I have an idea why he never made a good racing driver.

[747heavy]

great find Dave,

[oliviathn]

Most important developments for F1 are listed below,
1. First electronic Engine Control Unit and fuel injection (ECU)
2. Slick tyres and radial carcass technology by Michelin and
3. Full size front and rear wings

[strad]

I think we left out a very important one...
Real time data acquisition.
The ability to immediately see the results of changes and modifications and operation conditions was a huge step forward.

[WhiteBlue]

The good thing about telemetry is they eventually managed to make it one way. In the begin of this technology it was two way which eventually would have lead to making the driver a glorified rider of a big scalextric car.

[gilgen]

I think we left out a very important one...
Real time data acquisition.
The ability to immediately see the results of changes and modifications and operation conditions was a huge step forward.

I think that this was a step BACKWARDS. It took away from the driver, the ability to monitor his car, and to adapt accordingly.

[autogyro]

The good thing about telemetry is they eventually managed to make it one way. In the begin of this technology it was two way which eventually would have lead to making the driver a glorified rider of a big scalextric car.

I remember that well WB. It was essential to make it only one way.
Unfortunately it derailed the work I had been doing on multi speed bevel epicyclic gearboxes at the time.

[Belatti]

Performance wise it has to be aerodynamics.