machin wrote:autogyro wrote:
The reason for an increase to 8 gears in 2014 is solely to make it easier to control the powertrain for energy recovery in the dynamic environment forced by excessive downforce.
Was it?
http://www.manipef1.com/news/articles/12711/
Another major change to the powertrain rules for 2014 is the gearbox specification, which will now feature a set selection of gear ratios for the entire season for each driver. Currently, teams are allowed to change gear ratios between races in order to optimise its set-up for each track, but the same ratios will have to be used at every track from 2014, including such extremities as Monaco and Monza.
The restriction was requested by the teams who are eyeing yet another cost saving from the initiative. It has been made possible by adding an eighth gear to the gearbox and by the fuel flow limit of 100 kg/hour on engines in the upper third of the its rev range. As a result Sam Michael says it won't be that big a challenge to balance gearbox performance between all the different tracks.
If you compare the potential cost savings in this further stagnation of gearbox development with the amount spent on irelevent downforce aerodynamic development, it is a tiny fraction saved against a fortune being spent by the bigger teams.
The cost saving argument is simply a weak excuse.
The extra gear and the more even power band and gear spacing is structured to allow aero DF development to continue by making it easier to balance braking and energy recovery with the high downforce levels.
It totaly removes powertrain development as an independent and world relevent discipline sourced from F1 as a motivation for modern physics, engineering and real world human progress.
It also makes a joke out of any attempt to make gearshifting a driver skill as promoted by the FIA etc, which is has not been since the early 1990's.