TV says it is because of the legality plank not tires- I doubt that. When Stroll come off track one could only see tire tracks in the sand - not a plank making any marks. That indicates there is much space - what is your take?
I assume there are parts of the track where the plank may encounter more water (be lower to the surface) than the tires due to an uneven surface. Also braking and load on the front may change that too.
If at any one point, the plank rides water, you will naturally have less load on the front tires and therefore aquaplane with little to grip for steering or braking.
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Teams would not raise ride heights unless forced. It would reduce downforce and make them slower.
When given a choice to make a voluntary change to improve safety margins they would stick with the riskier option and cross their fingers. (Some would jiggle their heels up and down for added security)
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Easy solution: change the shape of the plank end from squared-off to a pointed form....which would also change the thought process from the designers too (less rake).
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Just make the full wets about 50mm taller in diameter.
And about 2/3 the width of the dry tires. I know they already do both of these to some extent, but perhaps they just need to go further.
Another trick we do in karting is to move the rear tires in (or the front tires out) so that they're more inline. This would be impractical to do by modifying the suspension, but could be done by having special wheel offsets with the full wet setups.
Exactly, unless forced, that´s the idea, to force teams to raise ride height to a (much higher than currently) minimum ride height under wet conditions
active ride height control could sort that problem out, when the wet engine map is enabled it raises the right height accordingly.
it could also be useful for when cars end up in gravel traps, press a button on the steering wheel and the ride height raises to stop the plank beaching in the gravel and on kerbs,
active ride height control could sort that problem out, when the wet engine map is enabled it raises the right height accordingly.
it could also be useful for when cars end up in gravel traps, press a button on the steering wheel and the ride height raises to stop the plank beaching in the gravel and on kerbs,
Also the car would then be able to jump up and down. Good for the victory lap.
...side shots showed pretty much space while on the road and - as I said before - plowing through the gravel did not leave a mark from the plank.
Remember that at speed the downforce on the cars forces them down, removing much of the ground clearance that is that at low speeds. This is why you see them sparking more at the end of a straight that at the start when they're going slower.