David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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raymondu999
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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In terms of DOWNFORCE (downforce/drag) efficiency I think the RB is quite good... Spain is the ultimate test for this and they prevailed... EXTREMELY well.

In terms of aero drag-efficiency, then yes. That might be a weak point. Either that or the Renault has a VERY aero-efficient package
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JohnsonsEvilTwin
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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Giblet wrote:There was a great read on Pitpass with someone from Cosworth and he talks a lot about engine parity, and how close they really are.

Would be well worth a read.
Good read.
And he sys exactly what most the people on this thread are saying. Renault are not short in power, and in some tracks it is actually better to have the Renault power unit because of it's properties, ie fuel effieciency, packaging and heat dissipation.
Some people arguing that a motor is better simply because it has a couple of HP more are missing the boat entirely here...and not for the first time :wink:
More could have been done.
David Purley

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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JohnsonsEvilTwin wrote:Good read. And he sys exactly what must the people on this thread are saying. Renault are not short in power
You really do delight in replying to things I've already replied to in order to try and pretend that what I've written didn't happen, don't you? The article he's referencing is probably this from Sam Michael:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=42116

No it isn't a good read because it's an opinion of Sam Michael - who would obviously like a free advantage to continue over rival teams. Let's deal in figures, shall we?

1. The only study of relative engine power there's been was based on this from an Autosport article a year ago. Things might have moved on a bit, but still reasonably relevant given they're the same engines:

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/11/a ... e-in-2009/

2. The least powerful engines were Toyota and Renault, and the difference from the most powerful to the least was around two to three percent - around three tenths of a lap. Ferrari have certainly gained around 15 horsepower this year as Scarbs described.

3. The Renault is down on power to around the amount of lap time deficit that both Red Bull and Renault are saying.
...Renault power unit because of it's properties, ie fuel effieciency, packaging and heat dissipation.
We've dealt with these issues JET. I'll repeat that the fuel efficiency argument is crap because if you have the power you turn the engine down. It's not an advantage. In fact, the Mercedes engine was only 0.05 kg of fuel worse off per lap so the Mercedes is actually the most fuel efficient for the horsepower on offer:

http://f1numbers.wordpress.com/2009/12/ ... -fuel-use/

Again, in terms of equalisation the benchmark is power. Heat dissipation or fuel efficiency or any of the other crap people use to try and even the Renault up is just straw clutching. I look forward to Red Bull getting VW engines in 2013 with a potential locked in advantage, and then we'll see what people say then. :lol:
Some people arguing that a motor is better simply because it has a couple of HP...
Where are you getting this tosh that the Renault is only down by a couple of horsepower?

Honestly JET, if you can't further this discussion by replying to what's been written then you'd be best served by shutting your trap. It's getting annoying. Trying to repeat what you believe whilst pretending that previous posts don't exist is called trolling.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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timbo wrote: You know, this year we have heard many times that Renault have best driveability. But does it really? IMO there's two races where it could be seen. First one is Monaco where we've seen 3 Renault cars on top-3 places of the grid.
I'm afraid this doesn't show anything. The reason why the Renaults did well there was because they didn't have a horsepower deficit on those circuits compared to other teams and it showed that both Renault and Red Bull have good chassis. The 'driveability' of the engine where there is no measure for it has nothing to do with it being down on power.

It doesn't show what you want it to show I'm afraid. If you go to one circuit where horsepower is he overriding factor and you fall several places behind there's only one variable. It's as simple as that.

I'll repeat that trying to even up the Renault engine on factors like fuel efficiency or 'driveability' is meaingless. Power on a dyno is the only equalisation factor.
But the most startling one was Abu-Dhabi race where both Renault cars managed to defend their positions easily on the long straights with little to no top-speed advantage.
I've dealt with this already. The Renaults obviously sacrificed downforce through the corners to minimise drag, and you can see that as Alonso closes right up on Petrov, and we also need to discount Renault having a better F-duct in the end than anyone else.

In terms of discounting these variables that's why I look at Monza because that's where power overrides everything. Looking at Abu Dhabi gives people an opportunity to try and make excuses with variables that don't actually show relative engine power, which they duly do. :wink:
It should also be noted that RBR's apparent weakness on high-speed circuits (Monza and Motreal) may stem from their aero configuration...
Renault fell behind there as well. Like I said, it's no use trying to bring other variables into this.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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SiLo wrote:When people mention monza, is it possible the RB isn't that efficient with their downforce?
I don't know what you mean by 'efficient with their downforce' means but if you mean that it generates more drag then I'll point out that Renault fell back by the same margin at Monza. The Red Bull also isn't magically going to generate more drag there than it does at other tracks.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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segedunum wrote: No it isn't a good read because it's an opinion of Sam Michael - who would obviously like a free advantage to continue over rival teams. Let's deal in figures, shall we?

Sorry seg I should have been more specific and provided a link.

This was actually the article I was referring to. It's straight from Cosworth.

Not that is proves anything in particular in either direction, just a good read about how close the engines are now after all the equalizations.
Mark Gallagher of Coswroth wrote:"When certain other manufacturers have complained this year that they ought to have a retune, or they ought to be given the opportunity to become as good as best engine in the paddock, I think that's against probably one or two measures; typically brake horsepower. The reality is if you look at all the engines in the paddock some have good horsepower, some have good fuel consumption and some have good degradation figures. Once you start introducing all of these metrics into the equation you build up quite a broad spread of capability across all the engines. I think the fact the championship battle was being fought out between three of the engines - Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault - and that Cosworth has been able to provide Williams with a competitive engine such as they've been able to qualify, more often than not, certainly since Valencia, into Q3, and obviously secure that pole position... I think one of the remarkable things is that for all the complaints you will hear from people from time to time the reality is the engine formula works extremely well and the engines are very closely matched.
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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Thanks for that one. I'm really reticent to listen to opinions from rival teams or engine manufacturers, or even Renault or Red Bull themselves. The article, while a good read, doesn't tell us anything we don't already know. The Sam Michael quote is still referenced in there though and they're also trying to tell us that power isn't an overriding factor, trying to dilute the issue with fuel efficiency and other arguments that aren't part of equalisation.

Cosworth as a new engine this year have been able to steadily increase the power of the engine as they've progressed. Of course they'll tell us that things are OK and of course they'll want to keep any advantage they have over their Renault rivals especially now Lotus have moved.

Why did Lotus ditch Cosworth then? They wanted to get a gearbox, drivetrain and pull-rod rear suspenion that they don't have to develop that would get them ahead on other fronts.

We have to look for the evidence in the races that we can see where power trumps everything and see if it matches up. The half second figure quoted at time is a bit much but two or three tenths on average is certainly backed up by figures.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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:lol:

3/10ths and 30hp. If the gap was that big, we would have seen Alonso breeze past Petrov no worries.

The age old argument that Renault/Red Bull run less aero profile to keep up with Mercedes/Ferrari teams is blasted out the water by the amount of wing Red Bull and Renault run. Mercedes GP and Force India can be very good arguments for the difference in that with the same powerplant.

The Force India uses was at some races up to 8/9km/h faster than the Merc. Both Mclaren and Force India had Brilliant straight line packages not because of the engine alone, but because of the concepts of their design.

3/10ths and 30hp would be clearly visible to all at a place like Yas Marina....but was it? Ask alonso wether its 30 hp and he will laugh at you.
You run this nonsense like its fact when its clearly not even been benched under race conditions. We Know Newey prefers the Red Bull for various reasons.

Its an easier engine to integrate into a compact rear - Newey- Fact
Its heat dissipation is better than either the Mercedes or Ferrari due to its peak power being reached earlier.
Its frugality is a huge advantage at slower tracks because their is less mass to carry through corners. And the total mass over a GP distance is said to be closer 3-5kgs dependant on race. In F1 every gram is pivotal, so having 3 kilo lighter car at the start of the race is some advantage.

With engines it is never clear cut, so please dont carry on like it is.
More could have been done.
David Purley

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Blackout
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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I look forward to Red Bull getting VW engines in 2013 with a potential locked in advantage, and then we'll see what people say then.
You think VW will provide better engines than Renault in 2013 ? Maybe... but let me remind you that the Renault engines, before these stupid freezing regulations, were always ones of the bests... The only thing that caused them loose the 'power war' is money; Renault reduced its budget considerably in 2007.
2013 is another story...

timbo
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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segedunum wrote:It doesn't show what you want it to show I'm afraid. If you go to one circuit where horsepower is he overriding factor and you fall several places behind there's only one variable. It's as simple as that.
Even at Monza it is not a single factor.
I'll repeat that trying to even up the Renault engine on factors like fuel efficiency or 'driveability' is meaingless. Power on a dyno is the only equalisation factor.
But it is not the only factor important for racing.
I've dealt with this already. The Renaults obviously sacrificed downforce through the corners to minimise drag, and you can see that as Alonso closes right up on Petrov, and we also need to discount Renault having a better F-duct in the end than anyone else.
The drag plays it's role at the top speed. While getting out of the corners is about torque and traction. If you watched where Kubica caught Kobayashi and where Hamilton did, you'd see that Kubica made it much earlier. Alonso closes behind Petrov at the end of the straight, while out of hairpin Petrov had a clear advantage.
Renault fell behind there as well. Like I said, it's no use trying to bring other variables into this.
Not so clear cut. Yes, in Monza, but in Montreal Kubica was 5th in Q1 and than 4th in Q2 and than fell back in Q3 because of he used prime tyres.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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+1 timbo
More could have been done.
David Purley

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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to me the engine is just one gear in the machine ,not more not less.An excellent engine is prerequisite for winning races (not all)and championships but there is no ways someone could claim he had the engine that rules the grid.
Say you got 2 % more hp and a gearbox that was 2% worse in efficiency and your engine advantage would not be visible no it would look like you were down on power.
the other factors are overridding any effect of an engine advantage by far..be it Aero or suspension chassis dynamics those who find the best compromise will win it ..not those with the highest HP.

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JohnsonsEvilTwin
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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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Marcush +1

Glad to see sense prevailing on this thread. Any difference is marginal, because each have their pros and cons. When everything
is weighed together in unison 2010 was not a year where engines made a difference. So this this debate can now soundly be put to bed.
More could have been done.
David Purley

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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there are quite interesting simulations available for elapsed time and speed based on corner exit speed and parameters like weight ,power,drag .those will show the true potential of power advantages.
these sims certainly mellowed my stance towards engine power from completely unimportant to important but overridden by a lot of other factors potentially.

Very rarely in motorsports it is possible to improve in one area and have a winwin situation (no drawbacks in other areas).So singling out raw HP as a diciding factor for
the competitiveness of an engine package is doing no justice to the complexity of the
mountain to climb for an engine supplier to arrive at a outright advantage.

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Re: David vs. Goliath(Red Bull vs. Ferrari), myth or truth?

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timbo wrote:Even at Monza it is not a single factor.
Yes it is. If you don't have power there you won't be able to mask it. I have a feeling people still see what they want to see there.
But it is not the only factor important for racing.
It's the most important defining factor in an engine, and more importantly it has been deemed so for the purposes of equalisation - which is why equalisation is not happening.
The drag plays it's role at the top speed.
Red Bull and Renault's drag is not going to be significantly worse than any other team. Once again we're getting people trying to stretch other variables.....
While getting out of the corners is about torque and traction.
This has nothing to do with engine power I'm afraid, and as such, is nonsense.
Not so clear cut. Yes, in Monza, but in Montreal Kubica was 5th in Q1 and than 4th in Q2 and than fell back in Q3 because of he used prime tyres.
That's got nothing to do with judging engine power I'm afraid.

If you don't have figures to back up what you say, as I have, it's nonsense.

Once again, people are desperately trying to bring in other factors and variables here to mask what is really, really obvious.