Ferrari F138

[Tim.Wright]

IMO for now (until there will be better shot) it's reflection of the rear edge of the front wing or somethnig like that.

Well, as a photographer I can tell you that it is definitely not a reflection. Large, square edged reflection with very fast light fall-of do not occur in shadows like that, nor is there anything that is dark and of that shape that could be the reflection.

Either it's a piece of black tape, carbon weave going paralel to the rest of the weave in the same are and thus reflecting light differently or it's a hole.

My intuition and skill says that it is a hole.

As a VFX artist, reflections are determined by the shape and properties of the surface making the reflections not the fact that it is in shadow.

You might be right but there's no way you can be sure given those images. The dark regions have been through the compression macro blocker from hell and there's mosquito noise in there for good measure. Personally I'd wait for a more conclusive image before stating something as fact.

There's an image the previous page that compares the front end from 2012 and the F138 on the right hand image there is a dark oval shadow in about the right position.

My experience says that it's a reflection until conclusive proof is posted.

As a former fish monger, I can confirm conclusively that it is a reflection of a hole on a different part of that car or another car.

[Maxion]

IMO for now (until there will be better shot) it's reflection of the rear edge of the front wing or somethnig like that.

Well, as a photographer I can tell you that it is definitely not a reflection. Large, square edged reflection with very fast light fall-of do not occur in shadows like that, nor is there anything that is dark and of that shape that could be the reflection.

Either it's a piece of black tape, carbon weave going paralel to the rest of the weave in the same are and thus reflecting light differently or it's a hole.

My intuition and skill says that it is a hole.

As a VFX artist, reflections are determined by the shape and properties of the surface making the reflections not the fact that it is in shadow.

You might be right but there's no way you can be sure given those images. The dark regions have been through the compression macro blocker from hell and there's mosquito noise in there for good measure. Personally I'd wait for a more conclusive image before stating something as fact.

There's an image the previous page that compares the front end from 2012 and the F138 on the right hand image there is a dark oval shadow in about the right position.

My experience says that it's a reflection until conclusive proof is posted.

You are correct, but a formula 1 car lit by only one light source (the sun) should have pretty uniformly dark shadows. If you see a darker shape within a shadow then it is most likely not a reflection but another shadow or something in the material that causes the specific area to be darker (say the carbon weave is at a different angle).

I would however wager my hat that this is a hole. I further enlarged the photos and you can quite clearly see that the hole is not just a dark shape but it as a highlight along the lip. This is especially clear in the top photo but also visible in the lower photo. Were it just a shadow or a piece of tape it wouldn't have this highlight on it, that highlight comes only from a reflection due to the rounded nature of the lip.

[allstaruk08]

its a hole. has no one taken the shape of the nose and the shape of the monocoque into account?



and heres the original

[Shakeman]

All I see is reflection.



The sun is not the only light source there are two huge white areas of front wing that are acting as bounce lights. These cannot be easily discounted as the source of the reflection given their close proximity to the reflection.

You might be right that there's a hole but a bit more investigative rigour is required to convince me otherwise.

[timbo]

Look like a pictures from different days to me.

[Forghieri]

Look like a pictures from different days to me.

Different cars to, De La Rosa's car had it, Massa's didn't.

[miguelalvesreis]

For those still arguing if it's either a reflection or a true hole, just follow the form of the white stripe. Besides the fact that a reflection with exactly the same shape appearing in 2 different shots token at 2 different angles....

[Ganxxta]

Hey guys I'm not a native english speaker but how do you get cockpit heating issues from this?


Massa explained to reporters at Jerez. "We had a few issues with the car in terms of the temperature inside the car at the beginning was maybe a little bit hotter than I expected. It’s a new car so we need to understand the direction to fix that. I don’t think it’s a really difficult thing to fix."

All he said is "temperature inside the car", well that may be inside the car as in engine, kers, gearbox, radiators or cockpit...

[Owen.C93]

He said "hotter than I expected" which clearly means hotter for him.

[rejeesh]

It seems Ferrari tested a base car in first three days and introduced an update in 4th day with the hole under nose. They may have introduced some linked part which has failed after two laps.

[Dream Theater]

Seems, quite clearly, that this is a hole. We have different photos showing this hole. If we consider it as a reflection, well, seems quite impossible to have the same reflection with different lights and different angles.

Regarding Massa's statements about high temperature issues, I agree with Owen.c3 and Ganxxta.

[Froggolo]

beside i also agree it is an air intake and not a reflection,
can someone tell if in the 2013 rules is it allowed to have air intakes in the front of the car
except the one for cooling the driver?
because some italian site writes that article 3.7.3 of 2013 technical rules forbids
to have air intakes in the front part of the car except for driver cooling,
but would like to know until what part of the car this restriction is applied

[hairy_scotsman]

its a hole. has no one taken the shape of the nose and the shape of the monocoque into account?

Seems, quite clearly, that this is a hole. We have different photos showing this hole. If we consider it as a reflection, well, seems quite impossible to have the same reflection with different lights and different angles.

Yeah, I had no idea this photo would cause such controversy. It's interesting to see how many people just won't believe their eyes. Here, I enhanced a couple of photos of different angles of the F138 that both show the scoop. It would be very unlikely, imho, that the same "reflection" would appear on the car in the exact same place, under different light conditions, and from different angles. But I guess anything is possible...

Its purpose? No idea.

In the second photo you can also see the outline of what appears to be a sleeve or liner of some sort inside the duct.

[zoro_f1]

That part does not appear on Massa car but only on De la Rosa. I didn't saw pic from Massa car with that part (correct me if im wrong ) and If it is for cooling the driver, like Massa said, than why does not his car have that whole

ps - if you want i can upload the original pic of De la Rosa for further studying.

"If it appeared to be bigger after Massa's heat problems" I should say. Yes, it was there and they maybe just changed it to a larger one for better cooling after Massa experienced too much heat(?). My main idea is that the "thing" is 90% there for cooling purposes and I doubt it has a secondary function.

[Mr.G]

OK now I admit, it's a hole. Hope it's something clever and incorporated in the hub