2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

All that has to do with the power train, gearbox, clutch, fuels and lubricants, etc. Generally the mechanical side of Formula One.
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hollus
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2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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I was going to do a gearing analysis as other years since we got ourselves a nice battle at the very top and there were rumors of interesting differences between 3rd and 8th gears between Mercedes and Red Bull...
Well, glad I didn't spend the time (last weeks have been busy, busy).

A nice fallout of the flexy-wing saga, is this video here:

Visual qualitative analysis:
No significant difference in 3rd gear and no significant difference in 4th gear, where the limit of traction might be.
Likewise, no significant difference in 8th gear, so there will be no top speed --> overtaking implications (not engine and gearing related at least).

There are differences in 5th, 6th and 7th.
Mercedes' 5th gear is about 300rpm shorter (more rpm for the same speed) than Red Bull's.
Mercedes' 6th gear is about 400rpm shorter (more rpm for the same speed) than Red Bull's.
Mercedes' 7th gear is about 200rpm shorter (more rpm for the same speed) than Red Bull's.

But by 5th they are essentially getting perfect traction, so all this means is that they will go through the gears at different moments, maybe the Mercedes will spend a split second less in 5th and a split second more in 7th as they accelerate. But, AFAICT, no performance implications here (which was the overall conclusion since 2016 at least).

If anybody can point to a good reason (and example?) of why other teams would be geared very differently to those two, I might look at it. But otherwise I might pass on 2021 as well.
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Billzilla
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Well that video didn't last long before being taken down. :(

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hollus
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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If I click on it I also get a “video unavailable” message, but it is only unavailable as an embedded video. Click on the “watch on youtube” link and it works.
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Jolle
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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So the question is why teams have different ratios?
I guess they set the ratios for a season after an analysis of the different tracks and choose a compromise.
In the first year, 2014, there was, I think in Suzuka, a corner where McLaren had their gearshift just at the worst possible moment, destroying the clutch for some reason.

With two seasons with so many unknowns, not just with which circuits and what tires, it’s a bit of a wild guess what precisely the right ratios are. You want to be at 10.500 rpm at the exits of every corner following a long straight in the season. The more you nail these estimate this, the better the overall (cheap) performance of the car.

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Juzh
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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What's the situation regarding gear ratio joker change this year? Is there any provision for changing those even though they're apparently frozen together with engines in march?

Seems a bit strange no joker would be available given a substantial change PUs are going through with E10 fuel this year. If a team miscalculates then they're essentially stuck for 3 years?

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Stu
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Juzh wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 12:02
What's the situation regarding gear ratio joker change this year? Is there any provision for changing those even though they're apparently frozen together with engines in march?

Seems a bit strange no joker would be available given a substantial change PUs are going through with E10 fuel this year. If a team miscalculates then they're essentially stuck for 3 years?
Regardless of the engine freeze, aero/platform improvements over a three year period could/would/should have a huge impact on required gearing.
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Juzh
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Stu wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 12:21
Juzh wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 12:02
What's the situation regarding gear ratio joker change this year? Is there any provision for changing those even though they're apparently frozen together with engines in march?

Seems a bit strange no joker would be available given a substantial change PUs are going through with E10 fuel this year. If a team miscalculates then they're essentially stuck for 3 years?
Regardless of the engine freeze, aero/platform improvements over a three year period could/would/should have a huge impact on required gearing.
You're absolutely correct. I suspect cars will get draggier as years go on as more and more downforce is found and bolted on. This could eventually lead to ratios being completely out of sync with drag levels. I know it's not "major" deal with these V6s and their flat power curves, but it still doesn't sit right with me.

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henry
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Once beyond traction limited I think the gaps between ratios are influenced by the desire to have seamless changes.

This is set by the power curve. The objective is to have the Tractive effort, power, the same at the start of the change and the end. This is one of the reasons* I’m not convinced by the assertion that the maximum power is at 10,500 rpm. If it were there would be a big (5%?) increase of Tractive effort at every gearchange which might unsettle the car mid corner if that’s where the shift occurred.

So a peaky curve might have the changes closer together than a flatter curve.

If the power curve stays the same I don’t think there would be much need to change Ratios with increasing downforce and drag. Only top speed would really be affected particularly for those with a peaky power curve.

* the other is I plotted a power curve from telemetry for Ferrari at Singapore a few years ago It peaked at 11200 and the change was from 11,800 to10,600.
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hollus
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Juzh wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 12:02
What's the situation regarding gear ratio joker change this year? Is there any provision for changing those even though they're apparently frozen together with engines in march?

Seems a bit strange no joker would be available given a substantial change PUs are going through with E10 fuel this year. If a team miscalculates then they're essentially stuck for 3 years?
There was no gear ratio joker "mid season" last year, but AFAIK they have always been allowed to change gear ratios between years. Essentially the ratios were frozen once they were used in Q for the first race.
Is there any indication of this changing?
In that case a team with the wrong choice would be stuck with it in 2022 but would be free to adjust in 2023.

I assumed it would work this way, but actually, I think I have no hard info on this, so is my assumption wrong?
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hollus
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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2022 Formula 1 Technical Regulations 82 15 December 2021
© 2021 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Issue 8
9.7 Gear ratios
9.7.1 The number of forward gear ratios must be 8. Continuously variable transmission systems are
not permitted.
9.7.2 Each Competitor must nominate the forward gear ratios (calculated from engine crankshaft
to drive shafts) to be employed within their gearbox. These nominations must be declared to
the FIA technical delegate at or before the first Competition of the Championship.
In the event the Competitor obtains the Gearbox from another Competitor as a TRC, the gear
ratios used must be the same between those two Competitors.
During 2022 only, the selected forward gear ratios may be changed once during the
Championship Season.

For the avoidance of doubt, changes to the forward gear ratios under the provisions of this
Article may involve changes to either the gear ratio pairs defined in Article 9.7.3, or to the
final drive.
OK, so actually back to 2014. There is a joker mid-season and then free changes at the beginning of each season only.
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Juzh
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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hollus wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 22:33
2022 Formula 1 Technical Regulations 82 15 December 2021
© 2021 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Issue 8
9.7 Gear ratios
9.7.1 The number of forward gear ratios must be 8. Continuously variable transmission systems are
not permitted.
9.7.2 Each Competitor must nominate the forward gear ratios (calculated from engine crankshaft
to drive shafts) to be employed within their gearbox. These nominations must be declared to
the FIA technical delegate at or before the first Competition of the Championship.
In the event the Competitor obtains the Gearbox from another Competitor as a TRC, the gear
ratios used must be the same between those two Competitors.
During 2022 only, the selected forward gear ratios may be changed once during the
Championship Season.

For the avoidance of doubt, changes to the forward gear ratios under the provisions of this
Article may involve changes to either the gear ratio pairs defined in Article 9.7.3, or to the
final drive.
OK, so actually back to 2014. There is a joker mid-season and then free changes at the beginning of each season only.
There was also a joker change available for 2017 precisely because rule changes were deemed sufficient enough to warrant it.
Looks like it's the same in 2022, but only 2022.
hollus wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 22:28
Juzh wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 12:02
What's the situation regarding gear ratio joker change this year? Is there any provision for changing those even though they're apparently frozen together with engines in march?

Seems a bit strange no joker would be available given a substantial change PUs are going through with E10 fuel this year. If a team miscalculates then they're essentially stuck for 3 years?
There was no gear ratio joker "mid season" last year, but AFAIK they have always been allowed to change gear ratios between years. Essentially the ratios were frozen once they were used in Q for the first race.
Is there any indication of this changing?
In that case a team with the wrong choice would be stuck with it in 2022 but would be free to adjust in 2023.

I assumed it would work this way, but actually, I think I have no hard info on this, so is my assumption wrong?
I'm reading gearboxes will be frozen together with engines until 2025 on march 1st, with only a single upgrade allowed in that timeframe (must be done in between seasons). So that's effectively 2 ratio changes in whole of 4 years of racing.
https://racingnews365.com/how-f1s-gearb ... g-for-2022

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hollus
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Ah, OK, 2017, not 2014, my mistake.

I read this part:
These nominations must be declared to the FIA technical delegate at or before the first Competition of the Championship
as meaning that changes will be allowed again for the first event of 2023 and then for the first event of 2024.
I mean, each year's championship exists in isolation from other years, don't they?
New Championship > New first event > new ratios. At least that is how I am reading it, #Imightbewrong.
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Juzh
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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hollus wrote:
06 Feb 2022, 23:38
Ah, OK, 2017, not 2014, my mistake.

I read this part:
These nominations must be declared to the FIA technical delegate at or before the first Competition of the Championship
as meaning that changes will be allowed again for the first event of 2023 and then for the first event of 2024.
I mean, each year's championship exists in isolation from other years, don't they?
New Championship > New first event > new ratios. At least that is how I am reading it, #Imightbewrong.
You're right, it could be understood in your way as well. However, doesn't it clash directly with what the freeze was supposed to achieve? Well, it probably won't matter too much in grand scheme of things.

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Zynerji
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Re: 2021 gearing (not relevant at the top)

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Can someone quantify the actual savings of the gear restrictions? Does this 3rd party ordered part restriction really save any money? Or does it cost more overall just to work around the shortcomings of a fixed set?

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