Have Ferrari and McLaren found a DRS advantage?

[WhiteBlue]

http://en.espnf1.com/australia/motorspo ... MP=OTC-RSS

Meanwhile, also during the meeting with Whiting, some teams proposed that the wings not be allowed to be triggered in practice and qualifying in a bid to reduce the drivers' workload. Reportedly, Red Bull wanted the limitation to be imposed, while the likes of Ferrari and McLaren did not agree.

"Presumably, McLaren and Ferrari have developed techniques that make it easier for the drivers to operate the systems," said Whiting.

Indeed, close inspection of the McLaren and Ferrari steering wheels reveals extra paddles on the back, reportedly simplifying the use of KERS and the rear wing.

I'm not surprised McLaren have that and Ferrari have recently aquired technical help from McLaren.

[FW17]

So how many paddles for these guys have?

Clutch
Up Shift
Down Shift
Torque
KERS/DRS

That is a lot of paddles

[bhall]

I read somewhere that Ferrari uses a pedal to activate their DRS. That makes more sense than having an extra button on the already cluttered steering wheel.

I think locating the DRS switch where the f-duct "switch" once was makes the most sense.

[myurr]

They have two clutch paddles as well. It may be that they've done away with the engine map/torque related paddles.

Either way I'd imagine that such a setup would be easy to copy so I can't see that as being the primary motivator. Maybe the DRS is not as effective on the Red Bull (hence being able to use it earlier in the corners) as they're not as dependent on the rear wing for their downforce (as evidenced by the huge cooling tube disrupting the airflow in that region).

It could be that even if the Red Bull is the quickest car round the track on a single lap without the DRS being used, that this gap is closed or even overcome by the teams that are able to get more out of their DRS solutions.

[raymondu999]

So how many paddles for these guys have?

Clutch
Up Shift
Down Shift
Torque
KERS/DRS

That is a lot of paddles

I think you'd be better off looking at each side individually. You have 1 clutch paddle, 1 shift paddle, on each side.

Do you mean torque control? I thought torque control via paddle was banned or something, no? And KERS is a button usually on the back of the wheel, I thought. But a paddle for DRS does make sense

[Just_a_fan]

Most likely Red Bull want the DRS disabled in qualifying because they know that it helps their rivals get a better qualifying time.

I reckon Red Bull think their car make a high % of its downforce from the floor than its rivals and thus they think that their rivals will get more gain from the DRS than they will. Judging by the relative size of the rear wing flaps, I think they may be right.

If that is the case, it begs the question of how easily might the others mug the Red Bulls during the race (assuming they can get within 1 second of them, of course).

[raymondu999]

It all boils down to one question really. Whose DRS can cut out the most drag, while cutting out least downforce (so they can deploy as early on as possible, I guess?

[Paul]

I guess macros will be now used frequently, like 'engage KERS and DRS if possible'.

[raymondu999]

I don't think you'd actually do that, given that KERS is much more limited than DRS. Teams are more likely to hold KERS back to splurge in the optimum burst (or bursts) given the differences in each circuit.

[red300zx99]

Ferrari have put a trigger like button on both sides of the steering wheel, one for the rear wing the other for kers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnrEHOHC ... ideo_title

[Paul]

I meant that one way around. Like, if KERS is activated DRS should also be activated if possible, but if DRS is activated, KERS should remain inactive until further notice.

An example: during a race driver is within one second of opponent at the specified point. He exits last corner before the straight where DRS can be activated. If he wants maximum speed advantage at the first DRS line, he just pushes the KERS button. If he wants KERS to kick in a bit later, he first pushes the DRS button, then KERS button and can release the DRS button. Thus he never has to keep both buttons pushed which should be ergonomically better.

I wrote buttons, but those can be paddles as well, probably even easier to link them mechanically so that pressing KERS paddle presses the DRS paddle as well.

[PlatinumZealot]

Ferrari have put a trigger like button on both sides of the steering wheel, one for the rear wing the other for kers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnrEHOHC ... ideo_title

X-box?