Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Casto
It would be just as logical to say the same about then fans? We are even less qualified, but apparently we know it all. 
Richard |
i thinks there is a important question in there somewhere. what happens if we asked a qualified person?
from the point of view of an auto manufacturer, what are the technologies coming out of F1 that are both important for and relevant to road car development?
rather if we asked a road car engineer which technologies their company should be pursuing how would they rank their list?
just a few and in no particular order as i dont know how they would rank:
Internal combustion engines
hybrid systems
aero configuration
computer modeling
live telemetry and data acquisition
safety
while i personally feel that these technology paths taken to their ultimate end are actually not particularly good for racing, they are arguably very important for road car development. as such, is it then possible to say that these car companies are spending their money exactly where they need to be spending their money/where they are supposed to be spending their money?
given that no one is really certain which form of propulsion the market place will choose, i can understand the manu's reluctance to spend large amounts on engines...but regardless of what engine will be the engine of the future, all road cars still benefit from gains in aero knowledge, CFD, live telemetry etc.
costs in these areas will be recouped (at this point thats a guarantee) so it makes sense that they make up so much of the F1 budget no?