How does this happen?

[RF_Racer]

Any ideas? Just seen this on another site.. how can a modern F1 car survival cell break in such clean manner?

[Marbot]

I believe that's a second hand Ferrari.

[ASCII Man]

Now that is what I call 'losing the front'.


*badum tish*

[DavyC412]

im suprised theres not a big long brown streak on the ground where he s*** his pants.

[Knowlesy]

Wow, blast from the past. Laguna Seca wasn't it?

[Super Hans]

I'm no engineer but I'm pretty sure that carbon fibre weakens with age and use. People drive classic F1 cars now, but I'm not sure they'll be driving today's cars 30 years hence.

[Knowlesy]

Probably wrong, but I think it's the bonding material that degrades quicker than anything else.

[jonm2]

I read about this a while back.

Apparently it was the car the Schumi crashed at silverstone in 99, the tub/car was repaired (badly) and sold. The owner then crashed lightly and the tub split wide open. Lucky guy.

[Joe Taylor]

There are 2 stories going around, 1 that it was the Schumacher car and the other being that the driver had lengthened the car to accommodate his taller frame. No definitive proof of anything though.

[Marbot]

Not the first instance of a 'Cut-and-Shut' Ferrari, I'll wager.

[wnut]

Ferrari investigated this extremely thoroughly and there has to be a report about it somewhere. It was well publicised at the time. I cannot recall the details, but it is clear that the monocoque is composed of separate sections joined at the point of failure, where is should ideally be a one piece construction.

[RF_Racer]

Its just bizzare, are the two peices glued together? Id have thought the survival cell is one peice moulded and encapuslates the whole body of the driver.

This looks like two bits bonded and failing.. reminds me of my tamiya 1/24 f1 kit where you bond the nose to the rest of the car..

[bravo]

Originally Posted by Super Hans

I'm no engineer but I'm pretty sure that carbon fibre weakens with age and use. People drive classic F1 cars now, but I'm not sure they'll be driving today's cars 30 years hence.

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Probably wrong, but I think it's the bonding material that degrades quicker than anything else.

The yacht I race is a kevlar composite hull not much unlike carbon fibre. Nearly 30 years old and going strong.

On further reading, it seems this car was chassis 193 which was used by Mika Salo and at the time of the crash was unmodified. Shummy's Silverstone car was 192 which was retired and put on display.

http://www.barchetta.cc/english/All....93.F399.99.htm

[TrapezeArtist]

Yes, a very light impact. Steering slightly skew-whiff and trivial damage to the nose.

The broken joint faces look like it was stuck together with a bead of Sikaflex. Is it possible that Ferrari patched it up and sold it as a show car? And then someone decided to race it?

Utterly, utterly scary. There have been quite a few shunts where drivers have been left hanging out the front of half-a-car but always after a very major impact (except this one).

[Thundersports]

I understood he caught the armco/tyre wall at a strange angle with a front wheel and it ripped it in two.

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by RF_Racer

Its just bizzare, are the two peices glued together? Id have thought the survival cell is one peice moulded and encapuslates the whole body of the driver.

How could you "mould" carbon fibre, kevlar and aluminium honeycomb?

[marcel82]

all I can think of is I bought a car from one of that guys car dealerships.

[wnut]

Sheez you would think that a guy who could do such a good paint job could read the instructions on a pack of Araldite!

[RF_Racer]

Originally Posted by Thundersports

I understood he caught the armco/tyre wall at a strange angle with a front wheel and it ripped it in two.

We have seen some big crashes, in the last 15 years, but never has anything snapped in this way. This is not normal at all. I wonder it if was patched up and stuck for a show car use?

Two violent crashes.. yet the teh survival cell did the job

[RF_Racer]

Originally Posted by JohnMiller

How could you "mould" carbon fibre, kevlar and aluminium honeycomb?

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...k0pAArm06A&t=1

I see how they are moulded and bonded..

[bjohnsonsmith]

This is what's meant by coming unstuck.

[JeremySmith]

I think I will stay with my Chevy thanks...

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by RF_Racer

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...k0pAArm06A&t=1

I see how they are moulded and bonded..

Yes, made in two halves. So not exactly one-piece moulded...

[RF_Racer]

Originally Posted by JohnMiller

Yes, made in two halves. So not exactly one-piece moulded...

If bonded in 2 halves like the mound suggests thats a lot stronger than the way the Ferrari fron section broke off. I dont think even Ferrari would be careless enough to create what a 3 peice mould? with the front section just bonded on? that should all be one peice as per the example monocoque mould in the picture link I posted.

[Peter Mallett]

IIRC, that was a Ferrari private customer who bought an old chassis. Not really relevant to F1 because the chassis was at least two years old when that heppened.