Quote:
Originally Posted by chillibowl
was not sure where to put this and didnt want to take the race thread too far off topic.
but the length and weight of these cars...
how much does the length and weight of these cars contribute to the risk level?
no doubt that a stronger stronger safety cell is a benefit but where is the trade off between that and the extra force a heavier car carries into an accident?
does a relatively smaller car do better in situations like this and also the incident at Mugello? does a less long car mean Grosjean finds the gap in front of Kvyat?
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Clearly less mass will result in less energy at time of impact. As to physical dimensions. My memory is that the cars were made more narrow to facilitate passing (not sure I agree that worked and I loved the look of the older wider cars). Even then, the wheelbase is probably little factor in side impacts as that is primarily down to the side impact crush tubes mounted to the sides of the safety cell. As to length, the cars are long, but I think the question is the length of crash structures (nose and part attached to the gearbox). It would be hard to argue to make those shorter than they are. Now, if you can make the rest shorter, that would be fine. But that probably is just the engine/transmission section. Again, it's probably a hard argument to shrink the size of the safety cell.
Overall, I don't see size (too long) or weight (too heavy) being a large factor in the recent Grosjean accident. Of course you could argue the weight/mass of the car was higher than decades past, so it was able to more deeply spear into the armco. Less mass and the armco may have not split as much and that may have had higher g forces on the driver (not good). More weight and maybe it would have punched through and made it easier for him to escape (good)!
Or the extra weight could have allowed him to spear on through and create other issues (such as escaping into areas considers "safe" for course workers (bad).
I know people complain about the weight of the cars. I think there is a certain level of extra these cars carry due to pure safety improvements. And a specific amount that is due to complex power units. I am all for simpler power units that could allow the cars to weigh less, but keep all of the safety improvements.
Richard