More Ferrari secrets...what is wrong with the picture?

[Kalevi]

Here's Mika in Sepang:




And here's Michael:



Now...look at the front tyre area...

How does Ferrari cool their brakes when there seems to be NO cooling system at all! In Mika's car the "cooling tube" is clearly visible but where's the tube in Michaels car??

Does Ferrari have liquid brake cooling system? Or a fan?

In qualifying they were busy covering their brake systems but during Barrichello's pitstop system was clearly in sight. It looked thick like an old drum brake system (don't know if that is correct expression).

what do you guys think? Another Ferrari secret?? Hmmm...

[Sparky]

This should be in the tech forum but,

The McLaren duct is obvious because it is at the top of the hub, above the level of the wing.

I think you'll find the Ferrari brake duct is below the level of the front wing, and uses air directed from under the wing itself. I'm sure I've seen a photo of the Ferrari without the wing or wheels fitted. I'll try and find it. (I bet Dino beats me to it! )

[Gt_R]

Hmm...i do not know if you guys can see this image, but it shall answer your doubts.

[Gt_R]

For some explanation.

I got this image from gtf1.com, one F1 technology webpage which has very interesting detailed graphics of teams updated technology race by race in the 1999 season. Team personnels are rumoured to have entered the webpage to learn about their rival's developements.

Ferrari first used this brake cooling configuration in the 1999 Canadian GP, and that, compared to Mclaren's configuration, is better as it is more effective in its cooling, and therefore require a smaller vent. The downside is that it affects its under-wing air flow.

[Kalevi]

Look at this clip Gt_r and others (requires media player):

http://f-1.sovintel.ru/01/malaysia181206/malays6.asf

I try to find a better clip somewhere but... as you can see alrady from this one there is NO cooling tube pointing out of the wheel!

Or am I becoming blind? Check out the clip.

[Maisie]

I thought you were making reference to the fact that Ferrari have apparently started employing dwarves

[f1ciamp]

gt-r: that grafic with the break cooling pipe is of the f12000, in the f12001 the cooling system pipes are tall and very narrow, so if u look closely u will notice them almost atachet to the wheel.

[f1ciamp]

sorry about dubble posting ,in this image the air docs. are very clear (image from www.formula1.com edited by f1ciamp.

[Tristan]

Good to see a Leyton House with a number 1 on it!

[carbonfibre]

First off, the drawing posted by gt_r is not of the F2001. For this year Ferrari have come up with a completely new and different design for cooling their front brakes, with a very minimal and unobtrusive duct. In Speedvision's pre-race show for Sepang, Steve Matchett (former Benetton mechanic) was commenting on this top secret development. They had a pic of the MP4/16 in the pit garage with a clear view of their front brakes, with bottom mounted caliper, and the huge snorkel air duct.

A similar shot of a Ferrari in the garage had the entire front brake assemblies completely covered with white towels. But Speedvision managed to get a still shot of an exposed front brake system when a Ferrari was having its race tires fitted on the grid. They have a quite different looking setup, it almost looks like a drum type brake butted up against the rotor. Steve Matchett commented that Rory Byrne had been working on this system for about 10 years, and must have finally gotten it worked out. Matchett said that when Byrne's brake cooling system was first fitted to a '92 Benetton, the front brakes burst into flames within the first few laps wile they were testing it.

I have no way of getting a picture of this to post, but if someone has a way to do this, this discussion shows up on the SV pre-race show about 20 minutes in.

[EERO]

Thanks, Carbonfibre, I saw the image and heard the comments Matcgett made. That was a great summary.

Welcome to the forum CF.

[SL]

There's quite a good photo on this site. Look at Sparky's 'Caption' photo on the F1 forum. See no ducts

During the race commentry, Martin did refer to the new system that Ferrari have. He refered to it as a large fan arrangement but no one had managed to get a good look and of course Ferrari were not shouting about it.

Simon

[carbonfibre]

And snapped just in the nick of time! Note the hand of the towel attendant at the right edge, just about to drape the white towel over the brake assembly. The left one is already covered.



The silver metallic housing fits right to the rotor, and then there is the carbon fibre "can" attached to that part. Prevailing speculation is what Brundle says, that there is some sort of impeller inside that housing to draw the brake cooling air in, rather than rely on forced induction. Are turbocharged brakes legal?? Wonder if Ferrari have also incorporated some gyroscopic stabilization system into these housings?

The impeller would need to be driven, most likely with a shaft through the center of the hub connected to the front wheels. The obvious benefits would seem to be less drag because of the almost nonexistent duct, and probably the bigger value may be that cooling airflow is not disrupted when following other cars. Fascinating stuff, more of what makes F1 great!

Where's Darren Heath when we need him? He can shove his camera into the MP4/13 footbox to snap pics of the second Mac brake pedal, but he can't get us some shots of this? BTW, the shot Speedvision had was much better than this one. Hope someone can post it.

[slicktoast]

THANKS !! All of you did a great job! Man, you just wouldn't get this kind of stuff in a weekly/monthly rag. You guys are impressive!!