Formula 1 - Kubica's Crash.

[Slim]

OMG, did anyone see that crash. It has to be the worst accident I have ever seen in a formula 1 race. If he walks away from that without a serious injury, I will be amazed.

Update: Now they are saying he is fine.

Just goes to show how incredibly safe F1 cars are. To hit a wall basically head on at 170 mph and have no serious injuries. Its amazing. Those engineers need a big pay rise.

 

[Slim]

Another update: He has broken his leg.

 

[Paul.J]

Yep.I thought he was a gonner the way his head was limp bouncing down the track.
Just makes you wonder how Senna died with not such as a serious a crash. :?
Paul.J.

 

[Russell]

The most horrifying crash I have seen for a while he is lucky if all he has is a broken leg. Good result for Lewis Hamilton in a difficult race.

 

[mr]

Just makes you wonder how Senna died with not such as a serious a crash. :?
Paul.J.

Senna's problem if I recall correctly was that the suspension arm broke and penetrated his helmet.
Cheers Mike

 

[Smudger]

Not the worst I've seen (Bandini at Monaco, Herbert at Brands) but nasty - I thought the top of the car was going to dig in and put destructive pressure on his head. He was a lucky lad.

Great day for Lewis, though.

 

[Slim]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRbORtPyUS0

 

[Paul Chapman]

That was nasty. I bet the bloke behind got a shock when he saw that wheel coming towards him :shock: :shock: I really don't like some of the circuits used today, particularly in Canada and America - too many concrete walls, which make it very dangerous for the drivers and lousy for spectators.

The design of the cars today (and the materials they use) is very interesting (probably more interesting than the racing). It's all about absorbing the impact which is why the drivers don't get crushed. I read an interesting piece a couple of years ago which explained how even the engine and gearbox is designed as a sort of 'crumple zone' and gradually deforms, absorbing the impact.

Hope the driver is OK and doesn't suffer any long-term problems.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - I think there's a great deal of carbon fibre in the cars these days and as Newt explained on Saturday, it's fairly amazing stuff and able to absorb a huge amount of force before breaking - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Paul - I think there's a great deal of carbon fibre in the cars these days

When I was working and became involved in regulating the use of radio in F1, I used to get access to the pits and was fortunate to visit Jordan at Silverstone and Mclaren at Woking, so I saw quite a lot of this stuff. That carbon fibre is really odd. Some of it looks like a bit of old cardboard and weighs almost nothing - the floor pan of the car can be picked up by one hand. But, as you say, it's fantastically strong and almost unbreakable. It's incredible to see the the cars almost totally destroyed in accidents but the cell in which the driver sits remains completely intact.

In time we all benefit as that sort of technology moves across to the cars we buy - as it did with things like disc brakes, independent suspension and anti-lock braking systems.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Ten(+) years ago my brother in law worked for Leyton House March F1 (Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin driving) and then Simtek F1.
I visited the factories often and even back then I could pick up all 4 wheels with the tyres on quite easily (balance and getting a good grip was the problem, not weight )
Also could pick up the entire carbon fibre bodywork (top) without problem. Seriously impressive engineering

 

[Paul Chapman]

Ten(+) years ago my brother in law worked for Leyton House March F1

I remember them well. I was up at Silverstone when they had their last race. The team had run out of money and had no sponsors. After checking their radios the team manager took me round to the side of their truck to pay me for their radio licence. He said "Don't tell anyone in the team I'm giving you this - they haven't been paid for a month". I felt quite bad

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[MrJay]

That was nasty, didn't like see the way his head was being shaken about.

In time we all benefit as that sort of technology moves across to the cars we buy - as it did with things like disc brakes, independent suspension and anti-lock braking systems.

Not likely. We may see more carbon fibre get used in our cars, but there are huge differences in the way that formula 1 cars are designed to protect the driver and how road going cars do a similar job that are specific to the circumstances of each. The rule book is too severe to allow the kind of bleeding edge technical innovation that trickled down to us common folk like in the days of Lotus. F1 is a spectacular waste of human endeavor,

 

[Paul Chapman]

The rule book is too severe to allow the kind of bleeding edge technical innovation that trickled down to us common folk like in the days of Lotus. F1 is a spectacular waste of human endeavor,

I think that there's rather more use of the technology developed in F1 than you suggest. For example, Lotus made the bike that Chris Boardman used when he won the World professional pursuit title a few years ago, because they were experienced in the technology necessary to make it extremely light but very strong. That's just one example that I quote because I happen to know about it. But many of the motor firms work with others in motoring and other fields offering consultancy, design and manufacturing, so I think we do benefit, perhaps without always realising it.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[mr]

I Know its not something everyone can have in his / her car but the new BMW M5 Tourer has a heads up display which was developed by, but not used in a race by BMW Williams

Cheers Mike

 

[engineer one]

it was a spectacular crash, but the important thing was that the car rolled and lost all its suspension bits, whereas in the senna crash, the car hit the wall sideways and this caused the suspension bits to move in such a way as to smash through his helmet.

kibica appears now only to have damaged his ankle, anyone would think he was a motorcyclist.

anyone watch moto gp, the kawasaki guy randy de punier who had a left leg the size of a football, from an accident a week ago, and a broken collar bone. second fastest in practice, and then in the top ten at the end of the race. no brains, but big sphericals :twisted:

most sport seems a waste of time money and effort to many who do not understand it, but racing cars, and bikes do actually provide a number of benefits. specifically it teaches the staff how to engineer solutions in quick time, and also as i know much knowledge of vehicle dynamics has been transferred into design and cad facilities which allow other kinds of vehicles and objects to be designed more effectively and efficiently.

one of the reasons that many top manufacturers use racing apart from the publicity benefit is that it attracts top engineers from uni and so on, and the knock on effect of the knowledge base is advantageous.

paul :wink:

 

[Shultzy]

Paul, I watched the MotoGp and thought it was the best race of the season. Couple that with the Canadian GP and it was the best days sport for a very long time.

PS Wasn't Lewis Hamilton superb, having to restart 4 times would have tested many of the more experienced drivers.