Why did Massa have the shark fin wing while Kimi did not?

[ShiftingGears]

http://www.racefreaks.nl/images/550/qutfuakztmsorkdjcrl.jpg

Driver preference?

It seems quite bizarre. Considering that for the most part, Massa's pace in comparison to Kimi was ordinary.

[wmcot]

Must be some conspiracy - probably to confuse the fans into thinking they were two different teams when Kimi let Felipe by! ;)

[leopard]

Hamilton had a perfect race, Kimi drove constantly pretty good and deservedly to finish runner-up, however it is righteously justifiable to give in the position once he felt the car is in the trouble to make any defense...

[wedge]

Seems to be a combination of:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/3227102/Brazilian-Grand-Prix-Technical-viewpoint.html

Raikkonen's problem for much of the season has been getting the front of the car to respond as positively to his steering demands as he would like. Since mid-season the team has fitted an extended fin on the engine cover.

This increases rear end grip by straightening the airflow to the rear wing as the car is turned. But in Raikkonen's case this has only exacerbated the problem of getting the front to respond quickly enough for his driving style.

For China he reverted to the old-style engine cover while Massa remained with the extended fin version. Raikkonen reported the car's balance to be much improved.

Ferrari working on their J-damper to help rear-end grip:

http://f1.com/news/technical/2008/802/598.html

[BTCC2]

How did you notice that!!!

[truefan72]

you know I was a bit confused myself, in some shots it seemed like there was no shark fin, and in others I did not see one. At the end I assumed that they were both running shark fins but apparently they didn't.
It seems the shark fin maybe provide some stability but not enough to outperform the non-sharkfin car.
I guess you are allowed to run two different body configurations on your car and I suppose the shark fin is considered a wing element?

can it be removed and if not, is that a different car he used on saturday?
because on friday his was driving a car with Shark-fin

all interesting questions but apart from intriguing forum fodder, won't change anything now.

[call_me_andrew]

Someone care to catch me up on what the J-damper is?

[janneppi]

It's a mass damper of some sort, at least that's how I understood it's workings.

[Tazio]

Someone care to catch me up on what the J-damper is?


J-Dampers in Formula One
One of the key technologies emerging from F1 this year has been the so called J-Damper. Acting as an alternative to the banned Tuned Mass Damper (TMD), pioneered by Renault to reduce variations in contact patch load between the tyre and the ground. The systems first existence was revealed in the McLaren/Renault F1 spy case when the device was noted as one of the drawings taken to Renault when Phil Mackereth left McLaren. It now emerges that McLaren have run their J-Damper since early 2005, pre dating Renaults adoption of the Mass Damper later that year. It’s now believed many teams run a J-Damper more correctly termed an Inerter, as explained by Malcolm Smith of Cambridge University back in 2003. Smiths Inerter solution absorbs energy from the Tyres/suspension providing an "equal and opposite force applied at the nodes, proportional to the relative acceleration between the nodes". When tuned for the tyres natural frequency an Inerter will offset the tyres deflection from upsetting the suspension behaviour.

Tuned Mass Dampers
Mass Dampers were first raced at the Brazilian GP in September 2005 by Renault and subsequently adopted by several teams in 2006. Using a sprung/damped mass mounted inside the nose cone the ~9Kg helped offset the large sidewall deflections of the high aspect ratio F1 tyres. Particularly aiding Michelin runners whose vertical stiffness was lower than the rival Bridgestone tyres. With the head start on the technology, Renault had also repackaged their gearbox to fit a TMD above the gear cluster for 2006. Technical Director Bob Bell commented on the rear TMD at the time "It’s less effective by virtue of the fact that the physics of the situation dictate you get more benefit from one at the front than at the rear, but it’s still there and worth having".

Alleged to be worth a couple of tenths per lap, once exposed at Monaco 2006, the FIA soon stepped in to ban the devices on a technicality. There placement inside the detachable nose cone and considerable weight, sparked both safety fears and issues surrounding the use of moveable ballast. However the FIA felt their potential aerodynamic effect of stabilising ride height and hence diffuser and front wing efficiency was the best legal course to take.

Inerter dampers
Even before Renault had adopted the TMD, McLaren had picked up on work completed by Malcolm C. Smith at the University of Cambridge, His lecture to the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE) in August 2003, explained the systems principles, making the mechanical system analogous a passive electrical system. His proposal was a dual flywheel set inside a damper body operated by a rack\pinion. As force is applied to the endpoints of the device, the flywheels accelerate producing an opposite and equal force. In this layout the Inerter is akin to a bicycle bell, the force from your finger is opposed by the spinning of the bells ringer. Smith also put forward alternative embodiments with a flywheel concentric to a threaded damper rod and also a hydraulic solution.

Just skimming the top. There is plenty more :)

http://www.f1technical.net/features/10586

[ShiftingGears]

Banning the tuned mass damper mid-season in 2006 based on the most tenuous of tenuous reasons was a terrible decision by the FIA.


I'm not a big fan on the mid season banning of parts. It's a bad idea.

[Sleeper]

Seems to be a combination of:



Ferrari working on their J-damper to help rear-end grip:

http://f1.com/news/technical/2008/802/598.html

Thats not a J-damper (which was deliberatly misnamed by McLaren to throw off the other teams) but Ferrari's third damper set up, which they've been useing since about 2001. Toyota used to use that system as well, but their third damper failed a lot.

Interesting bit of trivia, McLaren introduceed the J-damper at the San Marino GP in 2005, which he dominated from pole (he didnt have the speed in qualy without it). A very effective bit of kit that.