Lights on F1 Cars

[cosmicpanda]

Considering the late finishes we've seen with drivers complaining, not to mention the excesses of Singapore, why does the FIA not do the decent thing and let teams put LED lights or similar on their cars so that they can race? I don't want to see rally-style light pods on the F1 cars (though I think they look great on rally cars), but surely a high-tech sport can come up with something that works.

If night racing in the dark works for Le Mans...

[wedge]

No

I wished Charlie Whiting had the balls to red flag the race and make Bernie look an utter fool for the stupid start times the locals have to put up with.

[Mark]

No daft idea. Start races at a sensible time in the first place.

[Dave B]

No daft idea. Start races at a sensible time in the first place.

This. We keep being told it's a global championship yet Bernie wants to tinker with start times so that us Europeans are happy. He can't have it both ways. Malaysia 2009 should have taught him that, but he doesn't appear to have learned.

[Roamy]

Yea and maybe we can get twin antennas and mudflaps as well

[Sonic]

No daft idea. Start races at a sensible time in the first place.

Or just start the races! At full race speed the racing line would have been fine within a few laps - even at the original start time.

As for lights? F1 is a sprint and as such should be able to be completed within daylight hours except in the most extreme conditions.

[Zico]

McLaren have a lighting system ready for night racing.. rally style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOl_p3gyrD0

;)

[Azumanga Davo]

I honestly can't see why the front wing can't carry a light setup in the vertical endplates. You wouldn't need many LEDs with today's technology surely?

[Easy Drifter]

So we have one race where it gets dark because of a stupid start time and we now want to add lights.
We will just put them in the new fenders and add doors too. Oh we have that. It is called LMS and ALMS.
Tiny LED are really going to work a 200 mph.

I have heard some dumb ideas before but this one really ranks up there.

[truefan72]

This. We keep being told it's a global championship yet Bernie wants to tinker with start times so that us Europeans are happy. He can't have it both ways. Malaysia 2009 should have taught him that, but he doesn't appear to have learned.

exactly

[CNR]

http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Video/Project-X1--The-ultimate-car-on-Gran-Turismo-5-021242903200135



Sony Computer Entertainment today announced a unique partnership between Gran Turismo® and Red Bull Racing to create a virtual car which will push the boundaries of motorsports. The Gran Turismo development team at Polyphony Digital posed the simple question, ‘If you built the fastest racing car on land, one that throws aside all rules and regulations, what would that car look like, how would it perform and how would it feel to drive?” With the assistance of Red Bull Racing’s technology and the knowledge of their Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey , Polyphony Digital were able to produce the answer in the form of the “X1 Prototype” which will be playable in Gran Turismo 5.

[ZEROX]

I honestly can't see why the front wing can't carry a light setup in the vertical endplates. You wouldn't need many LEDs with today's technology surely?
Yeah . Good idea .
But Formula 1 car race really close .
It easily to break the front wing and if the LED is to put in anypart of the front wing.It'll smash to pieces .
Formula 1 car are not design to have a light infront of their car .
There's nowhere to put it .

[CNR]

why not in the mirrors as well
http://i51.tinypic.com/1426lon.jpg

[CNR]

Yeah . Good idea .
But Formula 1 car race really close .
It easily to break the front wing and if the LED is to put in anypart of the front wing.It'll smash to pieces .
Formula 1 car are not design to have a light infront of their car .
There's nowhere to put it .

http://i53.tinypic.com/2eej8t0.jpg

[Easy Drifter]

Anymore stupid ideas?

[ZEROX]

http://i53.tinypic.com/2eej8t0.jpg

Lol....
Looks like a hybrid airplane and formula1 car to me... :p :

[UltimateDanGTR]

If races are going to be held late afternoon/early evening, surely lights round the track a-la singapore would be better if such a situation like in korea was to arise again? This would be ideal for places like Korea and Malaysia where races are held at times set to be ideal for us europeans, and rain is often likely.

[fandango]

....If night racing in the dark works for Le Mans...

I don't think "night racing in the dark" is a good idea. All night racing should be done during the day :)

[Zico]

Slightly off topic but a question I've often wondered is why F1 and single seater race cars dont have brake lights?
I've just done some research and found out that it was tested and considered by the FIA back around 2001 ? they decided that the drivers are so highly skilled ?!? that they didn't see the need for them but just maybe Mark would not have run into the back of the Lotus earlier in the season if he had that extra fraction of a second warning.

[Azumanga Davo]

Anymore stupid ideas?

Oh, I dunno. How about making the rear light flash as well? :p :

[Easy Drifter]

Being a real old fart and actually racing back then it was not unusual for people racing sports cars which required,and still do, brake lights for people to have unlabled switches on the dash. Some could put on the brake light when the driver was still on full throttle. Some could disengage the brake light. Naughty naughty.
Today it could be found out in a second.
But this is F1. We do not need sports car or road car crap. It is supposed to be pure racing on ability.

[555-04Q2]

What about a coffee machine and a cup holder in the cockpit? I'm sure the drivers would love a hot cupper as they watch the sunset.

[Ben_Chracer]

Anymore stupid ideas?
How about a windshield wiper on the vestigial windscreen at the top of the cowl?

[ioan]

No

I wished Charlie Whiting had the balls to red flag the race and make Bernie look an utter fool for the stupid start times the locals have to put up with.

Yep, and also prove himself a fool for fooling around for hours before deciding to start a wet race.

[ioan]

So we have one race where it gets dark because of a stupid start time and we now want to add lights.

Sepang last year was the same, they got lucky and stopped it because it started raining stronger.

[Mixa]

Its still a bit interesting how Bernie wants the European to see the races but is still thinking to get rid off almost all European GP´s and give them to Asia and Middle East.

What comes to lights at the F1´s,them really doesn´t belong for them. Still lately it seems that people worldwide are waiting to drive the Red Bull´s X1 prototype we have seen lately all the time in Gran Turismo 5 pages. It has lights and even a cockpit....Still I really hope that it won´t be the future of the F1.

[motetarip]

Anymore stupid ideas?

indicators?

[HoldenCaulfield]

Could try the Ferrari lighting system, (Fernando Alonso's arse)

[555-04Q2]

What about a CD or MP3 player so the drivers can chill out to George Michael's, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" :D

[Tazio]

Pathetic :(

[cosmicpanda]

I don't think "night racing in the dark" is a good idea. All night racing should be done during the day :)

Haha. I was trying to distinguish between a race like Le Mans and a race like Singapore.


But this is F1. We do not need sports car or road car crap. It is supposed to be pure racing on ability.

Easy, I have a lot of respect for your experience and knowledge but I would've hoped for a more rational discussion.

Of course ability is involved in F1; it's why there's a driver's championship, but then it's also a constructor's championship, so the car comes into it as well. You can't try to say that a midfield car is racing a car on pole position on the drivers' ability.... and I don't know how lights on the front of the car would compromise racing on ability anyway, if it's the same for everybody.

I didn't mention brake lights. Good idea though!

[Easy Drifter]

There is no need to add useless complications to F1 cars. Just run the races so they do not go into darkness. Putting lights out on the wings would involve wiring so changing wings would be more involved and depending on wether the connecter came apart or if the wires broke might make the job impossible in a short time. Lights could also get broken with minor contact that would not require a wing change.
I do not know how small lights in the wings would provide enough light. I admit I am no expert. The ALMS cars have large lights of the size found on road cars.
I have also seen one light fail several times on AMLS cars.
Brake lights on formula cars has been discussed umpteen times over the years and rejected every time and not just in F1.
So we do not need a complex cure for a problem that rarely arises and in fact does not need to if the race start time was early enough.
OK Cosmic?

[nigelred5]

I'd be happy with a friggin track blower at F1 races. They don't have to blow it dry, but they can blow the standing water off, as well as all the little debris from accidents or major off course excursions that cause punctures. they could have easily started on time and stayed on track with a jet dryer on hand.

[call_me_andrew]

We need some sort of ejection seat system. Nothing makes crashes safer than pyrotechnics and parachutes.


I'd be happy with a friggin track blower at F1 races. They don't have to blow it dry, but they can blow the standing water off, as well as all the little debris from accidents or major off course excursions that cause punctures. they could have easily started on time and stayed on track with a jet dryer on hand.

Nah, too reasonable.