Are drivers sitting too low, with an obstructed view?

[markabilly]

from the photos in the thread about the pimple, it struck me that the drivers are sitting low in the car, and even their hands on the sterring is somewhat blocking their view of the road..... :confused:

[markabilly]

from the photos in the thread about the pimple, it struck me that the drivers are sitting low in the car, and even their hands on the sterring is somewhat blocking their view of the road..... :confused:



Quite right!
The struts from the wing to the bubble are most likely for gathering wing flex data, (amoung other things)!
I'm guessing they are trying to get the max flex while staying within legal parameters
similar to what Red Bull did last season.


http://static.f1hirek.hu//w1000/93525941_10_1000.jpg

http://photos.gpupdate.net/large/170662.jpg


This is what I am referencing, note the hands and their head position compared to the front portion of the cars, even without the pimple, it stikes me that the view of the road must be affected, it is as though they must peek between the wheels, their hands and the nose to see the apex of the corner or what is directly in front of them.

I know that in many portions of a race track the driver looks far down the road....but still???????

Are the teams going to far trying to get an extra edge over the competition??

[BDunnell]

Interesting. How does this compare with previous seasons?

On a partially related subject, I have only this morning been reading an article on the Mini WRC car in which Paddy Hopkirk commented on how low the co-drivers now sit in top-line rally cars, meaning that on a passenger ride he could barely see out.

[CNR]

are they sitting or are they laying?
http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-07-15/eahnBgpjkAanirBtsIBwtcdrzBpjcwAcfetCmBcBsaItvHroAe EhmIIbGjas/2010_toyota_f1.jpg.scaled1000.jpg

[Mark]

Brundle has said driving an F1 car is like sitting in the bath with your feet on the taps. So it's nothing new.

[Zico]

Its one thing sitting low but the panoramic view still looks very much reduced over previous F1 era's. Is it not mostly for safety reasons?.... and whilst it may offer the driver more protection in certain types of impacts, the limited view and larger blind spots can and has been the cause of accidents.

Modern cars are similar in a way with their large A pillars and high sited side windows for better protection, its only when you drive an old car you realise how fantastic the 360 vision is with far smaller blind spots... like a greenhouse in comparison.

[markabilly]

are they sitting or are they laying?
http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-07-15/eahnBgpjkAanirBtsIBwtcdrzBpjcwAcfetCmBcBsaItvHroAe EhmIIbGjas/2010_toyota_f1.jpg.scaled1000.jpg


that makes it look worse than I thought



Brundle has said driving an F1 car is like sitting in the bath with your feet on the taps. So it's nothing new.

well, I had not thought much about it, until i saw the photos with the hands blocking the view of the driver's face

I got to thinking about Paul Tracey in his Champ car days, when they had one of those helmet cams level with his visor. I remeber someone saying he was famous for getting as low as posssible in the car....I remember him as being famous for running into the back of many a race car on tight circuits......

In one of those races, they had the visor level view of one of those accidents. It looked to me the only way he could see well enough to judge the distance was using the rear wing of the car in front as everything else was blocked from view, with only a slight view of the concrete blocks (one of those street circuit deals, Houston I think--where they used concrete barriers to form the course).

I thought well, the surprize was not the accident but that he did not crash out more often into other cars

[Mark]

Yep. Visibility out of an F1 car is poor!

[gloomyDAY]

Drivers whined about poor visibilty a few years ago, but then they were reminded that Coulthard nearly decapitated Wurz, and then the drivers decided to keep quiet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqqEmocEOI0

[Mark]

I too didn't know that their backside was actually lower than the pedals, I suppose that explains the bath comment! I guess it's strange for most of us who are all used to driving in a sitting upright position.

[I am evil Homer]

How is that possible...you'd lose feeling in your feet?!?

[Retro Formula 1]

Regarding whether the feet are above or below the buttocks, I suppose on the Red Bull it depends on the speed it's doing :devil:

[Mark]

How is that possible...you'd lose feeling in your feet?!?

I guess if you sat for that a long time not moving that's probably true, however they are constantly moving their feet to operate the pedals so that will keep the circulation going.

[MrJan]

Most cars you can't see the nose of anyway. My MR2 road car I can't actually see the front and in the Caterham type thing that me and my dad use it's even worse, especially as the harness holds you to yourseat. It's all about knowing where the edge of the car is and most drivers have been doing it for so long that it's second nature.

Surprised by the 'arse lower than feet' thing though, I thought they sat with legs outstretched in front of them rather than up.

[Mark]

Most cars you can't see the nose of anyway. My MR2 road car I can't actually see the front and in the Caterham type thing that me and my dad use it's even worse, especially as the harness holds you to yourseat. It's all about knowing where the edge of the car is and most drivers have been doing it for so long that it's second nature.

Surprised by the 'arse lower than feet' thing though, I thought they sat with legs outstretched in front of them rather than up.

I guess they want their heads to be as low as they can in the car - for one thing obstructing the airbox has been a problem in the past, and to achieve that they need to get their 'arses' down as low as possible, but then it turns out that the pedals can't be that low, so you have the situation described.

Driving an F1 car must be a strange experience indeed.

[UltimateDanGTR]

I don't hear the drivers complaining about this, For me, it's a non-issue. These are the best drivers in the world, they should be able to deal with the strange seating position. besides, the junior formulae do prepare them for the most part anyway nowadays. They race on tracks with several miles of run off anyway nowadays, For me the harder (as long as its relatively safe) the better.

[gloomyDAY]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-07-15/eahnBgpjkAanirBtsIBwtcdrzBpjcwAcfetCmBcBsaItvHroAe EhmIIbGjas/2010_toyota_f1.jpg.scaled1000.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=A KIAJFZAE65UYRT34AOQ&Expires=1300137039&Signature=5touZTkbcEidcpx%2B%2BeNBkscxSCA%3D

Seems comfortable to me. Hell, if they weren't racing, then they'd take a nap!

Kind of reminds me of this little beauty...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4157ahkAgqL.jpg

[wedge]

I too didn't know that their backside was actually lower than the pedals, I suppose that explains the bath comment! I guess it's strange for most of us who are all used to driving in a sitting upright position.

Have you ever noticed the raised nose cones might have something to do with it?

[Sleeper]

Drivers have been very low in the car for about 10 years or more now primarily for CofG. Also, it shhould be noted that the pics markabilly posted show the drivers looking to the corner apex on turn in, so their hands arent blocking their line of sight.

[wedge]

Watching the older cars pre-Imola '94, it's so easy to admire the the workrate put into the cars from the steering wheel whereas today with the naked eye, standing trackside I find it much more difficult. Either I have an untrained eye or what Mark Hugh's contribution to GP reports is utter bollox

[Bullet]

Considering the view I have on F1 2010 for Xbox360... yes they sit too low :D Seriously, I keep raising my head trying to look over the plasma... as if that's going to help :eek:

[martinbalmer]

That seating position doesn't look too nice for the back or neck. I can see why it takes effort to get in and out now.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Considering the view I have on F1 2010 for Xbox360... yes they sit too low :D Seriously, I keep raising my head trying to look over the plasma... as if that's going to help :eek:

Although I see no problem with the driver's view, may I also remind you that that view in F1 2010 is actually raised slightly from reality for the ease of play! The insane driving position is what gains these drivers more respect if you ask me, even if in the video game world it's annoying (I just use the airbox cam)