Tech question

[zealot]

Jean Alesi said he had a few things to get used to in his first drive in the Jordan. One of the things he mentioned was getting used to clutching on the steering wheel instead of using a pedal in the Prost. I thought all F1 cars were semiautos, with gear changes done with buttons on the wheel and no clutching. What don't I understand here.

[Nicholas]

Semi autos still mean that you have to use a clutch (I think) it's either in the form of paddles behind the wheel or as a pedal. The semi-auto bit is in regard to the gear change.

[wodonnell]

I could be wrong but I think the clutch is used for 1st gear only.

ie, when the car is stationary.

At the start (prior to launch control at least) the driver would pull up to his grid and select neutral. When the light sequence began he would pull (or depress) the clutch (depending on hand or foot operation) and select first. When the lights go out he lets out the clutch and jumps on the accellerator.

Same would apply to pit stops I think.

During the race the driver pulls levers to tell the gearbox when he wants to change up and down and the gearbox sorts out the "clutching" itself.

Whereas in an automatic where the gearbox changes gear when it thinks is best, with a semi automatic the driver tells it when to change but once he has given the "instruction" he plays no part in the actual changing of the gears.

[kristof14]

arent all the F1 cars now full autos anyway?????

[zealot]

No, they're not fully automatic. Normally, the cars have a downshift lever on the left side of the steering wheel and an upshift lever on the right side.

wodonnell could be right about clutching in first gear, but I didn't think F1 cars clutched at all anymore.

[wodonnell]

I was basing this on "Martin's Driving School" which ITV ran last year. With the advent of launch control I can't really see why they would need it.

Zealots original post said that Alesi was getting used to a hand clutch instead of the foot clutch so they must still have them!

[BD]

What Wodonnell explained was correct, for pre-launch control cars. Now with launch control they put the car in neutral, push in the launch control button, hold it in, and floor it. The onboard computer controls the revs and clutch. When they release the button, they take off.
The drivers have the option to let the car change gears itself, or use the paddles behind the wheel. Either way they dont use the clutch. It is controlled by the computer, for extremely fast, perfect gear changes.
I noticed on an onboard shot with Coulthard, that he downshifts manually, but upshifts automatically. I would assume that most of the drivers perfer it this way. J.Verstappen has said that he likes to do all the shifting himself. I would assume Alesi is the same way.
As far as when the clutch is used manually, in a panic situation, to prevent the engine from stalling. Like during a spin. And maybe coming out of the pits.

[JeremySmith]

Well I am impressed BD..Thank you that is very interesting as I for one did not know.

[kristof14]

i knew they were fully auto these days! martin brundle commented on it a while ago as they showed an in car shot of montoya doing a lap and he didnt pull any paddles (i think he's one of the few who use full auto tho!)

[zealot]

Man, I hadn't realized how bad it had gotten in F1. Drivers now not only don't shift, they don't even have to figure out how hard to accelerate off the line or from the pits. Of course, fuel consumption and traction control is done from the pits, so the drivers really only have to figure out when to turn left or right (I wonder how long it will be before they put in a remote control servo in the car so that can be done from the pits!)

Of course, these guys still have the guts to put their life on the line in a lightweight missle flying down a straight at over 200 miles an hour!

[JeremySmith]

Yes they do..Put their life's on the line

[francis]

The drivers are still the only ones allowed to control fuel mixture and brake balance during the race. The telemetry is (with the exception of uploading times to the car) one way (from the car to the pits) only.

The clutch is still useful when the launch control fails <g>

[BD]

Even though the drivers only have to steer, hit the brakes, and push the throttle, it is still tough work. Has anyone here who thinks its easy these days in an F1 car, ever tried to drive a shifterless kart? I mean a real racing kart. Not a 5hp Honda 4-stroke. I mean a 25+hp, 2-stroke. Its hard. Shifting isnt the hardest part about driving a beast like an F1 car. Turning, accelerating, and especially braking is.
Pretty much anybody could putt around a track in an F1 car. But only a small fraction of us could put it to 80% to the limit. And only about .000001% of the population could take it up to the limit. Even with all the technology available, these drivers are still doing a hell of alot of work.

[zealot]

But, you have to admit, it was a lot cooler when a missed gear shift led to a pass or a damaged clutch took a gear away from a driver.