VW CEO prefers F1 over FE

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has made some interesting remarks, in a Linkedin discussion with Bill Gates pointing out that Formula E only makes sense “if we get carbon-free electricity soon”. He added that “It’s possible, but Germany’s target date to exit coal power only by 2038 is for a rich, tech-leading country by far not ambitious enough”.

Diess heads the Volkswagen group, which has cars racing in Formula E under the Porsche and Audi brands says that he prefers Formula 1 and thinks that it would be better to push ahead with technology in motor racing.

“F1 becoming CO2-neutral, using synthetic fuels, is much more excitement, fun, racing experience, tech-competition than Formula E driving a few laps in city centers in gaming mode.”

Diess points out that this is a personal view, but it does show that there is still potential for Volkswagen brands to be in Formula 1 in the future, if the sport chooses the right paths for development in the future. The thinking is logical given that the drive towards electric-powered cars makes no real sense unless you have CO2-free electricity available, because the current electricity grids cannot cope with the numbers of electric cars which politicians are insisting upon. And the only way to get to the levels required in the time available is to build nuclear power stations, which inevitably have other flaws as they produce nuclear waste.

Diess has a Ph.D in mechanical engineering from the Technical University in Munich and spent 15 years with BMW before joining Volkswagen in 2015 as head of the VW brand and became chairman of the board of management of the VW group in 2018. The company’s brand include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini.

Source: JSBN

Flax Fiber In Your Shake Now In McLaren F1 Seat

McLaren collaborates with Bcomp to develop F1's first natural fibre composite racing seat.

We’ve been working with Swiss sustainable lightweighting specialist Bcomp to develop just that, starting with a natural fibre racing seat for Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris – the very first F1 car part to be made of renewable textile fibres. By optimising the mechanical properties of flax fibres through fabric architecture, it’s been possible to make a seat with the required strength and stiffness, but with a 75% lower CO2 footprint compared to its carbon fibre counterpart.

What is flax and how is it used in the natural fibre composite seat?

Primarily used in the production of linen, flax is an incredibly versatile plant that has been around for millions of years. It differs from many biomaterials in that it’s ideal for use in crop rotation programmes and can be grown without directly competing with food crops. Flax is a CO2-neutral raw material and its fibres are biodegradable. At the end of the seat’s life, for example, it can be ground down into a new base material or thermally recycled without residual waste, rather than end up in landfill.

Inspired by the thin veins on the back of leaves, Bcomp’s proprietary powerRibs™ technology provides a three-dimensional grid structure on one side of the seat, which is then used to reinforce Bcomp’s optimally spun and woven flax fibre reinforcement fabric, ampliTex™. Made by twisting flax fibres to form a thick yarn, the powerRibs™ act as a backbone to the ampliTex™ flax fabric that is bonded to it.

“The original carbon fibre seat design was reverse-engineered by Bcomp, and then we optimised and manufactured the new design. The seat was run in pre-season testing without any problems and we hope to be racing with Bcomp flax seats in the near future.”

“We believe this seat functions as a conclusive demonstration that our technologies are ready to compete in the top tier of motorsport,” adds Fischer. “We match conventional carbon fibre while lowering the eco footprint by 75%, cutting costs, reducing vibrations and improving safety – all of which are highly relevant to achieving a sustainable future for motorsport and mobility.”

A high-performance, sustainable lightweighting solution

While the environmental benefits are clear, the mechanical properties of flax make it an attractive renewable raw material for high-performance composites. The tubular structure of flax fibres provides low density and high stiffness, which affords the opportunity to reduce weight while simultaneously improving vibration damping, as well as resistance to breakage, torsion and compression.

Just as we did in 1981, we’re looking to stay ahead of the curve. And that’s why we’re exploring the use of natural fibre composites which have the potential to be the next, sustainable, step forward in lightweighting. Flax fibres, for example, are 9% lighter than any equivalent carbon material and offer significantly better vibration damping.

Safety first

When it does break, unlike carbon fibre, it’s not prone to brittle fracture and splintering – a property that’s enhanced further by the structure of Bcomp’s powerRibs™ which stiffen and confine the damage zone. “The composite of ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ is not as fragile, and while it still breaks, the softer debris remains attached to the main structure with the help of the powerRibs™, which help dissipate the energy,” explains Fischer.

 

Cost conscious

The advantages don’t stop there. With a budget cap set be introduced from 2021, many F1 teams will need to reduce costs while maintaining and improving performance – no mean feat in a sport where, typically, a team can pursue more development routes the more resource it has available. Teams are going to have to work even smarter, and with Bcomp’s ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ solutions reducing raw material cost by up to 30% compared to traditional carbon fibre, this significant saving can free up budget to explore other ways of improving car performance.

It’s just the beginning

“Where we see significant potential is in the non-critical, semi-structural areas of the car, such as the driver’s seat, as well as off the car,” says Fischer. And it’s the latter, reveals Foster, where the immediate scope for further adoption of natural fibre composites really lies: “When used intelligently, the flax fibres reduce weight and cost, while maintaining and, in some cases, even improving performance. There are a range of possible applications beyond the car itself, including pit gear, truck panels, packing cases, timing stands and mould tools.”

Take mould tools, for example. Currently, most of the moulds used to make parts of the car, are made of carbon fibre composite because it has low thermal expansion. However, flax fibres also possess this property, potentially making them a suitable tooling material for moulding performance parts that are made from standard composites. So even if the part being produced isn’t made from natural fibre materials, the tool to produce it can be – allowing us to reduce the cost of mould tools and our carbon footprint.

Source: McLaren Racing

KOLLES: THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN COPY A CAR FROM PHOTOS

17 August, 2020

by: Paul Velasco



Colin Kolles has kicked the hornet’s nest with claiming that it would be impossible for Racing Point to have built the handy RP20 by simply copying the Mercedes W10 from photographs and taking a swipe at Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff by questioning his motives.

Racing Point was protested by Renault, upon which the FIA ruled that brake-ducts used this season on the RP20 were not a listed part, one that requires teams to design the components inhouse.

Otmar Szafnauer admitted that their technical team did actually copy the title-winning Mercedes of last year, but are adamant the did so within the realms of the regulations and thus have appealed the fine and 15 points docked by the FIA.

A qualified dentist by trade who has also run F1 and WEC teams, Kolles was speaking during a Sport1 TV talk show when asked about the process of designing an F1 car from concept to rollout.

“There is no way you can copy a car from photos. It’s not only the brake ducts, it’s also about the entire concept. I was told they were given access to a 60% wind-tunnel model and an F1 show car as a blueprint, from this the parts were scanned and converted to CAD,” he explained.

“It would not work any other way,” insisted Kolles, who has previously crossed swords with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, when in 2013 he taped a conversation between the pair and threatened to expose explosive comments made by the Austrian.

They reportedly settled their dispute with intervention by Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, while Mercedes obtained a court order preventing the publication of the details of the conversation.

During yesterday’s talk show, after the Spanish Grand Prix, Kolles took another swipe at his old foe Wolff, who now has a share in Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin project.

While there is no doubt the alliance between teams and their bosses have become a lot cosier since the Canadian billionaire saved Force India and launched Racing Point which, in turn, will morph into Aston Martin next year.

Kolles continued, “Basically if I were a Mercedes group board member, I would be asking why the team principal is always on vacation, on a boat or visiting Gstaad. These are among many things which, in my opinion, have not been totally compliant.

“I believe they have a very, very close connection. Although this is my own personal opinion I know I am not alone and others there are others that share this opinion too,” added Kolles, now team principal with ByKolles Racing WEC team.

IS IT ALL ABOUT FERRARI VERSUS OTMAR?

Paul Velasco, 13 August, 2020

I have been witnessing the Pink Mercedes-gate saga with bemusement, wondering why is Ferrari having such a go at Racing Point for the copycat car they put out for this season.

Afterall the business model employed by Lawrence Stroll and his crew is almost identical to the benchmark-setting one that Ferrari engineered with Haas when they entered the sport back in 2016.

And that’s when the penny dropped! Deja vu.

At the time of the arrival of Haas on the big stage, there was a big stink regarding the legality of the car, moaning about it was impossible to build and F1 car so quickly without having access to the intellectual property.

It rumbled on for several months before quietening down, but the Haas-looks-like-a-Ferrari of 2016 was always a bug-bear for many, and the arrival of the American team in the top flight was tarnished by the saga. A similar saga erupted in 2018.

Notably in both episodes, Moaner-in-Chief was none other than Force India, with Otmar Szafnauer acting Force India team principal at the time, who grabbed more than a fair share of headlines with their persistent criticism of Ferrari and Haas at the time.

“When you design, make and build your own cars, and there’s one team that isn’t doing it, and is getting a lot of technology from a top team, you’re going to get that friction. I think that’s what it’s really about. It’s not about the competitiveness. That’s the root cause of the friction.”

Yes! That’s what Otmar was said back then.

And with regards to shared parts and their uncanny similarities, he continued, “It’s kind of like having two snowflakes that are the same. It’s tough for two totally independent designers to design an aerodynamic piece with exactly the same radius that isn’t compliant.”

Fast-forward to now, Force India is now Racing Point and soon to Aston Martin, questions are being asked about the RP20’s similarity to last year’s title-winning Mercedes W10.

Last month Szafnauer told reporters, “We copied the Red Bull in the past too, but we copy it within the rules. So we see what they are doing, we take pictures, we try to understand it, we run it in the tunnel, and we do it ourselves.

“We look to see what is fast. We thought: that’s fast, can we do the same. No different than what we did with the Red Bull when we ran a high-rake concept.

“But the development is our own, but although everyone says you copied a Mercedes, it is our own. It is our own design and it is our own development. It is our own wind tunnel model. It is our own concept,” insisted Otmar.

Ironically, at the time when Force India was on the warpath about the copy cat Haas, team boss Guenther Steiner said, “They see ghosts. The car looks very similar to a Ferrari from last year… So should we have copied a car which is behind us, or should we go with a car that goes pretty quick? Give me an answer to that.”

In fact Steiner saw no problem with the Pink Mercedes initially and told reporters in Barcelona, “What is wrong with that?

“The regulations are quite clear, you don’t exchange CAD data. I would put it like this, they use a lot of Mercedes parts on their car, so why would they go and copy Red Bull? It is the same with us. We buy a lot of parts from Ferrari, so which car we going to copy? I guess a Ferrari.

“If we were to copy a Toro Rosso or a Red Bull, we would be pretty stupid because we are trying to invent something that isn’t there. I think they are just doing what we are doing, just trying to get the best out of it, and use that model.”

And then inadvertently, or not, the outspoken Haas team principal got to the crux of the matter, “Sometimes you have to think before you talk. We all know they complained quite heavily a few years ago. And now it is going full-circle.”

In racing, throughout history, everyone copies the benchmark cars and Otmar claims to have proof that the contentious brake-ducts were their in-house creation and not simply plucked off the Mercedes spare parts shelf as some are suggesting.

“It is impossible for them to be illegal, brake ducts, just so you know, take a long time to design and make, they are very, very complicated and we have 886 individual drawings for our brake ducts,” explained the Racing Point team boss.

Which begs the questions: Is Otmar paying the price for his trash-talking the Ferrari-Haas deal a few years ago? Is this even about Racing Point? Or is it all about payback?

Incidentally, this ‘Tracing Point’ yarn originated as a Renault versus Lawrence Stroll’s team, but gradually sides emerged with Ferrari, at first quiet, clearly the ‘muscleman’ in the protesting camp and apparently with an axe to grind.

They not only want the Pinks DQed, but Maranello also have an issue with the levity of the punishment meted out by the FIA. Taking it all into the realm of nasty, at a time when the likes of Williams and McLaren jump ship and swim away from the protesters.

With Racing Point morphing into Aston Martin next year, and Ferrari reject Sebastian Vettel supposedly set to spearhead the effort, the Reds might well feel it within their game-plan to start attacking the beast while it is still germinating.

A smart Maranello lawyer may even have suggested that Ferrari do the early punching on behalf of Haas as they appear to be doing. If the legal advisor is ambitious and creative he might even suggest that if they punch enough who knows what they will find? Another Nigel Stepney?

In other words: All is fair in love and war, as Otmar may be coming to realise he pays the price for old battles against an adversary with a long memory. And now, with opportunity knocking, the knives are out to inflict maximum pain.

They’ll all probably tell you that the one thing is not related to the other, but I will wager the scenario is as laid out above or thereabouts.