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Formula One Racing Just a Matter of Crunching the Numbers
Si24601 writes "Sauber Petronas Formula 1 team have launched Albert, their new supercomputer. With aerodynamics contributing a claimed 75% of the performance of the current bread of cars, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations have become increasingly important. Dalco's 530 AMD Opteron processor, 2.3 Tflop/s Supercomputer, with 1 TB RAM and 11 TB of storage, may just be up to the task." Other readers submitted links to stories on F1 Live and Formula1.com.
The Williams team also uses a scupercomputer to do a lot of their modelling, thanks to one of their major sponsors HP and a Linux supercomputer.
Schumacher wouldn't be the world's best paid athlete if he didn't contribute whatever amount of importance to the process of winning. Consistently.
A blog like any other.
almost all of the attention is paid to the machine -- it makes me wonder if they're shaving less time off the total than if they put this kind of focus on the driver (proper diet, reflexive training, etc.)
Formula 1 drivers are some of the best athletes in the world. They train constantly and they are on strict athlete's diets. The G-forces they experience are amazing, both lateral and transversal(?). I believe driving some of the F1 races is equivalent to running a marathon. If a F1 driver isn't in top shape, they wouldn't even be able to finish a race. That is one of the advantages someone like Michael Schumacher has, he is an unbelievable athlete. Believe you me, the drivers are getting as much attention as the cars.
No, a couple of Ferrari engineers will shop around the aero and other build info from the last year's car. Another team will give the former Ferrari engineers a job, integrate the information into their computers, make improvements, and then tell the cops it can't be removed because it may give away their car's secrets(where have I heard this argument before? SCO is creating a new way of doing business).
In all seriousness, having the ideal optimal design is unlikely. Most teams have their own engines, which bring different performance characteristics. They even change the engine mapping during pitstops. There are two different tire companies, a number of different compounds. Take in different track temps, air temps, etc. Then you take different tracks(Monaco vs. Monza), and there will never be an optimal design, just an optimal compromise.
This doesn't include the driver, which is the biggest difference. Look at the aggresive drivers like Montoya or Alonzo, compared their more conservative teammates. Similar/same cars, much different speeds.
Schumacher makes more mistakes in a Grand Prix weekend than anyone of my generation in their entire careers.
Of course they were driving their cars a lot 'slower', partly because the cars went more slowly, but mostly because if it left the track, you were highly likely to die- they weren't even wearing seatbelts. F1 driver life expectancy was about 3 or 4 years in those days.
Personally, I think Jackie was exagerating for effect, but he had a point.
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"Yes, but within a second doesn't mean much. Lets see how long it takes him to make up that extra second, and not only that, but do it consistantly over the course of an entire season.
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
I think Rossi proved that you can have a shit bike and still win. This year he went to the worst bike on the grid from the best the previous year. He absolutely owned everyone this season and last. Bikes aren't quite as bad off as F1, obviously.