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.

Comments

Don't forget the drivers, too.

[mOoZik]

Sure, technology is important in that sport, but don't discount the importance of world-class drivers like Schumacher, et al.

Re:Don't forget the drivers, too.

[AK Marc]

If you put Schumacher in a perfect two-year old car and the rest of the field in current cars, I doubt he'd manage a win a single race. The cars improve enough each season that you must have both the car and the driver. Just the driver alone will not win races. It would be able to showcase what you can do with the old technology, getting you sponsors able to afford the new tech, but not win.

Still a sport?

[Octagon Most]

I imagine that at some time we will approach the level of technological sophistication where we no longer call some competitive event a sport. That is to say, at some point the human element will contribute a trivial amount to the overall performance. I am not saying that F1 racing is at or near that point - I have tremendous respect for the athletes that drive those cars under extreme conditions. But imagine a technologically advanced version of something like dogsledding, where the human is along for the ride. Do we continue to call it a sport? Or does it become some other type of contest?

Re:Still a sport?

[hairykrishna]

Hell yes. Robot wars is a sport! No, wait, what was the question? Seriously I think it's still a sport at the level you talk about. Only difference is that the competitors are the engineers rather than drivers.

Re:Still a sport?

[flewp]

Well, take this into consideration: F1 drivers must endure extreme G-loads over the course of a race weekend and also off season testing. They can routinely pull ~4 gs. F1 requires EXTREMELY fit drivers. Many of them have workout regimes just as intense as any other "regular" athlete. Not only must they put up with the g-force beatings, they also require absolutely phenomonal hand-eye coordination, and must have amazing reflexes.

So tell me, since when does a sport that requires stamina, extremely fine tuned hand-eye cooridination, and amazing reflexes not involve athletes?

Re:Still a sport?

[flewp]

A guy with a joystick is completely different. To think they are is completely ignorant and just plain stupid. Driving an F1 car requires stamina, look at how sweaty the drivers are after a race. Not only that, there's the G-forces involved, which DO play a major role over the course of a race. Even Jeff Gordon, a professional Nascar driver commented on the G-loading and the neck strain (from his head whipping and back forth) when he tested the Williams F1 car. Not only that, but it is considerably more difficult to drive a real Formula 1 car which has no power steering as opposed to driving a simulation with a joystick, or even a wheel with force feedback. Also, being in a real car gives you more tactile feedback that you have to be extremely acutely aware of, especially at the speeds and limits that exist in F1. Also, these guys are bouncing around quite a bit in these extremely stiffly sprung cars. Once again, video gamers aren't. Race car drivers also put their lives on the line each time they step out on the track. You obviousely have absolutely no clue as to the physical training and conditioning required of a Formula 1 driver to be competitive. I ask that you actually get a clue before making another dimwitted response.

Re:omg he said bread

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Korea, all your old *cars that are dying make beowulf clusters of bread and hot grits sandwiches for profit!!!

Re:Too much tech?

[Moofie]

OK, so what happens to your argument when I tell you that ABS and stability management (I assume that's what you're talking about when you say ASR) are banned in F1 racing?

Re:So much of it comes down to science.

[Ryan Amos]

Uh, dude, at this level of racing the drivers are already masters of the skills of the trade. That's what developmental leagues (NASCAR truck, regional driving leagues, etc.) are for; to become a good racer with vehicles that aren't quite so meticulously tuned. Every F1 or NASCAR racer out there has been driving cars very fast for at least 10 years. You don't just hop in to a Formula 1 car and drive; I honestly doubt most of us would be able to operate an F1 car at all. You have to keep the engine revved above 6000 RPM or it will get too cold and die. You have to regulate the fuel mixture or it won't get enough of either air or gas and die. Simple story is that they're not going to trust a $10 million car to someone who doesn't know how to drive it very very well. I think this says that most of the drivers have reached a skill level where the only deciding factor in a race is the car. If you're a fatass or if you don't know how to drive, well, you're not going to last in F1.

Re:Too much tech?

[PHPhD2B]

Of course, he can say that knowing full well he'll never be put in a new F1 car to put his mouth where his money is. Did occur to anybody Jackie Stewart might be a bit JEALOUS of Michael Schumacher's accomplishments?

Re:Amazing!

[Anonymous Coward]

Ever heard of double overhead cams, disc brakes, bucket seats, the vtec engine? Where do you think they came from? to name a few.

You do know that F1 uses regular pump gas, and that by definition, they want their engines to be as efficient as possible (less thirsty, less time wasted in the pits refueling), so a lot of their engine research comes back to regular cars.

Re:Linux vs. Windows

[damiam]

It probably means that the Linux version is statically linked to every library it could possibly need.

Re:Too much tech?

[the pickle]

You've lost the important point...

Schuey still makes fewer mistakes than his competitors.

That's why he's on top of the podium every damn weekend, and they aren't.

It also proves that driver skill, not simply the engineering department at the manufacturer, is the ultimate and deciding factor in F1, just as it's (almost) always been.

p

Always a Sport

[ACNeal]

What you fail to realize is that this technology is available to everyone. Even if i have a technological advantage for a short period of time, my car driver, sled driver, swimmer, runner, or whatever still have to perform with the new equipment or training techniques.

Then, when everyone else has the same technology, it falls back solely on the shoulders of the competitors. Sure technology has them going 100% faster, but everyone is going the same 100% faster. And the new breed of competitor has to be better to deal with the new tech.

And if they turn into remote control cars, then the comptetitors are still human, and still have to be good at something, have fast reflexes, etc.

The human will never just be along for the ride. A lot more, or different, things will be required from them, but they won't be just along for the ride.