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

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?

[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: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?