Can 2022 F1 cars tame 130R with DRS open? — Suzuka tech bits

Formula 1 arrived at Suzuka, Japan. Its 5.8km length circuit comprises all corner types from slow ones like the Hairpin to thrilling high speed turns like the 130R. And about 130R, one of the talking points prior to the grand prix was whether the new cars could take 130R flat out with the DRS open. Mainly because due to the more stable rear part of the 2022 cars, the influence of the DRS in switching the balance frontward is more mitigated than in previous years.

In this blog, we look at the possibility of taking 130R with the DRS open with the new regulation F1 cars, and we will do so by using laptime simulation [4].

To start, we find a setup of the car that fits real telemetry data. For this example, Fernando Alonso’s best qualifying lap in the 2022 event was selected.

With this simulation, we take a deeper look into the stress on the tires. In the diagram below, we see that the rear part of the car is more loaded than the front (the vertical ‘energy’ bars at the right of each tire), being the right tires the one putting the effort in this left handed corner.

ince the rear part of the car is more loaded, the front tires need more slippage to turn, hence, the car understeers into the corner. We see that the car can take this corner flat out without any issues since the tires are approximately at their 50% of the maximum grip. The velocity at which the cars hit the apex is 303km/h.

Now, we open the DRS in the backstraight…

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