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Racing > Technical Features > F1 clutch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Formula 1 clutch New regulations force Formula 1 drivers to manual labour – changing demands for Sachs high-tech clutch The start phase in Formula 1: Beginning and first highlight of every race. Decisive fractions of a second. Previously the drivers could rely on highly sensitive electronics during this critical phase – in 2004 no longer. With immediate effect the regulations forbid the use of launch control. Sensitive handwork is again in demand. And that should be taken literally, because in the „top class” the commands to the gearbox and clutch are distributed by means of a steering wheel mounted operator unit. „We see the return to handwork from a technical view point with mixed feelings”, explained Thomas Rudolf, engineer for clutch systems at ZF Sachs Race Engineering. The ZF Sachs AG motorsport department equips the Formula 1 teams of Ferrari, BAR-Honda and Toyota with clutches. „With launch control the clutch got rid of surplus power as slip. As a result, this important interface in the drive train was subject to extremely high loads, for up to two seconds and in exceptional cases even up to ten seconds and heated to temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius”, adds Rudolf. These burdens no longer apply. The Sachs engineer explains why: „In contrast to a normal car with a clutch pedal, the Formula 1 driver doesn‘t feel a pressure point with his paddle. He must remember in which paddle position the gear is engaged. It is a balancing act. Even top drivers like Michael Schumacher can only slip the clutch for a maximum of half a second as help to pull away. This is only a quarter of the time that the electronic function for pulling away demanded.” Do the new regulations therefore guarantee an easier time for the clutch? Theoretically yes, in practice not always. Because, where the human element is involved mistakes happen. „If a driver misses the pressure point and realises that the engine could stall, he disengages the clutch, lets the engine revs skyrocket and tries to reengage the clutch again. Often, the whole game is repeated several times. As a result even higher loads can arise than pulling away with the launch control”, says Rudolf. „Even if such mistakes are not the rule, we must make provision for them. That‘s why we have refrained from reducing the reserves released through the abolition of the launch control.” ... In fact the Sachs Formula 1 clutch of 2004 vintage, at the same overall dimensions as its predecessor, is even more efficient. The technicians reduced the clutch hub size of the successful model GMFZ 3/97 Y thereby gaining more room for the stressed carbon disc friction faces. The diaphragm spring, which clamp the friction plates with a force of 1.6 tonnes, are produced from special steel alloy resistant to temperatures of up to 700 degrees Celsius. Also the tiny titanium housing with a diameter of 111 millimetres is, thanks to an even further optimised machined contour, more robust. Sachs expects the component longevity to have increased by a factor of three. The housing is particularly stressed by engine vibrations. „Although the engines must now last an entire race-weekend, the relevant key data for us remains almost unchanged. The power units still rotate at over 18,000 rpm and are actually lighter rather than heavier. And the lighter an engine is the more it vibrates, which wears out the clutch housing”, knows Sachs engineer Rudolf. The new ban of automatic gearboxes also has no influence on the clutch. From the technical point of view Formula 1 racers do not require a clutch to shift in the higher gears. „Even when the automatic was still allowed, several drivers took it on themselves to use the clutch to allow a softer shift procedure without achieving disturbing dynamic load alteration.” The loads resulting from this have already been taken into account for years. The Sachs technicians certainly view the 2004 Formula 1 season a lot more relaxed than most of the drivers, for whom it is again a case of: There is nothing like being a race driver.
For further information: ZF Sachs AG, Detlef Reinhart, Director Company Communications Phone +49 (0) 97 21 – 98 21 41, Fax +49 (0) 97 21 – 98 31 80 E-Mail: presse@sachs.de
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