what would an f1 car look like if there were no restrictions at all?

maybe some restrictions in the general dimensions of the car
but none in the engine, aerodynamics, tyres, safety, ... blabla
oh and not more electronics than F1 has today, else a driver would become unnecessary probably

like would it be better too have 6 wheels instead of 4?
engine would probably be a massive v12 or something we havent seen before
and the car would probably look like a pile of wings staked on eachother :|

as overtaking would be impossible, how will laptimes be?
would they be able to go below 1minute laptimes on spa?
i think the biggest limit will be coping with the gforces



meh!

The driver would do less driving than we would on LFS, they would be more like train drivers, pushing buttons and turning dials at the right time, but ultimately not changing the direction the car travels. I think cornering speeds would be out of control, so fast that drivers would need to wear similar things to fighter pilots. Top speeds would probably be near 250mph, because the cars would automatically adjust and transform when they got onto straights.

I think they would end up looking more like something from a science fiction film than a single seater racing car. Personally I want to see it, no limits, no budget caps, no regulations, just make the fastest car you can make.

Quote from ATC Quicksilver :

The driver would do less driving than we would on LFS, they would be more like train drivers, pushing buttons and turning dials at the right time, but ultimately not changing the direction the car travels.

Quote from Fastwalker :

oh and not more electronics than F1 has today, else a driver would become unnecessary probably

but yea it will probably look like a plane lol

Well the problem is it would be like Scalextric, but I guess they would just go with remote control cars. The drivers would sit in their simulators and be given live video footage from the car, even then they would only need to be there to avoid accidents and recover the car if it spins. We could probably drive the cars, so you would have 12 year old drivers chosen via computer game competitions.

The biggest difference in terms of looks would probably be closed wheels (the rules require open wheels at the moment but all teams would almost certainly go for an aerodynamic covering of some sort). Where possible the wings would be computer controlled to provide maximum downforce in corners and minimum drag on straights. For engines they'd have to be going for forced induction and possibly rotary (?) for the highest possible power to weight ratio. Number of tyres is more difficult...that would probably depend on how much grip they could get from the tyres and what the ultimate performance of the car was. Transmission would probably be CVT, possibly powering all of the wheels. Braking systems with multiple discs per wheel for maximum stopping power. The truly limiting factor would be keeping the driver alive/conscious/alert for the full race distance.

Quote from amp88 :

The biggest difference in terms of looks would probably be closed wheels (the rules require open wheels at the moment but all teams would almost certainly go for an aerodynamic covering of some sort). Where possible the wings would be computer controlled to provide maximum downforce in corners and minimum drag on straights. For engines they'd have to be going for forced induction and possibly rotary (?) for the highest possible power to weight ratio. Number of tyres is more difficult...that would probably depend on how much grip they could get from the tyres and what the ultimate performance of the car was. Transmission would probably be CVT, possibly powering all of the wheels. Braking systems with multiple discs per wheel for maximum stopping power. The truly limiting factor would be keeping the driver alive/conscious/alert for the full race distance.

Agree with all that plus almost certainly some form of active suspension and use of ground effect.

Active suspension and probably active chassis, or dual chassis, can't remember what it's called. Those are the things that F1 must avoid, because they basically control what a car does through a corner, all the driver would need to do is turn in at the correct time at roughly the correct speed and the car would do the rest.

Quote from Fastwalker :

but none in the engine, aerodynamics, tyres, safety, ... blabla

It would be ground-effect vehicles with jet engines and lasers and women piloting them dressed in tiny bikinis!

Quote :

oh and not more electronics than F1 has today, else a driver would become unnecessary probably

Oh... well, then it would be ground effect vehicles with jet engines and gatling guns and scythes on the wheels and men piloting them wearing spiked helmets and sporting decisively aggressive names implying disaster and dismemberment with undertones of petrolheaded mania!

So Death Race, then...

I have often wondered about this. So long as there were rules to prevent electronic nannying (so active diffs, suspension, traction control and other computer controlled wizzardry must not be present), I think there'd be lots of mechanical innovation. Of course there must also be a driver present in the vehicle, and there must be at least some safety precautions. And some form of generic power limitation, so that engine specs are quite free but you can never get to stupid, excessive, undriveable power levels. Perhaps a standardised fuel pump to limit the rate of fuel entering the engine? Would also make the teams focus on efficient engines, which I think would be a good thing. Might as well have vaguely green, but completely mental racing beasts.

I think one of the limits would be the tyres.

Anyone ever see the movie, 'Tron'?

Quote from ATHome :

I think one of the limits would be the tyres.

I'm sure they wouldn't have tyres, they would fly instead.

It would be lethal.

3+ litre turbos putting out 1500hp plus, ground effects, active suspension, variable incidence wings etc.

Regulations are good, just not when used excessively like now.

Maglev racing tracks, unlimited budget, so they would reduce the friction by getting rid of wheels. It could be like Wipeout, if they remove the drivers then they could have weapons too.

Quicksilver's sig is clearly the answer to this thread

Quote from mythdat :

Quicksilver's sig is clearly the answer to this thread

Where is lerts when you need him eh?

Formula Death, by the time the third race comes around half the field would be dead

Quote from lalathegreat :

Formula Death, by the time the third race comes around half the field would be dead

We'd be full circle back to early F1.

Let's turn this into "LFS community builds the ultimate weird formula car!!"

Here's a 15 minute crap as a start

You're missing weapons. Without rules there's no way teams wouldn't start introducing mild weapons. It'd be like robot wars but fullsize. Your car doesn't have to be fast to win, if it's the only one still running after said number of laps.

we found a winner!

Quote from Bob Smith :

You're missing weapons. Without rules there's no way teams wouldn't start introducing mild weapons. It'd be like robot wars but fullsize. Your car doesn't have to be fast to win, if it's the only one still running after said number of laps.

haha, didn't you see the missile launch hole on the back of the driver's helmet.
:P

You all fail

What surprises me is that no one modding the rFactor simulation has decided to let their imagination run wild and create something along these lines. It would be pants, but interesting!