About ScarbsF1

My name is Craig Scarborough, I’m a freelance journalist\illustrator who focuses solely on the Technology of F1.

I have followed the sport since the late seventies and have covered F1’s technical developments since 2000.

Although I am not a permanently accredited member of the F1 media, I attend tests, launches and some races. I am in touch with the teams ,their Technical Directors\Designers and a whole host of other engineers related to the sport. In terms of in depth technical knowledge, illustration and photography, I have few peers.

My work has been published on the Web, in Print and on TV. My work has been mentioned during BBC F1 broadcasts and copied by less scrupulous journalists.

I manage this Blog and my Twitter feed on a part time basis, as I continue to hold down a full time job outside of F1. In my efforts to move into a full time role in F1 media, I am seeking additional publishers for my work.

Scarbs@ScarbsF1.com

Twitter: @ScarbsF1

Webcast: TheFlyingLap.com with Peter Windsor

Magazines:
F1Racing magazine
Motorsport Magazine
Racecar Engineering Magazine
RaceTech Magazine
Race Engine Technology Magazine
F1 Race Technology Magazine
F1i magazine
Clubs1 Magazine

Tv: Shanghai TV

133 thoughts on “About ScarbsF1”

  1. I really like your work so far, it’s the best F1 technical stuff I have found on the net.
    Keep it up and I’m sure the work will come in as your profile grows.

    Reply ↓

    • WOW, honestly amazing. Great blog, by far the best i have ever read. I truly hope you keep going and make a full time career from all the hard work you obviously put in. Big Fan!!! Bookmarked!!! …. if you ever need any graphic work contact me and i will gladly contribute

      Reply ↓

  5. Hello Craig. I love your work, your F1 technical analysis and drawings are the best one can find! It’s shame autosport.com parted company with you. what the hell was the reason? I really can’t understand it! i really missed your work. So I’am glad you started your blog. Hopefully you’ll get some decent employer soon. I think you have really big supporting community among F1 fans – whole F1technical.net at least 😉

    have to say that your pictures and comments on twitter & twitterpic at the test in Valencia were great!

    I suggest you put your twitter & twitterpic links on your blog! and set up a facebook profile. You’ll see all these things combined are powerfull stuff.

    So have a good luck and keep up your great work! 😉

    Jan

    Reply ↓

  6. Pity not to have a current paid publisher . I have always considered Giorgio Piola and you scarbs as the best F1 technical analyzers and insipiration to me . Hope to find a publisher shelter soon . I wish i myself had a F1 magazine to hire you but I do not .

    Reply ↓

  10. Hi Craig,

    NickT from the early days of F1 Technical, sorry to hear about your departure from Autosport, but that is their loss, after all you are a very talented writer/illustrator with an excellent depth of technical understanding that you communicate very well.

    Loving your blog much better than searching for your posts on F1 Tech and picking up the odd copy of Autosport looking for you work there.

    Keep up the good work and hang on to that dream, this is just the next step on your journey to the top.

    Cheers

    Nick

    Reply ↓

  11. Terrific blog. The tech info is fascinating and adds an extra dimension to the sport. Seeing the cars at TV distances plastered with logos tends to make them all look very similar. It’s great to see how different designers approaches to the rules produce difference cars and also to see how they progress under development.

    Hope someone picks up your work soon. Thanks for sharing until then!

    Reply ↓

  12. Craig, EXCELLANT WORK!!! I was Mo Nunn’s quiet partner with Team Ensign (70’s-80’s), which has allowed me some insight into the complexity of preperation required during an F1 season. The stipulation that you design and build your own car, was always, in my estimation, the prime element of F1 and what seperated it from virtually all other forms of racing, even prototype. Today, it is infinantly more difficult, with the need for minor or even major changes to the chassis on a race to race basis. Your engineering comprension plus fine drafting ability, consistently gives us a clear view of what it takes to give the driver the tools he needs. I’m pushing 80 but have not lost my zest or love of Grand Prix. In 1947 I obtained a copy of “Motor Racing With Mercedes Benz” by George Monkhouse (“1938”),I was 17, it alone changed the direction of my life compleatly. Incedently, I was able to meet him and thank him personally for that, prior to his passing! Again Thanks!

    Reply ↓

    • Chuck,
      Thanks for stopping by, with a track record like yours with Ensign I take that as a great compliment. You must have some great stories workign with Mo?

      Reply ↓

  14. Mo Nunn was quite unique. An engineer without portfolio,totally dedicated, yet not without a fine sense of humor. He did more with less than all but a very few in this sport that we all love. When we first joined forces Mo had a shop van, no car, a WWII quanset hut with holes in the roof, and took home only 50 pounds per week. I learned a lot more from Morris than he learned from me. Very much thanks to him I got to live my dream!

    Reply ↓

    • Craig Scarborough – sorry to “sidetrack” I’m hoping to leave a message for Chuck based on a reply he gave me on Joe Sawards site, hope you don’t mind. Understand if you do and moderate accordingly.

      Chuck

      “Thank you Russell Perrott! for your comments. Joe he may be right, a bundle of personal stories, regards F1, would be interesting!!!! I have a some of good ones, myself!” You do yourself down, you are part of an important history.

      I am more than interested in getting a “social site” going, if you would like to help stories etc. please e-mail me then I can get back to you.

      Many thanks

      Russell

      p.s. Thanks Craig if you don’t apologise & Chuck gets in touch.

      Reply ↓

  15. To: Russell Perrott. Russell,I’m more than happy to touch base with you regards quips and stories. Craig,you have my permission to give Russell my email link. Sounds like it”s worth exploring. By the way, I can’t wait until the flag falls at Bahrain about eight hours from now!

    Reply ↓

    • Chuck

      Sorry been so long in replying – haven’t asked Craig for your e-mail hence comment here – but have been a bit busy – oops that was careless (being busy that is).

      Anyhow, my idea is all about memories; “what you remember about your first GP” – “I had an accident with ‘F1 driver’ he was a perfect gentleman etc. i.e. all the things that suround F1 no “reporting facts – FA won in Bahrain not allowed – Clive Chapman giving/donating Colins flat cap to Tony Fernandez in Bahrain – allowed”.

      The ground rules are quite simple I am suggesting a social history NOT a history.

      From conversations I have had with a few other people the feeling is this could be fantastic. My view is I would prefer to record and create a living history, one that grows, one where we can develop an enviroment where your memories – my memories – other peoples memories are not lost but recorded and passed down, generation to generation (technology allowing).

      I know we have TV footage etc. but they only report. As I said I am more on the lines of social, the bits that make F1 what it is:

      What does Ferrari mean to every Italian – and why?
      How did you feel when … ?
      I remeber my first GP…?
      I was FA/MS/Jim Clarks’ mechanic etc…

      Sadly we have probably already missed 1 generation (1900 – 1920), I would prefer not to see another lost.

      I love reading/recalling my memories from the 1960 – 1970 era, I remember where/what I was doing on May 1 1994 (exactly & the time) etc.

      For what it is worth, I suggest a “living” web site (will be ready this week) and then going to a body like the Grand Prix Mechanics Charitable Trust and offering the content as a book with all the proceeds going to them.

      What do you think?

      Note: Craig, you have my permission to give Chuck my email link.

      Chuck, if not, you can contact me at russellparrott@gmail dot com or via my web site – link on my name in comment.

      Note: Craig – Thanks for letting previous comment be posted, very much appreciated, I am sure that you too have memories and with your experience etc. could make a great and valuable contribution to such a project.

      Reply ↓

  16. Craig, wonderful techblog you have. There is a fantastic magazine published in Japan called F1Modeling and now published by (I believe) Toho publishing and it is a high quality product with many photos of current and past cars with scale modeling features. You may consider approaching them with your work. I know it is all Japanese text but packed with artwork and photos. I will try and get you the publishers information if you like.

    I have your site bookmarked.

    Thank you

    Craig B

    Reply ↓

    • I know of the magazine, and I have approached them in the past. But they have their own photogrpahers and Piola at races, so I can’t compete.
      I have even seen copies of the magazine in technical directors offices!

      Reply ↓

  18. Excellent site – Love the tech side of F1 so this site was pushed all the right buttons so to speak.

    Keep up the great work.

    Reply ↓

  19. Craig. Thank you, this is great information.
    Do you have any insight on the Red Bull ride hight issue? Could they be using ratchets to keep the car lowered at full tank levels or would it affect the performance?

    Reply ↓

  20. Awesome, awesome stuff! I kinda hope you don’t find publisher so that we can have you writing all this gold for us cheap bastards 😀

    – Tero

    Reply ↓

  21. Scarbs, F1 fan of 34 years, found your blog via twitter during the winter months.

    ****** Brilliant!!! ******

    I thought I had a decent understanding before, but now I think your blog is great and I love the detail and drawings. It’s opended up a whole new F1 world for me.

    Thanks a lot. . .

    Matt

    Reply ↓

  22. Dear Craig,

    I love F1 like everybody and now I also love your blog, your technical analysis. You will be on top in near future.

    Thank you for everthing you show here. I have a deep respect for you with 10 years involve in F1 technical. If have a chance I want to ‘face to face’ for learning.

    Thank Craig,

    Reply ↓

  23. Hi Scarbs,

    I think your site is fabulous, packed with detail, and using language that, in the main, a layman like me can follow.

    I have a question, excuse me if you have already answered it, but if so, I can’t find it on the site.

    Presumably the F-Duct aside from it’s primary function, also reduces the effective aerodynamic tow along straights. As I understand it the tow effect is a bi-product of drag caused by the aero packages on the car. As the F-duct reduces the drag on the straight, the tow effect would be minimised??. Once the duct is disengaged at the corner, normal levels of drag return, making following a car through the corners as difficult as it has always been. So the duct will make it a little easier for the McLaren to overtake, but more difficult for anyone following. Is this theory sound?

    Thanks,

    O.

    Reply ↓

  24. Hi Scarbs,

    Absolutely wonderful work, I’ve become F1 literate over the past few weeks thanks to it. Great post on the F-Duct. I’ve got a question btw.

    In malaysia the tv commentators went on and on about how hot it got and how the drivers lost upto 4 Kgs during the course of the race. If its so hard on the drivers, has any team thought of better cooling in the cockpit? I mean other than the little hole in the nose cone. I’ve searched around a lot on the air circulation inside the cockpit but haven’t managed to find anything. Is cockpit temperature even a priority for the teams ?

    Reply ↓

  25. Hello, Craig. My best regards for your extraordinary and extremely accurate works. Are you going to publish works of prior years out here??

    Reply ↓

    • Kirill, Good point and one I hadn’t thought of. If I find time I will probably produce a review of specific cars, if they are interesting enough and I have enough exisiting drawings of them.

      Reply ↓

  26. Best F1 technical analysis on the web. really enjoy reading your stuff and a big part of that is because you make it easy to understand without making the people reading it feel stupid.

    Reply ↓

  27. Your analysis of cars of interest from years gone by would be most welcome.

    Lotus 80 and 88 ?
    Brabham BT55 ?
    Mclaren MP4/18 – the one that never raced ! ?

    but I am sure I will enjoy whatever you post.
    Thanks.

    Reply ↓

  29. Wow! You’ve just very neatly filled a huge void in my enjoyment of F1! It’s extremely hard to get this kind of info anywhere else. Since F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of auto engineering the need for authorititive information on the technical upgrades etc was a huge gap IMO. You be sure that your site will be frequently read by myself and anyone else I recommend it to.
    Cheers!

    Reply ↓

  30. Craig, I’ve been very impressed with almost everything you’ve written over the last 5 years or so. As a mechanical engineer who is passionate about the technical side of F1 your sketches and theorizing, as well as your inside information, make my F1 experience better.Sometimes reading your work is more exciting that the actual racing.

    I for one would love to support you in a small monitary way but I am not in the UK. Is it a big deal to set your site so the other 90% of your readers can contribute too? How can I make a donation from Canada?

    I wish you all the best and keep up the awesome work.

    Pip

    Reply ↓

  32. Just wanted to add my comments to the rest of those praising your work.

    Do you have an RSS feed as there is a News page on my site with feeds of all the interesting blogs.

    Reply ↓

  33. Superb, brilliant work. Now you should start to look at… real racing and inform us on technicalities of WRC cars. Also fascinating, technically. A fan from down under! Cheers

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks,

      I do have an interest in WRC, but don’t have the time to drill into it properly. The sames goes for sportscars (LMP1-2 etc), touring cars (esp DTM) and MotoGP….

      Reply ↓

  34. Great job scarbs. love the site. have you approached Joe Saward and his excellent online mag. surely you could get a look in on a publication like that.
    do you get to travel to many GPs?

    Reply ↓

    • I haven’t approached Joe Sawards Grandprix.com, you will find most web based F1 portals have almost no budget. So if I’m looking to get paid, few websites can accommodate me. I have a few magazine deals bubbling up at the moment, so some continental European fans might get access to my work in 2011.

      I do get to GPs, but my expectations this year of gaining accreditation wasn’t met my reality. Strangely I have the budget, but not the pass! So since testing has all but disappeared, I only get to launches and winter tests to get to see the cars and hence I’ve managed to see a car since February! Luckily, my access to the teams personnel, Hi res photos and my ‘insiders’ all allow me to keep going. getting to more GPs can only allow my work to be even more detailed and informed. Hopefully next year will be better for accreditation if one of these magazine deals comes off.

      Reply ↓

  35. Hi Craig, what do you think about a paid subscription for your articles published on this blog? I think many people could pay 2-3 pounds/mounth, because your work is great.

    Reply ↓

    • Certainly an idea, but I’m happy to release this stuff for free. If any body appreciates this work, there’s an option to donate via paypal. Next year I hope to get regular accreditation to races, then that money will certainly help.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi Scarbs,
        Do you know any more yet about your accreditation for races? Would be encouraging news for all us fans to know if you’ll have access.
        I wouldn’t pretend to know about how these things work but has a link up with James Allen’s site ever been discussed? I know he uses Piola and has the LG backing. Do you know if the two (i.e Piola and LG) come as a package? Your site, JA’s and Darren Heath’s give me my ultimate fix of race analysis, technical analysis and high-quality photos. I think some form of amalgamation of the content and cross promotion would make an excellent combination.

      • It’s not looking good for 2011 race accreditations, I’m hoping a publishing deal might be sorted before the season. As yet I’ve got no internet publisher and a few small nagazine deals.

      • Did anyone ever get to the bottom of the Red Bull front wing flexing? I understand that Adrian Newey did a stint with an America’s Cup yachting squad. The aero performance is key to sailing, especially controlling the flex in the mast. maybe thats where the flex comes from ?

      • Flexing wings have been around in F1 for 10-20 years. No one ever prevented the flexing of the RBR wing, much to the concern of other teams technical staff and a conspiracy theory building around what went on in 2010. I think we could see a lot of failuresto frotn wings in testing and more protest\legal trouble to come in 2011, as nothing has been done to prevent the non linear flex shown by some teams in 2010.

      • Scarbs,

        I didnt know that you had replied to my post until now!

        I searched your site and couldnt find anything on the old Walrus wing that the BMW FW26 had. It was said that it gave a performance advantage but the setup was ‘on a knife-edge’. Was the car uncompetitive due to the front wing concept (which I may be alone in thinking is rather nice) or just overall?

        Cheers,

        T

      • I wrote about the Williams Walrus wing back in the day, when I covered F1 for atlas\autosport.com. I’ll email you my analysis from the time

  41. Thank you for creating and maintaining a great blog! I found it by accident after reading an article about pneumatic valves linked from your old web site in a discussion about A series cranks and valve springs. Its the first site that I have found that explains and shows in beautiful detail, the world of F1 tech. I now have a lot of reading to catch up on! Keep up the great work. :o)

    Reply ↓

  42. Liked your analysis of the way Lotus Renault appear to be using exaust through the front of the sidepods and what that might do to downforce. How much time per lap do you think this innovation could be worth and if true, it’s going to be a bugger for anyone else to copy without a complete rebuild surely. Managing the heat issues alone must have taken Lotus Renault engineers ages to sort out.

    Reply ↓

  43. First of all, I want to say that your work is fantastic. I think you can generate incomes from the sale of a season book with a compilation of your technical analyses and illustrations. You could be a self-publisher.

    Reply ↓

  44. Great work. I am wondering if I could get some information from you on a project that I am working on using pneumatic valve springs. If you could consult me on who I could speak in regards to suppliers, seals, pressures, etc, that would be great.

    Reply ↓

  45. hey!

    i was wondering if you have any details/drawing/photos on the exhaust of the Lotus-Renault R31?
    there is lots of talk about it but i havent seen that mutch.

    greatings from zürich!

    jay

    Reply ↓

  46. Scarbs You are the british/english version of Giorgio Piola. I can’t believe that a man of Your skills does not find a well payed position on magazines, newspapers, etc.
    The piece about the Lotus Renault exhaust system is great. I will check on Your blog from now on. Unfortunately I’m out of work too, so its impossible for me to contribute to Your cause for the time being. I surely will if I have the chance. Have You contacted the argentinian magazine CORSA? They might be interested in Your work. Keep on with this good work. You see that followers are not missing. All the best. DOSEFES.

    Reply ↓

  47. G’day Craig,
    There has been scant attention to the Torro Rosso undercut side pods but that along with the Macca U, the Williams compact gearbox (harder to copy) and the Renault FEE is how I see cars at the end of the year. What are your thoughts?

    Also I wonder if Charlie adapted the weight distribution to perhaps combat huge rear end downforce?

    Thanks in anticipation,
    build

    Reply ↓

  48. Brilliant stuff Craig, the technical side of the sport for me these days has become far more interesting than the actual racing and so the articles that you produce are fascinating.

    Hopefully you will get sorted out for 2011 one way or the other.

    Reply ↓

  49. Hi and thanks for an excellent job.

    I have a question. Why haven´t You analyzed W02 yet.
    Are you suspecting some major updates, sidepods
    a´la McLaren maybe(suspicious Crash structure)

    Sheers

    Reply ↓

    • I’d love to say its because I’m sure they are due a major reworking of the car. But to be honest its been a lack of time and a lack of specific innovations on the car. That said, I do suspect the car will change a lot. As you say I have pointed out the side impact protection is a aero compromise. Plus elements of the bodywork are not yet finished, as they lack some regulatory details (fillet radius on the lower edge).

      I’ll try to have a summary of every car before Bahrain…

      Reply ↓

  50. Thanks! Really impressive work. Could you pay attention to config of suspension and steering?

    Best regards from Russia.

    Reply ↓

  52. Hi!
    Congrats from Hungary! I like your posts and photos. Finally I found an ambitious blog where I can look inside an F1 car, see how things work. Thanks a lot! Keep it going!

    Reply ↓

  53. Hello Craig,

    Thank you for your time and effort into bringing out the technical side of F1 via this blog. I wish you the best of luck in your quest for a paid publisher. Thanks mate!!

    Reply ↓

  54. Hi Craig, first of all I want to congratulate you for you awesome jobs that you make with your draws and explanations. I´m engineer from Argentina, where is no information about F1 technology. If that information is quite difficult to obtain everywhere, you can imagine that here it´s impposible find some nice publication or paper about it. Thanks to you and your work I´m constantly reading and learning about F1 design concepts. If is anything I can help, let me know. Best regards and thank you again… Sebastian.

    Reply ↓

  55. Craig,

    I was curious about the RB7’s movable rear wing. Unlike other teams, which have a central pylon that seems to connect to the rear wing mechanism, Red Bull seems to be using a rather self contained pod, presumably with the motor/actuator buried within.

    What I was wondering is just how self-contained that pod is. Do you think they are routing the power and control wires for the rear wing from the chassis up through the rear wing end plates (which I assume are very thin)?

    Is it possible that the pod is actually FULLY self contained, with it’s own battery, and perhaps a radio link to the cockpit?

    Reply ↓

  56. Why would Autosport part company with you and have someone like Gary Anderson on the payroll? It’s nuts. With all due respect to Mr. Anderson, he is constantly wrong on a lot of things, his vast experience on being an F1 engineer notwithstanding. You, on the other hand, have been able to provide us with the most accurate of details and insights into the technicalities of F1. Great job and I hope you will continue doing this for a long time to come!

    Reply ↓

  57. Good day Craig !

    Could you tell me and other fans of Ferrari if it”s possibly ! What has to do Ferrari with their cars for wins ?
    Kind regards,
    Boris.

    Reply ↓

  58. Here are some teasers (older research) on wing warping with KERS as the power source for flex wings and floor/diffuser warping to enhance downforce and mitigate drag penalties…

    Click to access pztcpbdractr_int_ferr.pdf

    Self-healing wings that flex and react like living organisms, versatile bombers that double as agile jet fighters, and swarms of tiny unmanned aircraft are just a few of the science-fiction-like possibilities that these next-generation technologies could make feasible in the decades ahead.

    At the core of this impending quantum leap in aerospace technology are “smart” materials — substances with uncanny properties, such as the ability to bend on command, “feel” pressure, and transform from liquid to solid when placed in a magnetic field.

    “This is technology that most people aren’t aware even exists,” said Anna McGowan, program manager for the Morphing Project at LaRC, which develops these new technologies.

    The task of the Morphing Project is to envision what cutting-edge aerospace design will be like 20 years from now and begin developing the technologies to make it happen.

    For example, a personal air-car needs to be compact, yet able to fly at both very low and very high speeds.

    “We know that to get a ‘Jetsons’ vehicle, you’re probably going to need a wing that can undergo a radical configuration change,” McGowan said. “The kind of wing you need at very low speed and the kind of wing you need at high speeds are completely different.”

    Some airplanes today can already reorient their wings, such as the Navy’s F-14 Tomcat and the B-1 supersonic bomber. These planes use rigid wings mounted to large, heavy pivots in the plane’s body.

    In contrast, Morphing Project scientists envision a wing that will unfurl on command using “shape-memory” metal alloys or other novel “smart” materials. The material of the wing itself would bend to create the new shape.

    Shape-memory alloys have the unusual property of snapping back to their original shape with great force when a certain amount of heat is applied. Any shape can be “trained” into the alloy as its original shape.

    Among the exotic “smart” materials being developed by the Morphing Project, shape-memory alloys are relatively ordinary.

    This thin, flexible film contains a piezoelectric material that responds to the bend by producing a voltage that’s detected by the electrodes seen at the bottom left of the image.
    Imagine seeing a bullet shot through a sheet of material, only to have the material instantly “heal” behind the bullet! Remember, this is not science fiction. Self-healing materials actually exist, and LaRC scientists are working to unravel their secrets.

    “What we did at NASA-Langley was basically dissect that material to answer the question, ‘how does it do that?'” McGowan said. “By doing so, we can actually get down to computational modeling of these materials at the molecular level.”

    “Once we understand the material’s behavior at that level, then we can create designer ‘smart’ materials,” she added.

    LaRC is also developing customized variations of piezoelectric materials. These substances link electric voltage to motion. If you contort a piezoelectric material a voltage is generated. Conversely, if you apply a voltage, the material will contort.

    Scientists can use such properties to design piezoelectric materials that function as strain sensors or as “actuators” — devices that create small motions in machines, like the moving of wing flaps.

    Combined with micro-electronics, these materials could lead to a radical advance in airplane design.

    “When we look 20 years into the future, we see airplanes that have distributed self-assessment and repair in real time,” McGowan said.

    “To make this technology possible, you would need to distribute these actuators and sensors throughout the wings. That’s similar to how the human body operates. We have muscles and nerves all over our bodies — so we are aware of what’s happening to our bodies and we can respond to it in a number of ways.”

    The resemblance to biology doesn’t end there. One avenue of Morphing Project research is to examine how nature does the things that it does well. Scientists hope they can learn lessons from this tutelage to improve their own designs.

    “Nature does some things that we can’t even get close to doing. Birds are so much more maneuverable than our airplanes are today. Birds can hover, they can fly backwards and sideways. And insects — oh forget it! — upside down, loop-de-loop, all sorts of things. We can’t even get close to that [yet],” McGowan said.

    Called “biomimetics,” this practice of learning from nature has led to the development of — among other things — a facsimile of bone.

    Bone is very light because of its porous interior, but it’s also very strong. LaRC scientists can make structures similar to bone by injecting polymer microspheres into composite shells of the desired shape, then heating the spheres to make them fuse together like tiny soap bubbles.

    “If you can have the strength and lightweightness of these bone-like structures that I’m talking about, then add in nerve-like sensors and these flexible actuators, what you’re going to end up with is an extremely light-weight, very strong, self-sensing, self-actuating structure.”

    Compare that vision to the rigid, numb, heavy structures airplanes are made of today, and you’ll get a sense of the dramatic difference “smart” materials could make in aerospace design.

    As with all basic science, the applications of these “smart” materials will extend to technologies outside of the aerospace industry.

    “We are working very closely with two different commercialization groups funded by NASA,” McGowan said, “and the outlook for this technology is on the order of millions of applications.”

    Related Links
    NASA Smart Materials and Structures
    SpaceDaily

    Reply ↓

  59. Hello Mr Scarborough,

    We had a little contact in the past and you told me that you were looking for a job in a Spanish web/magazzine. I saw some of your draws in a Spanish website, so i guess i have to say congratulations…

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks for your comment. I was hoping to get a deal with a Spanish magazine, but this didn’t happen. I dont know of any Spanish source running my work, where did you see my pictures published?

      Reply ↓

  60. I am new to scarbsf1 but wush I’d known about you before. Such a pleasure to read stuff from someone who truly knows what he’s talking about.
    Can you answer a question for me, please? After seeing Heidfeld’s problems at the end of Q2 and seeing so many drivers leaving their single run ’til the end of Q3, what is the real advantage to leaving it so late, which must outweigh the risks? I can’t see it.
    Ian

    Reply ↓

  61. Pingback: Anonymous

  62. hey Scarob, first off, HUGE FAN of your work. really great stuff! I was wondering though, I haven’t seen an update on your main page, https://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/, since Malaysia… What gives?? Anyway, hope all is well with you and your family, and look forward to seeing more great stuff!

    Cheers from across the pond!

    Reply ↓

  63. This is undoubtedly the place to go for knowledge of F1 technology. The information here is heads and shoulders above the rest of the internet. I really enjoy the diagrams and photos you have to go with the technical information. Being a spectator of the sport I don’t often get to see the insides of an F1 unless there is an accident. Keep up the good work!

    Reply ↓

  64. For me you are the equivalent of Dennis Jenkinson, the same ability to make plain the complexities of F1 machinery that DJ had when writing about drivers and their abilities.
    Self publish as a periodical news letter and charge a sensible sum.

    Reply ↓

  65. Best technical site about F1 i have seen so far … thanks for the very interesting information, pictures, drawings and so on …

    keep up this good and interesting work …

    Reply ↓

  66. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love your work. But the last months I rarely see any new updates. What has happened?

    Reply ↓

    • No problem, I do this for fun. My day job is currently tieing me up for long periods. I simply havent got the time to brign constant updates. However as always there’s plenty in the pipeline…. 😉

      Reply ↓

  67. you’re like Ted Kravitz of BBC – whenever i think, “oh, whats that?”, and google it and one of your posts pops up. you’ve covered almost everything, and are one of the very few sites which goes into the details of F1 tech. keep up the good work, mate! also, i have a request. is there a schematic of the gear change mechanism? i mean the paddles and the realted mechanism. like, what happens when the paddle is pulled or pushed, etc. also, the other levers and paddles on the steering wheel. thanks!

    Reply ↓

  68. the whole F1 world is a very difficult to follow if you don’t know those 2 or 3 things that happens every week between Grand Prix. You Scrabs and Keith Collantine from F1Fanatic make it work, though.

    As an engineer student, and an avid motorsport fan, this is the best website available at the moment. Everything you explain is relatively easy to understand and best of all, it’s epically detailed!.

    Well done mate!! Keep it up!

    Reply ↓

  70. Awesome work Craig, you really know your stuff. It’s a real breath of fresh air to have someone as knowledgeable as you writing about F1. Keep it up.

    Reply ↓

  72. Craig, what your doing is perfect. This is how media is now and will be in the future. Its better, far better then a magazine. I’ve read mags for years, Race Tech, Autosport,ect.. A novice can be a expert in a few hours with your site. Mags are boring and impercise, never giving the type of illistrations as well as your commentaries and feed back, awsome.I don’t want to get mushy, but I can see your love for the technical side of this sport.It’s easy to see that it’s growing dailey. Keep the hammer down. I sent a donation because its well with. Good Luck!

    Reply ↓

  73. Well, I’ve followed Formula One for decades, or so I thought. I have never visited your site. I just did. Now I think this was the first day I’ve actually followed Formula One.

    Reply ↓

  74. hi guys great site for info but can anyone tell me how the F1 steering wheel connects electrically to the rest of the car ??? no matter how much I check the backside of the wheel cant see any way…. is it down the steering column via multipin plug as a group C mechanic / electrician back in the late eighties I used to drill off the MOMO wheel for the PTT button and connect the curly wire to the under dashboard transmitter how times have changed !!
    all the best to petrolheads everywhere …….. dakarjeff

    Reply ↓

    • The steering colum ends in a LEMO connector, this seats with a matching connector of the steering wheel. Further back down the colum, the wires emerge and connect to the cars loom.

      Reply ↓

  75. Hi Craig,
    Thanks for the great an informative blog.

    I was just wanting to ask whether you would be able to analyze the Senna crash. It would be great to see your professional view and expert opinion. My interest has been reignited since watching the documentary and YouTube videos (subsequently).

    Hope to hear from you.

    Jan

    Reply ↓

  77. I am a fellow motorsports enthusiast and writer and I must say I love your work and this is by far the best thing I have stumbled upon on the internet. Keep it up and best of luck getting onboard somewhere in the F1 community.

    Reply ↓

  78. Pingback: LA F1 2012 CAMBIA MUSO…COME? COSI’! « Motorsport Rants

  80. Great work… As a resident of Round Rock, Texas just 30 minutes from CotA and a huge F1 fan I’m looking forward to coming to your site and reading and learning more about F1. Pictures are worth a thousand words and you seem to do both well.

    Keep it up.

    Reply ↓

  86. Hello Craig, I’m from Brazil and I loved your blog. I’m a mechanical engeneer and a huge fan of F1. I created a very small blog of F1 too, very simple, just for my friends to read. I really loved your post about the “F1 2012: Rules, Designs and Trends”, and I would like to know if I can translate it to portuguese and post it at my blog, of course giving you all the credits. If you want to see, my blog is http://www.pegandoovacuo.com Anyway, from now on, i’ll be reading your blog everyday!
    Congratulations for your work,
    Keep it up!

    Reply ↓

  88. Craig,
    This blog is awesome! As an automotive engineer I truly enjoy your comments on the technical side of F1. Keep the good job.

    Reply ↓

  89. Hello Sir, Great blog. I teach Dynamics at the college level and had one student do a term paper where he cited your website. I was wondering if you have more detailed technical stuff such as equation etc that yhour analyses are based on. or if yhou cold point me in the right direction. Thanks amd keep up the good work.

    Reply ↓

  90. Hi craig, Seen you page on the Grantura Yak my father David Hives ran grantura plastics for several years if there is anything you would like to know i will email you his tel number

    Reply ↓

    • Martin,
      Thanks for the message, what a shame I sold the Yak last year, as my garage was broken into and mos tof my tools and sopares stolen. the Yak was a great design, it was such a shame I didnt get to finish the project.

      Scarbs

      Reply ↓

  91. Hi Craig, Many thanks for the technical stuff. You are a Guru. I am going to spread the word and get more F1 loving Indians to use your site for F1 technicals. F1 is growing rapidly in India and your site should become a college text book (automotive/ mechanical engg) . Cheers

    Reply ↓

  92. Hi Craig,

    Are we missing the point perhaps. Looking at d12aus3465.jpg, you can clearly see two pipes in the central rear bodywork outlet.

    Consider this. Perhaps these are connected to the air box, and when the DRS is opened, it relieves excess pressure in the airbox, and then prevents choked flow situations.

    Wondering consequences of choked flow in the airbox. Air spills out of airbox (or rather never enters it, despite then negative pressure in there) , and then disturbs the lamina flow along the airbox / rear bodywork at high speed.

    Thoughts?

    Greg

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s