formulas

Felipe Massa's Career-Threatening crash at Hungarian Grand Prix

Jimmie Johnson's victory at the Autism Speaks 400 wasn't the only big news coming from the racing world two weekends ago. The FIA Formula One World Championship held its annual Hungarian Grand Prix that same weekend, and while Lewis Hamilton picked up his first win of the 2009 season at this race, perhaps the biggest news concerned the horrific accident that befell Brazilian F1 driver Felipe Massa on July 25 while attempting to qualify for this championship race.

I was only able to locate one web video of the accident, and while it isn't of the highest … Read more

Formula 1 champ uses BlackBerry app to drive car

Vodafone teamed up with Formula 1 team Mercedes McLaren to develop an application that kicks the pants off of any iPhone application on the market.

In a video circulating on YouTube.com, engineers Simon and Steve show off an accelerometer/gyroscope application they built for their BlackBerry Storm that uses Bluetooth technology to steer a modified remote control car.

After achieving victory in their Remote Control Office Grand Prix, they apply their technology to a McLaren Formula 1 car for world champion Lewis Hamilton to test drive, but not behind the wheel.

This application raises the question, if you're … Read more

Formula 1 has its own ideas of energy efficiency

In addition to a host of debatably better chassis modifications, 2009 Formula 1 cars now have regenerative brakes.

But don't think these cars will be using the stored energy to improve gas mileage. Although officials have been paying lip service about improving the environmentally-friendliness of the sport, this expensive (and potentially dangerous) advancement will most likely improve audience appeal.… Read more

The technology behind an F1 race

When the streets of Singapore come alive with Formula One action this weekend, it may be easy to forget how much technology is involved to enable the cars to whiz through the track at breakneck speeds.

Perhaps the most noticeable equipment will be the lights lining the track. Designed by Italian lighting contractor Valerio Maioli, the Philips-made system will involve some 1,500 lighting projectors around the track, lighting it to the level of 3,000 lux--nearly four times brighter than that of a typical sports stadium.

Provisions have been made for wet weather in the tropical city: the projectors will beam light on the track at different angles, rather than vertically, to minimize glare off the road surface, should it rain.

The power requirements of these lights are correspondingly stringent. While many of the teams will plug their back-end IT systems into the country's power grid, Valerio Maioli has fitted 12 twin-power generators to power the lights. These 24 generators are also fail-resistant--the second generator will pick up the load, should the first one fail, to keep the light levels consistent.

But environmentalists should rest easy, a Philips representative told ZDNet Asia. The lighting system is 16 percent more energy-efficient, compared to competitors' products, the representative said.

Another noticeable addition to the track from Valerio Maioli will be digital flags--electronic light displays that will replace the traditional colored flags used in day races, for better visibility at night. These 35 panels will communicate vital information to drivers.

Supercomputing in Formula One Behind the scenes is where you will find the heavy-duty computing power. Alex Burns, chief operating officer of the Williams F1 team, described to ZDNet Asia in an interview the magnitude of the systems involved, both leading up to the event and during the actual race.

Burns said the team takes 35 Lenovo ThinkPad laptops to the circuit, to be used by race engineers. In the garage by the pit stop, there are another eight racks of servers: two for the data coming off each of the two cars, and another two for each car's engines, he said. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 796: Is that an HTC Dream in your pocket?

In today's show, we're introduced to the concept of the "banana phone" (complete with drawings), China tells GoDaddy to Go Away, a Scottish bank sends a computer into the eBay abyss full of customer data, and Apple's latest iPhone firmware shuts down copy-and-paste. As expected, Molly blows her stack. Like, a couple times. It's crazy. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 796

Apple event for September 9 http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/25/rumor-apple-event-for-september-9th

Network notary system thwarts man-in-the-middle attacks http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080826-network-notary-system-thwarts-man-in-the-middle-attacks.html http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Firefox-Extension-Thwarts-MITM-Attacks-97239… Read more

Electronic flags to debut in F1 night race

If driving while talking on a mobile phone is dangerous, how much more deadly would it be if Formula One racers got distracted while race officials tried to communicate with them via headsets?

Thankfully, colored flags are the de facto method by which vital information is relayed to the drivers without causing unnecessary disturbance. For example, a yellow flag means there's danger ahead and overtaking is prohibited, while a white flag indicates slow-moving vehicles (like the safety car or tow truck) on the track.

However, in F1's upcoming first-ever night race, traditional colored flags might be a little … Read more

Toyota simulation tries to keep you in one piece

Having made a fool of ourselves last Friday crashing at every turn in the SingTel F1 simulator race, we were relieved to see somebody else being a klutz behind the wheel.

Toyota has developed a computer simulation dubbed Total Human Model Safety (THUMS), which re-creates high-speed accidents to examine the impact it has on human physiology, according to Fareastgizmos. The system is part of a new study conducted jointly with the FIA Institute that is designed specifically to examine high-speed rear-impact collisions at the FIA Formula One World Championship and Indy Racing League.

Driving an F1 car, as you might … Read more

Driving on Singapore's F1 night track

Earlier today, we had a go on SingTel's F1 simulator. Designed by U.K.-based BallRacing Developments, this machine is not your usual arcade fare. The Singapore operator commissioned it to simulate just one track, the one that F1 drivers will actually use in Singapore come September.

Not only does it look like an F1 car, but it feels real, too. You're almost fully reclined while an assistant adjusts the foot pedals to the reach of your legs. The steering wheel is then snapped on, just like the real thing.

Once you start the engine, the entire machine vibrates. Though you are controlling what happens on the screen, the "car" moves according to your driving. Granted, it won't spin you around like a theme park ride, but it does add to the sensation that you are really in an F1 racer.… Read more

Racing legend: Today's F1 cars 'staggering'

Formula 1 has long been considered the pinnacle of automotive and motorsport technology. Many advancements on road cars, including paddle shifters, traction control and improved tire technology, have come out of the development of these engineering marvels.

Sir Stirling Moss, who drove in 66 Grand Prix races between 1955 and 1961, was an honorary judge at this year's Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach. While he was carefully studying the lines and mechanics of this year's competitors, we had a chance to ask Moss, now 77, a few questions about his role in racing and how today's … Read more