Celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Metallica.-1.- 30 years doing the same thing... and doing it so good...

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Post-Monaco, pre-Canada analysis: Tyres, Hamilton´s hot spot

The new, short-lasting Pirelli tyres looked like going to benefit soft-styled drivers like Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button. However, agressive drivers like Lewis Hamilton have found a bright side in this: their ease to warm up hard compounds in tracks with low wear of tyres. This way, Hamilton has scored his best results in circuits where tyres were not as worn out as expected, like Australia, China or Spain, where Alonso, on the other hand, had difficulties to warm up his hard tyres. In contrast, Malaysia or Turkey saw Hamilton score bad results, while Alonso´s pace was great on the prime compound in both of them.

Not having an average handicap as long as tyres go, Hamilton talent in his finely developed McLaren looks like the second best candidate for the World Championship right now, so betting on him would be a good idea as rates are around 13.00. However, I think we should wait until the end of the Canadian Grand Prix because, even though Hamilton uses to do pretty good here, it is a very demanding track for tyres, AND, like in Monaco, Pirelli decided to use supersoft and soft tyres again in Canada. That is, hard compounds and low tyre-wear tracks, the two tyre issues which Hamilton can be benefited from, are not conditions to be met this weekend.

Anyway, difficult days are coming for Sebastian Vettel, who will have only Great Britain and Hungary circuits to score "easy" points before the last third of the season... I hope to dedicate a post to him after Europe (Valencia) or after Singapore, where I hope to find the best betting rates on him in the whole season.

Let´s enjoy these upcoming races!!

Post-Spain, pre-Monaco analysis: time to go for Alonso

In my optimistic opinion, Spain GP ended with some good news for Alonso despite his 5th place. First, Ferrari´s capability to improve the car looked great during Friday, although their rear wing prohibition on Saturday somehow altered the armony of the car new parts, with the resulting outcome of Sunday´s race. Second, Alonso had his most amazing start in years, going from 4th to 1st through the dirty half of the track, which reflects a very remarkable enhancement of the car in its start system and the rapid solution of all of the problems Alonso had in the start of the first races. Third and last, next race is Monaco, scenario where Ferrari´s good car traction in narrow corners can make the difference, while Red Bull´s aerodynamics won´t be benefited from the very few fast corners, and MacLarens´ hard suspensions and top speed will find no reward in the bumps and short straights of Monte Carlo. I really think an OK performance by Alonso can bring him to his first win this year.

So taken all this together, I see good betting opportunities to be done right now: Alonso as F1 World Champion (pays up to 20.00), and Alonso winning at Monaco (pays up to 8.00).

Finally, I have to say Hamilton is doing great this year, and he was faster than Vettel in Spain. Currently, betting webs pay up to 8.00 for him winning the Championship, so maybe it´s also time to bet on him. However, I must confess I´d wait to the next week, when I hope to dedicate a post to him...

Post-Australia Pre-Malaysia analysis: Button my favourite of the less-favourites

Usually, when trying to predict who the F1 World Champion will be, we base only on the last race result. This way, betting webs pay, approximately, 1.90 for Vettel and 5.00 for Hamilton or Alonso winning the championship, but as much as 15.00 for Webber and 21.00 for Button. Webber drives a Red Bull so the time will come when he starts scoring podiums and then many people will consider him a favourite. Similarly, much has been said about how Button could be benefited with the Pirelli tyres because of being a soft-styled driver. Moreover, McLaren has demostrated how rapidly they can improve the car, so both Hamilton and Button look like Championship contenders. Altogether, I think it´s time to bet on Webber or Button as Championship winners, and wait for bad days to come for Vettel, Hamilton or Alonso if we want to get better ratios betting on them.

This way, even though there will be one World Champion only, I´ll try to give clues on when it´s the best time to bet on one contender or another. Don´t bet so much money anyway!

Formula 1 Bass Guitar??? The sound of the future F1 engines

The sound of Formula 1 engines is a beautiful example of how physics can explain nature and especially human inventions. Music itself is an even more beautiful example of the same thing, and trying to make a connection between Formula 1 and music is being a total pleasure for me during this year.

When I started thinking about how to make my guitar videos, I first calculated the theoretical pitch of current Formula 1 V8 engines. This way, we have the revolutions limit in 18000 rpm, which is 300 revolutions per second, that is 300 Hz. Given that a four-stroke engine cylinder has one explosion for every two revolutions, we have 150 explosions per second per cylinder. Therefore, the eight cylinders of a V8 engine make for a total of 1200 explosions per second, that is a sound of 1200 Hz, which is a musical note slightly above D6. However, the actual sound we hear on TV onboard laps has a predominant frequency of 600 Hz when the engine is on top revolutions, which is a subdivision of the 1200 Hz theoretical sound. That is the main frequency I play on my guitar videos, using appropriately tuned third and fourth strings past 22nd fret to have a 600 Hz sound (D5).

With the new engines, to be used from 2013 on, the revolutions limit is set to 12000 rpm, which means a reduction of the engine sound pitch by 12000/18000 = 2/3. Moreover, the engines will have 4 cylinders instead of 8, which will reduce by 1/2 the pitch of the engine sound. Altogether, we will have 2/3 x 1/2 = 1/3, so the 600 Hz sound on top revolutions will be divided by 3 to turn into a 200 Hz sound. That corresponds to a musical note slightly above G3, around the 3rd fret of a guitar for third or fourth strings, so I will have to buy a bass guitar if I want to play slow corners of a Formula 1 lap in the future, or even a contrabass for the Monaco famous turn 6.

You would say: why won´t you use the sixth string, which makes a lower sound? My answer is that I need that string to reproduce a lower frequency, which depends only on the revolutions and not on the number of cylinders. This frequency coincide with the engine revolutions expressed in Hz, so for current V8 engines on top revolutions it is 300 Hz.

The impact of the new regulations on the engine sound can be better understood if we watch the next video, which compares Raikkonen´s 2008 V8 engine with Schumacher´s 2004 V10. The revolutions were limited to around 18000 rpm for both of them:



First of all, note how the low frequency I talked about is the same for both sounds, as the revolutions regime for both engines is essentially the same. Now the readily noticeable differences between the sound of both engines are in the high frequency, and result from the difference between a sound of 600 Hz and one of 760 Hz, that is, only 160 Hz. Imagine the low a Formula 1 engine will sound to our ears when going from 600 to 200 Hz in 2013. It won´t be so different from the sound of a Rally car.

Formula 1 will still be visually attractive but its sound won´t be the same, it won´t be special anymore. There are some ecological reasons for the change but I believe it´s just for the image of Formula 1 and not to mitigate a real ecological problem. Let´s make another calculation to illustrate how the fuel use in Formula 1 is just a leaf in the forest of world fuel consumption:

A Formula 1 car consumes around 200 litres of fuel during a race. Let´s say free practises and qualifying takes 400 additional litres. 600 litres multiplied by 24 cars equals 14400, and 14400 multiplied by 20 races equals a total fuel consumption of 288000 litres in a whole Formula 1 season. 288000 litres is more or less the consumption of the cars stopped in traffic lights in a country like Spain in one day.

So please let´s stop blaming Formula 1 for wasting Earth resources and let´s be thankful to it as one of the most amazing visual (and acoustic) spectacles in the world, capable of bringing unique emotions to millions of people.

Formula 1 in Canada

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is perhaps the only one of the Formula 1 calendar that can be driven entirely by street cars, even with its kerbs and with just some understandable limitations. I felt like I was there with my guitar earlier this year, but recently I actually was there in a sunny and warm, perfect November day. There was almost nobody in the circuit, it was all for me and that made it even more special. I really think how special it is to drive in a Formula 1 circuit. Many football lovers would fulfil a dream if playing football in the grass of Bernabeu or Old Trafford Stadiums. That´s exactly how I feel in Formula 1 circuits. Driving and vibrating over the kerbs, approaching the Wall of Champions, caring about the grip on the chicanes, or wondering how Formula 1 cars can go through those narrow curves five times faster than me, gave me a new grade in the understanding of this sport.

It was a complete Formula 1 week, as I was also delighted to meet the guys of F1 Boutique Canada in old Montreal (who told me about the huge transformation of the city on the week of the Grand Prix), and not so delighted to watch the end of the Championship in Abu Dhabi because of the Fernando Alonso defeat. Very nice and remarkable Formula 1 season anyway, especially for me.

Valencia Street Circuit guitar lap (by car it´s not possible)

It is curious how a guitar is a better way to get close to the feelings of a Formula 1 driver than a real car. At least this is the case in the Valencia Street Circuit. I could imitate the sound of the entire Alonso lap with my guitar, but I couldn´t drive my car througout the circuit. The all-chicane character of the first two sectors is readily obvious even if you just listen to the sound of the guitar, but when driving your car there you find all the chicanes are cut to traffic for one reason or another, so you can drive only on the long straights. The funny third sector, which ends in the unique, musical braking of the last turn where my picture on the left is, is completely closed all year long, as it is the famous bridge. Perhaps an effort could be made to make the circuit more accesible and enjoyable to the thousands of Formula 1 fans that would be fond of visiting it. Anyway, reasons should be not to. The Valencia port is a busy area even without race lovers.

Despite all I just said, you can guess I absolutely loved being in the Valencia circuit, checking the tire rubber stuck to the track, getting my car to boxes, placing it in the Pole Position, or driving following the exact line used by the Formula 1 drivers. Feelings so nicely accompained by many others in one of my favourite cities.