Sauber F1 car cutaway

teezee · Post by **teezee** » Thu May 31, 2012 10:29 pm

The Sauber F1 team took one of its cars and cut the darn thing in half, right down the middle, then shot a video explaining what you’re seeing. As top secret as Formula 1 is, this is an astounding thing for a team to do. Granted, it’s a two-year old car – Peter Sauber isn’t an idiot – but still, you gotta love their openness.

The video is terrific to watch... the compactness of everything. What is done to maintain the lowest possible center of gravity. The complexity... yet F1 cars have never been more reliable.

The team even trots out one of its drivers, Sergio Perez, to sit uncomfortably half-assed – literally – in the car (in most modern open-wheelers, you lie down more than sit, and the driver’s feet are actually at neck level).

Click here to go to GrandPrix.com’s video of the cut-away Sauber F1 car.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns24161.html

pauln · Post by **pauln** » Thu May 31, 2012 11:13 pm

Thanks for sharing. Very cool stuff. Never realized how low the driver is positioned to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.

MTROIS · Post by **MTROIS** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:50 am

Woaw... The driver's bottom is really super close to the track!

RonG · Post by **RonG** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:42 am

Thanks for posting this! For my part, the cutaway view really brought home the incredible strength of carbon-fiber reinforced honeycomb. In cross-section the monocoque appears absurdly delicate, yet it's enough to keep the driver from being obliterated in a 100+ mph crash. Amazing technology.