Few sports in the world are as related to high technology and the luxury sector as Formula 1.
Each car becomes a true work of engineering and design that combines the latest advances with a genius vision, and brands fight to advertise in them to be associated with that image; certainly, Giorgio Piola knows about it, being a Formula 1 and Motorsport’s legend.
These F1 Watches Are Inspired By The Running Gear And Features A Tasteful Level Of Complexity
Adrenaline, racing cars, Formula1... Even the first glance of a Giorgio Piola's watch immediately pushes you into the world of motorsport, as these watches, in every detail, are guaranteed to impress.
Titanium watches have become enormously popular in the last decade for good reasons,among others, and have a preferential place(especially Formula 1 World), and each year they become the centerpiece of teams and circuits.
This season will be no exception, we will briefly let you know little details about these magnificent artworks and how much it will cost to make your wrist look like the best drivers in the world.
Plus...If you are thinking of giving an unforgettable gift this year or simply paying tribute to yourself for life, with a Giorgio Piola’s Titanium watch with inspiration in motorsport, look out for our finest selection.
Models And Prices To Suit All Tastes. Which One Do You Choose?
Durable, stylish, and designed with a wide variety of functions, including automatic timing and even thermometers. Quite a roaring jewel.
A titanium watch looks great on any exclusive wrist and makes all Giorgio Piola’s casual wearers and collectors alike come back for more. If you're not sure which titanium watch to wear, we've selected the best titanium watches info available in Giorgiopiola.com
Giorgio Piola’s team makes deep searches among the collectors' likes and current trends that can be found today on the market without forgetting about the classic style that defines a real fond of engine roars and motor sound.
To do this, Giorgio has enhanced three factors:
This is not as striking as the fusion of different characteristics that Giorgio has brought to each work of art. So that they can live placed in high and demanding wrists.
So a Giorgio Piola’s titanium watch case would weigh less than half as much for the same strength. The true weight is represented by the brand and history embodied in each of the majestic and sporty hand jewels.
Giorgio Piola’s timepieces not only fit the new styles of watches, but its properties made it marketable for outdoor use. corrosion-resistant.
The main advantage of a F1 titanium watch is its strength and lightweight. A titanium case can be abused, but it will NEVER crack or get rusted. It can be exposed to salt water and salt air and without corrosion.
It is not affected by extreme temperatures and remains comfortable even when the skin sweats under the case.
Titanium is more expensive than stainless steel. It is easily scratched, but Giorgio Piola has an extensive line of titanium products resistant, protected by anti-reflective sapphire glasses, and a durable, tire tread imprinted strap.
The Giorgio Piola Selections are fine and affordable Swiss made watches for the F1 lovers who like a delicate and powerful look on their watch.
All timepieces protected by anti-reflective sapphire glass, a titanium case and a durable, unforgettable, exclusive, F1 inspired Giorgio Piola’s taste.
An essential concept of the competition was focused by Giorgio on measuring the exact time of the cars on the track. From there this close relationship was born, which has lasted for more than a century, and which reaches our days, resting in a wrist adorned by Giorgio Piola’s F1 watches.
-Don’t Forget We Also Have Watches Inspired By Motor-Racing Just Giorgio Piola-
Two pieces of titanium when pressed firmly together over a long period of time also have a tendency to fuse together so, it’s still time to own your F1 inspired watch and look as strong as Titanium.
Are you Titanium as well? With Giorgio Piola Watches, you will find a variety of vibrant, fashionable colors to suit your personal style.
The link between modern watches mechanics and motorsports goes back a long way. Giorgio Piola’s business family has already proved that he has plenty of gasoline in his blood, bringing to you classic, casual, and limited editions of exceptional watches time and again.
]]>Red Bull Racing RB16 rear view
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Red Bull Racing RB16 side view
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This was the case with the Ferrari SF90, which although disappointing in terms of consistency and versatility, made it very clear that it had the capacity to be the fastest on the grid if the right conditions were in place. That's why the Italian brand has taken a winning concept further rather than seeking a new path.
The premises are clear: to generate more aerodynamic load to face Mercedes and Red Bull in that aspect (the engine will be in charge of compensating the increase of the drag), besides getting the car capable of working consistently in different scenarios.
Radicalizing concepts
As we said, Ferrari has chosen to improve or refine concepts that in 2019 attracted attention because of their audacity. This is the case of the front wing, which continues to deepen the "outwash effect" by lowering the attachment of the secondary flaps to the endplate as much as possible, thus creating an air channel that escapes from the outside of the tyre. This helps to reduce the drag and improve the quality of the flow in the rest of the car.
The nose is undergoing a similar revision, as it continues with the concept of a narrow nose that forms two holes in collaboration with the wing supports, but this year the central attachment is narrower and deeper, allowing the holes located on each side to be able to collect more air. Thus, Ferrari seeks to improve the performance of the central area, as well as the consistency of the flow under the chassis.
Further back, we see that the suspension system follows a similar concept to that of 2019, but with the anchorage of the upper trapeze located further down, which allows a more horizontal positioning with the aim of working on a wider range of settings.
Unlike other equipment, the above mentioned upper trapeze lacks ball-and-socket joints that create a cleaner aerodynamic flow path, although the front arm adopts a variable width curvature for aerodynamic purposes . Finishing with this area, we see how Ferrari has included an element that we saw in several single-seaters in 2019: the thrust collar that allows a better footprint and a greater turning angle in slow curves.
Baroque complexity
Already in the central area of the vehicle, we see how the SF1000 maintains the trend and continues to use concepts used in 2019, but taken one step further. The barge board incorporates three flow direction indicators (6-yellow) in its upper part to collect the air coming from the central zone of the front wing and the suspensions.
In addition, two large boomerangs are incorporated and connect to each other just in front of the side deflector, which continues with the design line of last year, when Ferrari implemented several improvements in the last third of the season as an experiment for this car.
Similar in concept to last year's are also the vertical headers located on each side of the splitter, which are now five, one of them subdivided into four in its upper half. This whole framework seeks to reorganize the air coming from the front area to ensure optimal cooling, but also that the air reaches the pontoon to go to the top of the diffuser in an effective and orderly manner.
Ferrari pioneered the evolution of the mirrors towards aerodynamically beneficial elements and in the case of the SF1000 it is no different, forming a unique support that is attached to the side of the chassis on one side and to the upper plane of the pontoon on the other. In addition, the pontoon is now narrower at its air inlet and loses the upper horizontal inlet so characteristic of the SF90.
Red Bull pontoons
One of the few changes Ferrari has adopted in relation to last year's design philosophy is the shape of the pontoons, which by 2020 discard the traditional concept of a lower channel through a very narrow base of the channel to create instead a downward effect of the aerodynamic flow to the ground. On the one hand, it changes the way air is treated and, on the other hand, it improves the flow performance at the outlet of the bargeboards.
In other words, the base is a little wider and the upper part of the pontoon is narrower, thanks to which the flow that circulates next to the ground is intended to meet - on its way to the top of the diffuser - the flow that falls from the top of the pontoon through that smooth "slide" created by the body. This concept was first introduced by Red Bull and has gradually become a widespread trend. As a complement, the rear end is even more compact than in 2019 in an attempt to improve aerodynamic load levels.
Already in the direction of the rear of the SF1000, we looked at three elements. The first is the endplate of the rear wing, which continues the design already seen in 2019, although narrowing even more the already scarce portion of carbon fiber that serves as a link between the lower and upper half.
In the engine intake, we observe another novelty of these times, but not of this century, since the aerodynamic "horns" located at the sides of the engine remind us of those installed in the McLaren and BMW Sauber between 2005 and 2007, although much smaller in the case of the Italian team. This element seeks to get the rear wing to receive a more orderly and efficient aerodynamic flow.
Finally, we look at one of the vital areas of today's cars: the area in front of the rear tyres. All the elements in this section of the floor seek to seal the sides of the diffuser through mechanisms that control the turbulence generated by the tyre, but in this case we highlight one of them because of its large size (13-blue), as it is not usual for engineers to resort to such bulky attachments.
The summary that we can make of this Ferrari SF1000 is that it does not show us new things, but it does show ambition to reach where last year the SF90 seemed to be able to reach, but that at the moment of the truth it could not confirm. Mattia Binotto's charges continue to believe in the path that began in 2019 and this season they are ready to prove it.
Will they have succeeded?
]]>Lotus 78 overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Mario Andretti, Lotus 78 survived an exploding fire extinguisher
Photo by: David Phipps
The Lotus 79 Ford sidepod with the famous ground effect aerofoil
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Lotus 79 1978 detailed overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Lotus 78 and 79 comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Chapman and his Lotus engineers had originally envisaged the 80 without wings at all, cutting drag dramatically. However, it soon became obvious that its quest was flawed and wings were added to try to resolve the car's penchant for porpoising.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This illustration of the 80 without bodywork shows how the nosecone was essentially just two spars that enabled the flow-through channel.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
From the underside, we can see how the nose channel was supposed to work and how the tunnels had been designed to reach all the way to the rear of the car.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Lotus would be forced to switch back to the 79 but it would look a little different in 1979, as it would no longer feature the JPS livery. 1980 opened with an unusual sight at the front of the grid, as Ligier took victory in the first two races with its JS11. Having moved onto the design of a ground effect car early, the team had a head start on the rest of the field.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The ingenious thing about the JS11 was Decarouge's 'clapet' design, which you could think of as an early DRS. The flaps on the underside of the sidepod's tunnel would open at a certain pressure to reduce the downforce building under the car on the straights. Giorgio Piola knew at the time that something was going on with the JS11 but had to bide his time in order to discover exactly what the team was up to. But the 'clapet' system was nestled underneath the radiators within the sidepods, so the team made every effort to keep the area covered up when the bodywork was off. This would bite them hard at Hockenheim when a towel used to cover the radiator and clapet system was left in the sidepod as the bodywork was put on, subsequently cooking the engine during the race. Luckily for Piola, after Laffite's accident at Watkins Glen, the car wasn't taken back to the pit lane. Instead, it was sent to the garages behind, and he pounced on the opportunity to take a close up look. He was able to get there before anyone from Ligier and was able to uncover the truth and grab photographic proof of the system.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari would carry the torch for the next few races, as Villeneuve and Scheckter would have back-to-back wins either side of another for Ligier, this time for Depailler. The 312T4 was another car designed with ground effect in mind and would result in championship titles for Scheckter and Ferrari. Meanwhile, another team was starting to have breakthroughs of their own...
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Where Lotus had tried to be revolutionary and failed, Williams simply took inspiration from the 79 and set about resolving many of its engineering flaws. Patrick Head knew that improving torsional stiffness would instantly translate into performance, as Lotus in its quest to narrow the 79's chassis to accommodate wide tunnels had still only used a single skin arrangement that was pop-riveted together. As such the FW07 featured an aluminium honeycomb chassis - not a new idea but still not widely adopted at that point. The 79 also suffered from brake fade, caused by the fact that the caliper was mounted to the gearbox and, over the course of a race, heated up with it. This boiled the brake fluid and caused the drivers no end of problems. The FW07 was introduced at the fifth round of the championship, the Spanish GP. But, its single biggest improvement would be unlocked just in time for its home Grand Prix at Silverstone. Ahead of the Grand Prix, Frank Dernie had discovered during wind tunnel tests that air escaping from the sidepod tunnels was becoming turbulent around the engine. He swiftly set about finding a way to prevent this and came up with a shaped undertray that would radically boost downforce. The cars, fitted with the new undertray, gave Williams a much-needed boost, and Alan Jones led the race before a failure forced him to retire. Clay Regazzoni lay in wait though and would take up the mantle and give Williams its first victory in F1. But its first real success would come in 1980 when it switched to the 'B' variant of the FW07, complete with an even more potent version of its ground effect design, allied to a strengthened chassis. The FW07 continued to go from strength-to-strength to the point where the team even ditched its front wing at points. This catapulted Williams towards the sharp end of the field, with the team able to capture another four wins in the second half of the season that elevated it to second in the Championship.
On the odd occasion too, it also helps if you're familiar with the sport's history, as something that was thought lost to the annals of time, might suddenly be en vogue again.
A great example of this is the blown diffuser. These had a huge impact in F1 as the V8 era came to an end, having been used during the '80s and '90s before falling out of favor as the regulations changed.
The original perhaps more crude interpretations had the tailpipe of the exhaust fed right into the diffuser and made life extremely difficult for the driver.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
His inputs essentially controlled the amount of downforce available, meaning that many drivers had to try to adapt their driving style to suit – sometimes counter-intuitively getting on and off the power accordingly.
Old dog, Newey tricks
Adrian Newey's RB6 not only featured a double diffuser, a feature that had dominated the development landscape for all of the teams in 2009, but it would also reprise the role exhausts could play in creating downforce at the rear of the car.
Red Bull RB6 exhausts
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Newey's rebirth of this idea saw the exhaust tailpipes moved down toward the floor, blowing the diffuser from above. The team even attempted to disguise its intentions when it first tested the solution, knowing others would be quick to see its potential, so they placed stickers on the bodywork in the old position (see inset).
As expected, others began to copy the solution as soon as they realized the aerodynamic benefits, of placing their exhaust tailpipe in similar positions.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Where Red Bull held an advantage over its competitors though was the head start it had and the work that had been done with engine supplier, Renault, enabling it to extract even more performance through off-throttle blowing.
And just like that, the issue with blown diffusers that had existed in the past was being unraveled, as downforce was still being created when the driver was braking and rolling into the apex.
The FIA sought to discourage this practice, moving to change the regulations about the location of the exhaust for 2011.
It failed pretty spectacularly though, as no less than three different designs immediately emerged to try to counteract the new requirements and regain the performance that was initially thought lost.
The two most extreme solutions to arrive were from McLaren and Lotus, as they routed the exhaust within the sidepod to try to place the tailpipe in a position where they thought they'd gain the most aerodynamically.
In the case of McLaren, the fantail solution had a nozzle that was mated to the floor and blew through a long slot on its edge. It was supposed to act much in the same way as a skirt, creating a seal between the floor and the track.
Not all good ideas work in the real world though, and this one didn't even make it through testing, as the team struggled with heat management issues and the rigidity of the exhaust vs the flexibility of the floor.
Over at Lotus, it opted to stretch the exhaust outlet all the way to the front of its floor. Its FFE (Forward Facing Exhaust) solution had shown promise when tested against other designs pursued by the team and also proved less susceptible to changes in throttle, resulting in an easier car to drive.
Meanwhile, Red Bull had come up with a less complex design that was swiftly followed by the rest of the grid. It created pancake exhausts that sat on top of the floor and exited into the channel between the side of the tire and the outer diffuser wall.
This solution would help to mitigate a problem known as 'tire squirt', which sees jets of air pushed laterally into the diffuser's path as the tire is squished under load.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
It must not be underestimated just how large a role Renault played in this project. As Red Bull continued to refine and exploit the design of the exhaust, its French power unit partner helped to create engine maps that made the engine act like an air pump when off throttle.
Blowing hot and cold
F1 teams and the FIA were once again set to be at loggerheads over the course of the coming races, with the latter unamused that the engine was technically being driven without command from the driver.
It seems that cold blowing, as it became known, was considered a borderline but acceptable tactic by the FIA. This exhaust blowing trick was achieved by cutting fuel and spark and, combined with cylinder cutting to turn the engine (which was still being revved) into an air pump and able to power the diffuser when off the throttle.
A practice that subsequently entered circulation was hot blowing. This involved retarding the ignition and messing with the torque maps in order that you'd get a more potent gas plume to power the aerodynamics.
Hot blowing wasn't viable over a long period, as it increased fuel consumption and affected the engine's lifespan. But used sparingly it could offer a tangible performance advantage.
Stepping in
The FIA sought to reign in the practice and was set to introduce an in-season ban on the practice. Following lobbying from the teams, it delayed the ban though, and would instead alter the regulations to not only prevent off-throttle blowing but also rule out the floor-mounted blown diffuser solutions.
Ferrari F2012 and F150 side views comparison, captioned
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The FIA attempted to stamp out the practice for 2012 by specifying a box region where the exhaust outlet could be placed. It effectively banned the current crop of exhaust blown diffusers but, as we'll find out in the next article in the 'Banned' series, this didn't stop the teams for long...
Renault's mass damper is a typical example of Formula 1 teams using their ingenuity and lateral thinking to find a way around a problem and then exploit it even further.
The Enstone-based team had found the rules introduced for 2005 required it to run an excessive amount of front spring stiffness to keep the front wing as close as possible to the ground.
This was the sort of mechanical trade-off that teams typically make to try to find aerodynamic performance. However, this set off an unwanted bounce effect when the car was in pitch, and so a push was made to try to find a way of counteracting its effect.
Cars of this era were able to make the weight limit relatively easy when compared with their modern counterparts, and so often ballast was carried to bring the car up to the minimum weight. This gave Renault license to install its mass damper - a free moving weight suspended within a cylinder inside the nosecone that would act in opposition to the vertical forces applied to the car.
The benefits of such a device clearly had to exceed the additional weight that was being carried, especially as one of the drawbacks was its location: with ballast usually cited at the lowest possible point on the car.
The team initially used a weight of around 10kg but swiftly realised that this could be customised for each circuit, with various weights used in order to get the best from the car and latterly added a mass damper at the rear of the car too.
Renault R26 2006 exploded overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
During this era of F1, there were two tyre suppliers - Bridgestone and Michelin, of which Renault was supplied by the latter. This was even more of a coup for Renault as it's understood that the Michelin tyres were more receptive to the use of the mass damper, as the tread block tended to move around more when exerted.
That wouldn't stop others attempting to make similar gains though, as whilst Renault may have been the first, others quickly followed suit. In fact, most of the field started employing them to a varying degree of success and with ever-more complex modality and weight.
In the end, the FIA used its catch-all regulation that outlawed 'moveable aerodynamic devices'. It cited an escalation in development of the devices which had highlighted that their primary purpose was no longer to provide additional mechanical assistance but instead was being used to markedly improve the car's aerodynamic output.
]]>However, secrets don't last long in the fast-moving Grand Prix paddock and quickly and inevitably the idea took center stage, as the imaginations of fans, media, and teams ran wild.
The F-duct, as it was swiftly dubbed owing to the letter in the Vodafone sponsor logo next to the chassis inlet, was McLaren's novel and absurdly complex way of reducing drag.
Known internally by its project number, RW80, it would become controversial but must have a solution with the FIA allowing its use for just 2010 before being banned thereafter.
The system, which consisted of numerous pipework channels, was operated by the drivers on the straights in order to 'stall' the rear wing, reducing downforce and drag.
So, let's subdivide the system into two parts, the signal pipework that the driver could interact with denoted 1,2 and 3 on the diagram, and the airflow conduits that delivered airflow to the rear of the car labeled 4,5 and 6.
The signal pipework is used as a method to control the system, with the driver covering the hole in the cockpit [2] to engage or disengage the system. When the cockpit hole was uncovered, airflow taken in by the chassis snorkel [1] would flow through into the cockpit [2], whilst airflow taken in at the airbox would be fed through the fluidic switch [5] and out through the neutral engine cover outlet [7].
However, when the driver covered the hole in the cockpit, the airflow captured by the chassis inlet [2] would bypass the cockpit and travel through the signal pipework [3] to the fluidic switch chamber.
Once here, it would divert the airflow from the airbox [4] to the upper pipework and deliver it to the rear wing [6]. The airflow would then be fed out of the additional slot in the wing, causing the flow around it to break down and cause the 'stall'.
McLaren's system went through various iterations throughout the season as the team looked to get even more performance from it.
The cockpit hole that the driver used to operate the system was initially covered by the drivers' knee. However, a later version saw the pipework moved further into the cockpit in order that the drivers could use their elbow. Meanwhile, the snorkel inlet on top of the chassis had several redesigns in order to achieve a better flow into it.
The level of downforce and drag reduction required for each circuit also meant that McLaren had different options available to it at either end of the spectrum. Monaco resulted in the team using supplementary inlets and outlets in the mainplane, whilst at Monza, it opted to use a conventional low downforce assembly, without the F-duct.
McLaren MP4-25 revised F-duct system, air pushed through mainplane, rather than the top flap (inset)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The team also made a revision to the entire rear-end of the assembly in Japan, with the ducting presented to the mainplane, rather than the top flap. This resulted in the corresponding slot on the rear face of the wing being moved too.
The FIA did not prevent the development of the F-duct, even though there were some questionable designs implemented which resulted, in some cases, in one-handed driving to activate it.
However, the FIA eventually opted to ban it for the following season and introduced the hydraulically activated Drag Reduction System.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Sauber was the first team to follow McLaren and introduce its own version of the F-Duct system, arriving at just the second round of the championship in Australia. The Swiss outfit's design differed from McLaren in several ways, with the snorkel placed on the sidepod, rather than the chassis. The rear wing feed and a rearward slot were on the mainplane rather than the top flap too. To stabilize flow around the rear wing, it also chose to use an extra slot to feed the mainplane, in keeping with a solution it had used at the Singapore GP in 2009 (inset).
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Mercedes introduced its first version of the F-Duct at the Chinese GP, albeit in a very different guise to the other teams, seeing as it didn't use the shark fin engine cover connected to the rear wing.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari also tested its first version of the F-Duct at the Chinese GP and would subsequently make changes to the system over the next few Grand Prix in order to improve its operation.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Scuderia also used supplementary inlets on the side of the airbox to feed the F-duct, as its airbox had already been optimized to feed the right amount of airflow to the engine.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Supplementary signal pipework was placed in the cockpit in order that the driver could use the back of his hand to cover it when he wanted to activate the system.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull first tested its F-duct solution at the Turkish GP but was not entirely happy with the system. It made some alterations before it reappeared and was raced at the British GP.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
One major difference with the Red Bull approach was that its neutral pipework exited above the main cooling outlet.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Force India introduced its F-duct at the ninth round of the championship in Valencia.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Williams F-Duct installation relied on a hole being created in the cockpit surround, with the signal pipework fed through the seat and cockpit padding. The team tested it ahead of its actual introduction at the European GP.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Renault was a latecomer, only introducing its F-duct system at the Belgian GP.
Lotus 79 1978 ground effect comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Lotus 80 bottom
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Lotus 79 and Lotus 80 comparsion
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Arrows A2 1979
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Lotus 88 1981 twin chassis concept
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
It was a machine that not only went on to win races itself, but it defined the sport as we know it now and featured technology that has also helped save countless lives over the decades.
The car being talked about is the McLaren MP4/1, the first to employ a full carbon composite monocoque, which made its race debut on April 12, 1981, in the Argentine GP.
Carbon fiber cars are now ubiquitous and it's hard to imagine a world in which they did not exist. However, what is perhaps most incredible is that many doubted it was a material suited to racing cars when it first appeared.
Many didn't know how to use it correctly, treating the process in a similar manner to how they did with fiberglass construction.
John Watson, McLaren Ford, with team boss Ron Dennis and chief designer John Barnard
Photo by: Motorsport Images
But it was McLaren technical director John Barnard who changed history.
Barnard began work on a skunkworks project for Ron Dennis' Project 4 team late in 1979, with the carbon fiber monocoque the centerpiece around which the entire car's design revolved.
He knew that to get an advantage over rivals he needed to design a car that had a very narrow monocoque, enabling the car to have wider Venturi tunnels than anyone else, maximizing the ground effect available.
The stumbling block was materials, with aluminum, the go-to material of the time, far too flexible for the monocoque dimensions he had in mind. Steel would give a comparatively better torsional stiffness but would add far too much weight.
Carbon fiber was his answer but, with no-one using the material in motorsport the way he envisaged, he needed to look for outside expertise.
He met with British Aerospace engineering but, whilst initially enthused by the project, it indicated it didn't have the resources to help.
But having given him the impetus to believe in the project, British Aerospace also kindled a relationship between Barnard and Arthur Webb, one of its aeronautical engineers and someone who had huge experience within the carbon fiber field.
The pair worked tirelessly on the drawings for the carbon monocoque, which would consist of an aluminum honeycomb sandwiched between layers of unidirectional carbon fiber.
This meticulous planning would not only improve torsional rigidity and reduce weight, but it would also allow for that light bulb moment - placing inserts within the structure that allowed for the various components, such as the engine, to be mounted to it, without compromising its integrity.
Once they had designed the structure, they needed someone to manufacture it as Project 4 neither had the facilities nor funds to do so. Ron Dennis enquired with various specialists in the UK but came up short.
Herculean effort
Enter Steve Nichols, an American who had worked with Barnard during his previous tenure at McLaren and would later join him again...
The pair got to talking over a beer about Barnard’s latest quandary, not wanting Nichols to know the whole truth he just told him of his plans to build a lighter, stiffer, narrower chassis.
Nichols had worked with carbon fiber before, so it did not take him long to divine Barnard’s intentions. He suggested that he should contact Hercules Aerospace, the American company for which he had worked.
Hercules Aerospace was quick to see the commercial benefits of working with McLaren and so it took little to convince the firm it should be involved.
It would help accurately lay up the carbon fiber over the aluminum honeycomb using the male mold that Project 4 had provided, and place the monocoque in its autoclave. This would then be shipped back to the UK for the team to construct.
This period of innovation was all happening during a particularly difficult time for Project 4, with the financial burden of its F1 project weighing heavy on Dennis and his team.
Dennis had previously been rebuffed by Marlboro, as he looked to spark sponsorship interest in his entry to the premier single-seater category. But, the winds of change were blowing and Marlboro's commitment to McLaren was on shaky ground.
A merger seemed the most obvious solution for Marlboro as it wanted to help turn the tide for the sleeping giant, with Dennis, Barnard and the carbon fiber concept being ushered in to help McLaren return to winning ways.
Carbon Copies
McLaren MP4/1 male mould
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The MP4's entire monocoque comprised the shell, three bulkheads and the reinforcing structure - just five parts. By comparison, an aluminum chassis of the time would have consisted of at least 50 components.
Not everyone was convinced of this new 'magical' concept though, as some of the other teams questioned the practicality of using carbon fiber so extensively in the car's construction.
But when John Watson won the British Grand Prix later that year, rival teams began to realize that the concept was something they too needed to follow.
The turning point in convincing the world that McLaren had made the right decision regarding its carbon fiber monocoque was the 1981 Italian GP.
John Watson's massive shunt in his MP4 literally tore the rear end of the car off and would have likely been considerably worse had he been aboard a car with an aluminum tub.
This was to be a watershed moment and made the rest of the grid sit up and take note. No longer could they scoff at McLaren's use of this material.
As with everything in F1, the move was swift, as sticking with previous construction methods would only lead to them bleeding lap time compared to their rivals.
Barnard was a pioneer, introducing not just F1 but motorsport in general to a material that was stronger, lighter and safer than those that had gone before it.
The sport would never be the same again. Barnard not only raised the bar, but he also changed the game.
McLaren MP4/1 Ford Cosworth
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Mercedes AMG F1 W11 DAS steering
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Haas F1 Team VF-20 diffuser
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
McLaren MCL35 front wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Alfa Romeo Racing C39 rear wing pillar detail comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The new collection – available by clicking here – will breathe new life into these already highly-detailed illustrations, marrying his illustrative work of the past with the modern techniques he employs today.
Speaking freely about his craft, Piola characterizes his time in the paddock as having three distinct chapters – the first of which comprises a time when he would sit at his drawing board for up to 40 days, creating some extremely large and exquisitely detailed cutaway drawings, laying bare the technical detail of the machine he was focused on.
These are pieces of art in their right and feature techniques that make each aspect of the car jump off the page and tell their own story – such as this fantastic Lotus 72D below...
Lotus 72D 1972 detailed overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Carving out a career that had previously not existed in Formula 1 led to Piola’s stock rising considerably, and he soon found that demand for his illustrative work had accelerated around the world. To meet these demands he reacted much like the sport he captures, innovating, adapting and thinking laterally to meet the needs of this new challenge.
During this chapter in his career, the fax machine had become how his work would be distributed and meant they could be published before he’d even arrived back from a Grand Prix weekend. This required a cleaner, more simplistic technique, the drawings becoming more like sketches when compared with those that had come before them…
Toleman TG184 1984 rear wings detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The third chapter of his illustrious career began in the mid-’90s when Piola began to develop the computer-aided techniques he’s continued to develop over the last few decades. This method has allowed him to amalgamate his previous techniques – high detail, highlighting for conveying areas of change or critical focus and a new high level of aesthetic appeal from the rich colorization of the subject matter – such as this amazing Ferrari 2003-GA below.
Ferrari F2003-GA exploded view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This image is also available in print format and forms part of Piola’s personally-curated collection
The four cars that have been painstakingly remastered for this new legacy collection are the Toleman TG184, Lotus 99T, McLaren MP4/4, and McLaren MP4/5. Click on the arrows below to see how Giorgio has colorized the McLaren...
The final product, which uses Piola’s modern colorization techniques and took approximately 6-8 hours per car to complete.
The original images, all of which were created in the second chapter of Piola’s career, we're a little tired and had to be digitally cleaned once scanned. The images still carry their original thicker line DNA too, which adds character to the colorized conversion that might have otherwise been lost had the illustrations been done from scratch. Here are the originals, and the story behind each car...
Toleman TG184 1984 detailed overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Toleman TG184 was a unique design from Rory Byrne, featuring a tandem rear wing setup that proved to be extremely effective at a rain-soaked Monaco GP. Senna had started down in 13th and produced a wet-weather masterclass, scything his way through the field until he eventually took the lead.
The result was later overturned due to the timing of the red flag that ended the race, but it was a defining moment in the Brazilian’s career and gave the F1 world its first glimpse of rare talent.
Lotus 99T 1987 detailed side view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Senna went on to enjoy success with Lotus and Renault, but it was in '87 – the first year of the Lotus-Honda partnership – that the Senna-Lotus partnership delivered its best results, the Camel-liveried, active suspension-equipped 99T helping Senna to two victories and eight podiums.
McLaren MP4-4 1988 overall view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The McLaren MP4/4 was a formidable machine and one that was victorious at every race in 1988, except one. Senna recorded eight victories that season and stood on the podium a further three times, allowing him to collect the most coveted prize in the sport – his first drivers' world championship.
The Steve Nichols-designed MP4/4 carried forth the technology of its forebears, but the influence of Gordon Murray’s low line design philosophy, first seen at Brabham, was also present. Like the BT55 the drivers were reclined much further in the cockpit than had previously been considered conventional, whilst the V6 turbocharged Honda engine and gearbox also sat as low as possible so that the team could get the maximum from their aerodynamic package.
McLaren MP4-5B 1990
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The MP4/5B helped deliver Senna’s second drivers championship and featured a reworked Honda V10 engine. It was an anecdote regarding Honda’s 10-cylinder engine that Piola recalled when discussing this car, as he had a good relationship with Osamu Goto, Honda’s chief designer (below).
Ayrton Senna, McLaren Honda MP4/5B with Honda engine guru Osamu Goto
Photo by: Sutton Images
He talked about how rumors had been circulating about their V10 engine before the V6 turbocharged engines were banned for 1989. Piola, having bumped into Honda’s Osamu Goto in the morning at the German GP, asked: “How many engines do you have in the test bank, so that you will be reliable?” Goto looked at Piola, smiled and said: “Possible 4 o’clock” and promptly left.
A bewildered Piola, unable to fathom his response went about his day, until at a certain moment, strolling through the F1 Paddock, Goto appeared again, stopped Piola in his tracks and said: “10, 10 in the test bank” – then disappeared once again!
Looking at his watch, Piola realized what had happened. It was 4 pm and while Osamu Goto was the one responsible for the Honda program in Formula 1, he had waited for permission from Honda in Japan before he could reveal this detail to Piola.
The Legacy collection of fine art prints and posters can be found by clicking here – where you’ll be able to take advantage of a special introductory offer that includes a four-poster set when you buy any of the five fine art prints.
]]>If we look through F1's history books, we can see fleeting moments where the stars align and suddenly one team has every ingredient needed for the winning recipe: an insanely talented driver pairing, the ideal design personnel, and management structure, and unparalleled engine and a flawless chassis.
In 1988 McLaren had it all, a brilliant cocktail that helped it deliver one of the most dominant cars the sport has ever seen.
But, with just four months to the first race of the season, the MP4/4 did not exist. And that's not just like a car: it didn't exist as a finished drawing either.
An extremely tight schedule prompted a no-nonsense approach, with not one aspect of the car able to take precedence over the other, as McLaren looked to create a totally solid all-rounder.
Steve Nichols, Gordon Murray, Neil Oatley
Photo by: Sutton Images
Outside the walls of McLaren, a debate still rages as to who designed the MP4/4, as Gordon Murray's arrival from Brabham in the wake of John Barnard's move to Ferrari had seen Steve Nichols fill the management vacuum.
Looking at the lineage of cars during that era, it's clear to see that McLaren, much like the rest of the field, had already taken note of Murray's low-line design and also started to recline its drivers in the cockpit.
And, whether by the natural evolution of the McLaren challenges during this period or the fact it now had Murray on its side, it was clear to see the BT55's substrain of DNA within.
But new regulations requiring drivers' feet to be behind the front axle, and a reduction in the size of the fuel tank, meant McLaren would be able to push things further still for '88.
McLaren MP4-2C 1986 cockpit and sidepod detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A decision was also taken to move away from Barnard's tradition of a V-shaped monocoque (seen here in 1986's MP4/2c) in favor of vertical sides that led to a flat floor. This not only had aerodynamic benefits but also vastly improved the car's torsional stiffness.
Allied to this was McLaren's use of its autoclave, which had arrived at great expense but allowed the team to bring manufacturing in-house.
Hercules Aerospace had been instrumental in McLaren's first full carbon fiber monocoque, introduced with the MP4/1, but with this car, it would only supply the prepreg materials.
McLaren, short on time, bucked the trend with the design and manufacture of the monocoque, as whilst most of the grid had shifted to using a female mold, McLaren continued to use male tooling.
This meant it could adapt its bodywork quickly if it made a mistake or found a development wiggle room. It also meant that, with a flat panel approach, it could have a strong benefit over those using a female mold, as McLaren could use unidirectional carbon fiber fabric as part of its production methods.,
The last piece in the monocoque jigsaw puzzle was the drop-in structure referred to as the bathtub. Essentially it made up the entire cockpit region of the seat back bulkheads, dashboard, and side panels. It was to be made up of one piece and would further improve structural integrity and torsional stiffness.
The bathtub's quality improved over time but the process behind its construction always left it with a less than desirable fit and a slightly different color to the rest of the monocoque.
Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4-4 Honda
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Not being led by one dominating factor, the MP4/4 had no stand-out features when it comes to the car's aerodynamics, an oddity when we consider its modern counterparts.
Nonetheless, the car did feature three distinct aerodynamic configurations throughout the season, so that it had the flexibility to overcome the challenges of a given circuit, which we will see in the gallery later on.
The design team had also literally flipped the script when it came to its sidepod design, with the Barnard style top outlet now to the side of the car, as seen on the MP4/1c below.
McLaren MP4-1C 1983 detailed overview
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Senna's arrival from Lotus also saw the team make the switch to Honda, who would supply it with the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine it had been developing and would continue to supply to Lotus.
Delivering in the region of 700bhp, the RA168-E was a new design that was not only extremely powerful but also very fuel-efficient and, even by modern standards, incredibly reliable.
The RA168-E was designed as a result of the FIA's desire to reign in the turbocharged engines and restore some parity with their naturally aspirated brethren.
The 1988 regulations capped boost pressure at 2.5 bar, rather than 4 bar, whilst the total fuel at their disposal was reduced from 195 liters to 150 liters. The turbo runners were also handed a minimum weight handicap of 40kg over the 'atmos' cars, who were also allowed to carry 215 liters of fuel.
To recoup any potential losses, Honda worked on a special fuel blend with Shell to avoid premature detonation and required the fuel to be preheated, such was its exotic aromatic hydrocarbon content.
This potent mixture helped to deliver a broad torque band that made the car much easier to drive than the now diminished turbocharged field and still provided an advantage over the 'atmos' cars.
Mechanics work on the McLaren MP4-4 Honda of Alain Prost
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
The Honda engine featured a low crankshaft and was paired with a small clutch that had been developed by Tilton during 1987 for Lotus.
The Tilton carbon clutch measured just 5.5" in diameter and, whilst everyone else struggled on with 7.25" diameter clutches, the Tilton gave for superior heat management, smoother engagement, low inertia and high torque capacity that helped McLaren to deal with demands of the Honda engine.
With such a low crankshaft and small clutch, some lateral thinking was required when it came to McLaren's gearbox design.
To overcome these issues, Gordon Murray approached long-time Brabham contributor Pete Weismann to collaborate on the design.
They decided upon a triple shaft arrangement that would allow them to keep the engine as low as possible and not adversely affect the driveshaft angles, an issue that Lotus, by comparison, tried to overcome by slightly tilting the engine upward while using a two-shaft gearbox arrangement.
The design of the gearbox, like Honda's engine, paid particular attention to the oil system, both of which used dry sumps to improve temperature control, reliability, reduce windage and tolerate the huge g-forces exerted on the car.
McLaren MP4-4 1988 overall view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The MP4/4 is, without doubt, an era-defining machine and one of the most well-rounded cars to have ever graced the sport. Conquering all that dare oppose it, it provided a fitting end to the sports first foray into turbocharged machinery.
]]>Formula 1 has a long and storied tradition that every racing watch lover worth its salt should know, but in case you aren’t all that familiar with them, that’s why we’re here! Without further ado, let’s see these 6 amazing facts about Formula 1:
Yes, that’s right. Even though modern Formula 1 we all know and love was created
in 1950, we can trace the origins of this raceway back. Like all the way back to 1894. You see, the Grand Prix format has its origin in the car races that began sprouting in France in 1894. At first, these races were individual events with no connection or correlation between them, and mostly on dirt roads, with little to no rules. From 1927 to 1934, the number of races considered Grand Prix had grown up to a hefty number of 18 races a year.
In 1906, the first and only race to be known as Grand Prix was organized and managed by the Automobile Club of France (ACF), and it was run for two days straight in June. The circuit was located in Le Mans and had a total length by a lap of 65 miles and the contestants would have to complete 6 every day. Out of the 32 participants representing up to 12 automobile manufacturing houses, the one winner of this race was the Hungarian Ferenc Szisz, while piloting a Renault. Truly a capital bit of information every racing watch lover and all-around Formula 1 fan must know.
The first Grand Prix of the modern Formula 1 happened on May 13th, 1950 on the
Silverstone circuit, on the United Kingdom, and the winner was the Italian Giuseppe
Farina, after beating his teammate, the Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio. However,
Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. Talk about a streak!
Many of the first cars used in Formula 1 were pre-WWII models like the Alfa Romeo
159. These had the engine in the front, with narrow tires and 1.5 liter supercharged or 4.5-liter naturally aspirated engines. For this reason, the 1952 and 1953 World
Championships were run on Formula 2 regulations, because of the lack of proper
Formula 1 cars.
As a manufacturing house of Formula 1 timepieces, we can’t fail to mention the period known as the British Dominance. Pioneered by Mike Hawthorn and Vanwall’s championship wins in 1958, this golden age for the British racing saw Hawthorn, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, and Graham Hill win fourteen Constructors’ Championship titles between 1958 and 1974, although the forefront of these pilots was the legendary Stirling Moss, who, sadly, never even won a title despite being one of the most legendary racers this sport has seen. This is why he’s known as “the greatest driver who never won a title”.
One of the first major technological developments in terms of racing in Formula 1 was Bugatti’s re-introduction of mid-engined cars, after Ferdinand Porsche’s Auto
Unions of 1930. The first pilot to prove the superiority of this design was the
Australian Jack Brabham, who was a world champion during 1959, 1960 and 1966. This was the reason why by the year 1961 all the regular competitors had switched to this design. The last and only front-engined car to compete in the British Grand Prix of 1961 was the Ferguson P99.
Bet you didn’t know all of this, huh? But that’s great because now you can say you do, and call yourself a true racing watch and Formula 1 aficionado with all this new knowledge on your favorite sport. Be seeing you next time for more interesting trivia and data about our two mutual passions: watches and Formula 1!
The team is pushing hard to deliver just that, though, as Giorgio Piola and Matt Somerfield explore with their look at what steps the Woking-based team has made.
McLaren tested a revised front wing arrangement with its DNA rooted in the concept used last season. However, it features several key differences.
The most important change is to the footplate design, as not only is the main profile flattened out significantly (blue arrow), there’s now a lipped section on the outer edge (red arrow). Last year’s design is shown in the inset circle as a comparison.
To get the best out of these alterations, further optimizations have been carried out to the shape of the mainplane, as it now features a shallower curvature in the outboard section (black arrow), whilst the upper flap is now one continuous surface, rather than being separated into two, as it was before (green arrow).
This means that any change of flap angle will have a bearing on the entire surface, rather than just the inboard section.
McLaren MCL35 diffuser detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Changes were also clear at the rear of the car during the second test, as the team fitted the MCL35 with a new floor and diffuser.
The most apparent change to the rear of the diffuser comes at the outboard section of the assembly, as the team now favors a more steeply sloped ceiling and more curved Gurney-like extractor strips to accentuate it.
More importantly, these changes take advantage of the larger internal dimensions of the diffuser itself, as the team has increased the height of the floor transition.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The front brake drum has been optimized for 2020, as the team continues to take airflow taken in by the main inlet, force it across the face of the brake drum and push it out through the wheel rim. The section of the drum cut out for this purpose is now divided into two sections, rather than the single section used in 2019, further enhancing flow distribution.
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Flo-viz paint was applied to the front brake duct during testing to evaluate whether the parts matched the results seen during work in CFD and in the wind tunnel.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
McLaren has paid particular attention to the design of the MCL35’s chassis, with the bulkhead supplemented by a chin section that improves flow underneath the car and caters for the nosecone shape ahead of it.
The front wing has undergone numerous alterations, as the team looks to skew how much of it is devoted to downforce generation and stability and how much is focused on containing the turbulence created by the front wheels.
Red Bull Racing RB16 front wing
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
There are changes to how the flapped section connects to the neutral section, with the third flap now joined to that section (white arrow). This also alters the chord of each of the flaps and their relationship with one another.
However, perhaps the biggest change is the upper flap, which features a new more curvaceous trailing edge (green line) and has been stepped forward in relation to the endplate, as the team looks to maximize the outer portion of the wing to improve how airflow moves across and around the front tire, especially as the wheels are steered.
There are further changes to the shape and geometry of the rest of the mainplane, flaps, endplate and underwing strakes, all of which cater to the aforementioned.
Red Bull Racing RB16 front wing
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Mounted atop the cape, a solution that Red Bull is sporting for the first time this season, the design team has added a hedgehog fin. This fin is very similar to the ones we saw mounted on the Haas turning vanes last season (below), introduced to add an extra dimension to how the airflow moves around this region of the car.
Haas F1 Team VF-19 turning vanes detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The RB16 has also been treated to a new set of bargeboards and sidepod deflectors, as the team looks to improve flow around the sidepods.
Red Bull Racing RB16 side
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The sidepod deflectors now have the Venetian blind-style slats bridging the gap between the forwardmost vertical element and the main vertical deflector, a solution akin to ones we’ve seen elsewhere on the grid. Meanwhile, the floating axehead just below it now has another element shadowing it (red arrow).
Obscured from view there are further changes to the bargeboards too, with the shape and position of the boomerangs altered to cater to the aforementioned changes, whilst the serrations atop the main bargeboard have also been optimized further.
Red Bull Racing RB16 rear
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
At the rear of the car, the team also mounted a camera to grab footage of any flexion in the diffuser. You’ll note chequered stickers placed on the strakes and central Gurney-style extension in this image.
It’s important to note that the changes seen in this new package being tested today are not as the consequence of a total change in philosophy, but rather an optimization of the flow regimes already present.
All of these aerodynamic changes will have been designed in conjunction with the new front suspension arrangement, which you can see in our video.
This toe-angle adjusting system has intrigued rival teams and fans alike, as they marvel at Mercedes's ingenuity whilst also hunting out answers about its operation and legality.
While some of the details of how DAS work remain hidden for now, Giorgio Piola's latest illustration of the Mercedes W11 offers us a glimpse of a few changes that the team has made at the front end of its car this year.
Rather than the drivers pushing and pulling the steering wheel, it appears that the system is activated by a button push. This action then alters the position of the wheel through the use of the power steering hydraulic system.
Mercedes AMG F1 W11 & W10 comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The two cylinders at the upper wishbones mounting point (above-left illustration, red arrows) are totally new for 2020 and may provide some of the answers as to how Mercedes has incorporated DAS.
It's believed that internally these run the height of the bulkhead, and may be used as part of a larger scheme to influence the behavior of the steering assembly too.
The steering rack is also mounted on the front face of the bulkhead and enclosed within a carbon fiber fairing, with the steering arms mounted as far forward as possible.
This places them in line with the lower arm of the wishbone for maximum aerodynamic gain as can be seen in the image below.
Mercedes AMG F1 W11 front suspension
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The first thing that draws the eye is the radical new nose solution, which takes inspiration from all corners of the grid and composes them on a scale that only it seems able to achieve...
Red Bull Racing RB16 nose detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The double open-ended snout is straight from its own playbook, having used a similar design over the last few seasons. This now wider and flatter protrusion no longer extrudes straight upward to the main nosebox though, instead it wears a peaked cap to cast a longer shadow over the front wing’s neutral section below.
The nose tip, now closer to the front wing pillars, is joined via a snowplough device, which will capture the airflow traveling down the centre of the car and funnel it to the awaiting aerodynamic devices downstream.
Atop the main snout is a narrower ramped section with two inlets of its own, it’s unclear where these will exit at present but suffice to say the air it captures will be repurposed by the designers to improve the cars overall output.
The nose box itself is also much narrower than before, allowing them to install a sizable cape on either side of the structure. The cape draws inspiration from the Mercedes design, with a downturned leading profile capturing the nearby airflow and funneling it down low.
Red Bull Racing RB16
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The narrowing of the nosecone has also freed up the design team to revisit their camera pod fixings, using stalks to reposition the cameras in a more aerodynamically prudent area. Naca-style ducts are still present on the side of the nose, albeit reshaped, in order to provide additional flow to the S-duct that exits on the bridge of the nose.
It’s also worth noting the intake scoop that sits beneath the bulkhead, an older Red Bull trick that appears to have resurfaced and will likely provide even more flow via conventional S-shaped internal pipework. The nose/chassis transition has also been softened for 2020, likely due to the repackaging of the inboard suspension elements housed below.
Meanwhile, the narrower S-duct inlet first seen in Japan last season is also retained but features further refinement, with a pair of tails seen extruding out from the exit onto the top surface of the chassis, a nod perhaps to the designs seen in the early part of the last decade and a way of better controlling the direction of the airflow that’s ejected.
The horns that were introduced last season and are placed either side of the S-duct also return, as the team looks to minimise losses around the nose/chassis transition.
Red Bull Racing RB16 detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The bargeboard and deflector region is relatively unchanged from a concept point of view, but several necessary adjustments have been made to account for how much smaller and tighter the sidepods are. Not only has the inlet been narrowed, and the letterbox reduced in height, but the undercut also appears to have been shaved back further too.
The jelly mould-style sidepod contouring remains, but the composition of the packaging within has led to the team altering their shape, drawing the bodywork in even more, resulting in a heavy downwash line being visible that will undoubtedly help with aerodynamic performance.
Red Bull Racing RB16 detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Meanwhile, a trick first seen employed by Marussia sees a small fin placed on top of the cockpit surround, in order to better manage flow off the halo over the sidepod and engine cover bodywork.
Below the oval airbox design, which is a carryover from last season, we can also find another winglet, taking advantage of both the airflow off the halo and the driver's helmet and spoiler.
If you thought the RB16’s nose job was extreme, now we'll take a poke around the team's rear suspension. Giorgio Piola has helped us out in that regard as his first illustration of the RB16 this season focuses on just that...
Red Bull Racing RB16 rear suspension
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The forwardmost leg of the lower wishbone [1] is particularly high, clearing space for more airflow to make its way into the ‘coke-bottle region’ and further exposes the winglets mounted on the bottom half of the rear brake duct, so they may work the outer section of the floor and diffuser harder.
The lower wishbone is almost sat at the same level as the driveshaft, which itself is enclosed within an aerodynamic fairing [2], with the pair now likely to work much more closely in terms of their aerodynamic performance.
The upper wishbone is also mounted in a higher position, with the upright bracket (3) now held even more aloft than its predecessor was. This, like the adjustment of the lower wishbones position has aerodynamic implications, with a clearer line of sight afforded to the reworked brake duct inlet, winglets and fence.
Red Bull Racing RB16
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The cooling outlet at the rear of the car seems to be pointed much further down than we’re used to seeing for a Red Bull-designed car too, although this is likely due to both the extremely high-angled rear suspension that’s being employed and a desire to extract flow by means of an aerodynamic link with the floor and diffuser below.
Above this we can see that the team has retained the Mickey Mouse-style exhaust and wastegate solution, with the pair of wastegate pipes tilted upward toward the rear wing.
Interestingly the team has moved to a double rear wing pillar layout for 2020 too, as perhaps we’ll see a more intricate endplate design during the course of testing or in the opening phases of the season.
The first thing that draws the eye is the radical new nose solution, which takes inspiration from all corners of the grid and composes them on a scale that only it seems able to achieve...
Red Bull Racing RB16 nose detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The double open-ended snout is straight from its own playbook, having used a similar design over the last few seasons. This now wider and flatter protrusion no longer extrudes straight upward to the main nosebox though, instead it wears a peaked cap to cast a longer shadow over the front wing’s neutral section below.
The nose tip, now closer to the front wing pillars, is joined via a snowplough device, which will capture the airflow traveling down the centre of the car and funnel it to the awaiting aerodynamic devices downstream.
Atop the main snout is a narrower ramped section with two inlets of its own, it’s unclear where these will exit at present but suffice to say the air it captures will be repurposed by the designers to improve the cars overall output.
The nose box itself is also much narrower than before, allowing them to install a sizable cape on either side of the structure. The cape draws inspiration from the Mercedes design, with a downturned leading profile capturing the nearby airflow and funneling it down low.
Red Bull Racing RB16
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The narrowing of the nosecone has also freed up the design team to revisit their camera pod fixings, using stalks to reposition the cameras in a more aerodynamically prudent area. Naca-style ducts are still present on the side of the nose, albeit reshaped, in order to provide additional flow to the S-duct that exits on the bridge of the nose.
It’s also worth noting the intake scoop that sits beneath the bulkhead, an older Red Bull trick that appears to have resurfaced and will likely provide even more flow via conventional S-shaped internal pipework. The nose/chassis transition has also been softened for 2020, likely due to the repackaging of the inboard suspension elements housed below.
Meanwhile, the narrower S-duct inlet first seen in Japan last
season is also retained but features further refinement, with a pair of tails seen extruding out from the exit onto the top surface of the chassis, a nod perhaps to the designs seen in the early part of the last decade and a way of better controlling the direction of the airflow that’s ejected.
The horns that were introduced last season and are placed either side of the S-duct also return, as the team looks to minimise losses around the nose/chassis transition.
Red Bull Racing RB16 detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The bargeboard and deflector region is relatively unchanged from a concept point of view, but several necessary adjustments have been made to account for how much smaller and tighter the sidepods are. Not only has the inlet been narrowed, and the letterbox reduced in height, but the undercut also appears to have been shaved back further too.
The jelly mould-style sidepod contouring remains, but the composition of the packaging within has led to the team altering their shape, drawing the bodywork in even more, resulting in a heavy downwash line being visible that will undoubtedly help with aerodynamic performance.
Red Bull Racing RB16 detail
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Meanwhile, a trick first seen employed by Marussia sees a small fin placed on top of the cockpit surround, in order to better manage flow off the halo over the sidepod and engine cover bodywork.
Below the oval airbox design, which is a carryover from last season, we can also find another winglet, taking advantage of both the airflow off the halo and the driver's helmet and spoiler.
If you thought the RB16’s nose job was extreme, now we'll take a poke around the team's rear suspension. Giorgio Piola has helped us out in that regard as his first illustration of the RB16 this season focuses on just that...
Red Bull Racing RB16 rear suspension
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The forwardmost leg of the lower wishbone [1] is particularly high, clearing space for more airflow to make its way into the ‘coke-bottle region’ and further exposes the winglets mounted on the bottom half of the rear brake duct, so they may work the outer section of the floor and diffuser harder.
The lower wishbone is almost sat at the same level as the driveshaft, which itself is enclosed within an aerodynamic fairing [2], with the pair now likely to work much more closely in terms of their aerodynamic performance.
The upper wishbone is also mounted in a higher position, with the upright bracket (3) now held even more aloft than its predecessor was. This, like the adjustment of the lower wishbones position has aerodynamic implications, with a clearer line of sight afforded to the reworked brake duct inlet, winglets and fence.
Red Bull Racing RB16
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The cooling outlet at the rear of the car seems to be pointed much further down than we’re used to seeing for a Red Bull-designed car too, although this is likely due to both the extremely high-angled rear suspension that’s being employed and a desire to extract flow by means of an aerodynamic link with the floor and diffuser below.
Above this we can see that the team has retained the Mickey Mouse-style exhaust and wastegate solution, with the pair of wastegate pipes tilted upward toward the rear wing.
Interestingly the team has moved to a double rear wing pillar layout for 2020 too, as perhaps we’ll see a more intricate endplate design during the course of testing or in the opening phases of the season.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Alfa led the charge last year when it came to the ‘unloaded’ style front wing, perhaps with even the most aggressive variant on the grid. It’s business as usual on that front for 2020 too, with the team still employing a very lowly hung outboard section.
However, where we do see change is in the curled mainplane and secondary flap, which will encourage more airflow under the wing.
Alfa Romeo Racing C38 front wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This is last year's front wing as a comparison, which as we can see has a much blunter approach than the C39’s design.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Alfa already had a tri-inlet arrangement at the front of its car last year, in order to benefit from the airflow being able to pass down through the structure.
However, this year it appears to have opted for a little bit of style over substance, as the central inlet now has the distinctive Alfa Romeo grille shape to it.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
The sidepod arrangement is very similar to last year but there are significant alterations when it comes to their bargeboards, deflectors and associated aero parts. The C39 now sports a twin boomerang arrangement, in a similar fashion to the ones seen over at Ferrari.
The uppermost element blends into the new deflector panel, which has a new distinctive shape to the leading element and is accompanied by two of the Venetian blind-style panels that reach back to tall vertical elements.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Alfa was an early adopter of the upright extension solution on its front suspension, which lifts the upper wishbone into a more aerodynamically desirable location. However, it has taken this a step further still for 2020, raising the entire front suspension substantially, with the lower wishbone now much closer to the wheel centre.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Currently there’s no sign of the hedgehog fins that protruded from the vanity panel on last year's car but that’s not to say that the team doesn’t have something up its sleeve for future application.
Alfa Romeo Racing C38 fins
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The hedgehog vanes used by Alfa on their C38.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
Alfa has followed Ferrari's lead this season in utilising a trapezoidal airbox and roll over structure. However, a large cooling hood is also placed behind this in order to feed the plethora of coolers and ancillaries buried behind the power unit.
Alfa Romeo C39 detail
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
A huge amount of work has gone into the contouring of the C39's rear wing in order to reduce the drag that's created at the wing tips. You'll note how the leading edge of the endplate leans away from the horizontal and curves in toward the rear cutout to achieve this. Enforcing this effort are several rows of upwash strikes too.
Alfa Romeo Racing C38 rear wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Alfa introduced this rear wing endplate design feature on the C38 having seen it applied to the STR14.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari has made changes to the brake drum design for 2020, as the team looks to move even more airflow through the assembly and out through the wheel face. Of course, this is an aerodynamically driven decision, rather than one that improves brake cooling, as the team looks to try and replicate the type of performance that the now banned blown axle provided.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull is also looking for a similar gain with the brake duct assembly, installing a massive inlet in order to capture airflow and not only distribute it to the various braking components but also fire it out through the wheel rim to affect the wake generated by the tyre.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Staying with the Red Bull brake duct theme we move to the rear of the car, where it’s easy to see how much work has gone into improving the aerodynamic properties of both the winglets connected to the main vertical fence and also the drum itself. Note the small blister-like protrusions which gently redirect errant flow toward its intended path.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Moving over to Mercedes and we can see that it has pushed several concepts used last season a little bit further still. The main one of which is the expansion of the chamber in the suspension upright that can feed airflow into the air gap between the drum and wheel rim, thus helping to cool the surface of the wheel rim and by extension the bulk temperature of the tyre.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Were it not for the pink paint and BWT logo on the nose alongside you may have confused this brake and suspension assembly with the Mercedes, such are the similarities. Racing Point has even gone to the extent of using the vortex generating nozzles within the crossover section of the drum design that Mercedes introduced in Japan last season.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This image of the forward face of the Mercedes W11’s sidepod shows what appears to be a temporary solution that’s being used to cool the electronics packed into the base of the sidepod.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
This image of the RS20 sat in the garage with the covers off is possible this year owing to the removal of the screens that teams used to put up when returning to the garage. It affords us a great insight into the architecture of the Renault power unit, its ancillaries and the various coolers.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Renault RS20 features a much narrower nose assembly than its predecessor, which entitles it to carry a very large cape solution. Note though, how an inlet is placed a little further back in order to improve localized flow and assist inboard.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The bulkhead of the Red Bull RB16 reveals note only some of the packaging details of their suspension but also gives us a clear indication of the work that's gone on in order to carve out space for internal pipework that’ll power the S-duct.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Another view of the bulkhead, this time with the vanity panel in place. Also note an old approach that’s been reborn on the RB16 – the bellmouth beneath the chassis, which collects airflow to cool the electronics.
Ferrari SF90 and Ferrari SF1000 comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
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But where to start? What to look for? Are all racing watches the same? Which features should your trusty wrist companion have? Maybe it all seems a little too complicated and you are not too sure about what to buy. But fret not, since we’re here to make your selection process a much simpler task, and to point you in the right direction when going for a good Formula 1 inspired timepiece.
So, to be perfectly clear, what exactly should you look for in a Formula 1 watch worth its salt? For starters:
There is a broad range of options when it comes to picking the style and look of your racing wristwatch, more than any other style of watch ever. Some you can combine with casual attires, while other look much better on formal wear.
The thing to remember when going for a Formula 1 inspired watch is that these watches are designed to be a compliment to race cars and their drivers, so making a statement and being loud are desirable traits in your watch.
Because how could they not? When you think about Formula 1, you probably picture one man: The legend Steve McQueen, who was quite the trendsetter and all-around cool guy. And seriously, wouldn’t you want to portray the same energy?
On a more pragmatic note, when going for a watch with these characteristics and complications, mind the chronograph, and to perfectly select it, bear in mind the following advices:
And there you go. Easy, quick and comprehensive. Now you’re more than prepared to acquire your first Formula 1 watch. Feel free to check our own selection, and find the perfect match for you!
]]>With its Honda nightmare firmly in the rear-view mirror, McLaren built upon the foundations of its Renault-powered era with a much-improved 2019 season that resulted in a best-of-the-rest position behind the big three teams. Team newcomer Carlos Sainz scored his first F1 podium (and the team’s first since 2014) in the Brazilian Grand Prix, and followed that up by sealing sixth in the drivers’ championship in Abu Dhabi.
Rookie Lando Norris backed up Sainz, and even out-qualified him over the season. New team principal Andreas Siedl and technical director James Key pushed the team in its positive direction, along with performance director Andrea Stella. Steady developments allowed the chassis to achieve its full potential across the year, while the change in Pirelli tyre specification also seemed to play into its hands in terms of car performance.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
McLaren looked to hit the ground running at the start of 2019, introducing a new bargeboard setup at the Bahrain GP. Changes included the leading footplate being cut back (red arrow, dotted line), a revised pre-bargeboard with additional vertical slots (white arrow) and a new splitter extension (blue arrow).
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
McLaren used a more expansive infra-red camera setup during Free Practice sessions in 2019, as it looked to gather extra tyre data that would give them the edge over rivals.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A new front wing assembly at the Spanish GP featured subtle changes, but having got off to a decent start with the original design it simply wanted to tweak what it already had. The new design (top) saw the curvature of the leading edge of the mainplane altered, this in-turn changed the exposure of the strakes beneath and how both influenced the performance of the wing. The curvature of the flaps was also altered, along with the position and orientation of the adjuster, changing the distribution between downforce and flow/wake management. You’ll also note they moved the camera pod from off the flap, placing it on the edge of the endplate instead.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The MCL34 is seen here with flo-viz paint sprayed over it during a Free Practice session at the Spanish GP as the team look for signs that the update package is working as intended. It also serves as a good illustration of how much the air is worked by the car.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A deflector array update arrived in time for the team’s home GP at Silverstone, as it looked to improve flow consistency along the car’s flank.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Front suspension design was a key area for performance gains throughout 2019 as the teams got a fix on the kinematic and aerodynamic effect that the new rules had, combined with the tyres introduced by Pirelli. McLaren looked at various solutions throughout the early phase of the season to get the best from the now en-vogue pushrod on upright solutions that permeate the grid.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
At the Russian GP the team trialled another new front suspension and upright solution – using an extension for the upper wishbone at the outboard end. This could be an early indication of the direction that the team might take in 2020.
Having been a solid fourth in 2018, Renault scored fewer points this term and fell behind McLaren – who beat it with its own engines.
]]>In a season where it promised much, Renault fell well short of the goals it had set itself. Although the engine performed much closer to its rivals than before, the step forward it had expected to take on the chassis and aero side with the arrival of star driver Daniel Ricciardo simply didn’t happen.
Having been a solid fourth in 2018, Renault scored fewer points this term and fell behind McLaren – who beat it with its own engines.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
When it came to the rear wing, Renault continued where it left off in 2018, utilising the area of freedom in the transition zone with which to place strakes. However, the latest interpretation featured sections of bodywork that would also upwash the flow between the two endplate surfaces.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The new regulations sought to reign in the complexity that had arisen around the front brake ducts too and whilst there is now a maximum size in place for the ducts, Renault had opted for something pretty large.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The simplification of front wings for 2019 led to many different design choices from the teams. One such area of divergence was the positioning of their infra-red tyre monitoring cameras and the pods they sit within. Teams have for a long time designed these not only to minimise airflow disruption around the camera, opting for a teardrop shape to do so, but also in order to better manage flow into key areas aft of them. In this image we can see how Renault initially opted for a more rearward and winged shaped element on the edge of the endplate, whilst Alfa Romeo for comparison opted for a more forward-placed pod.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Renault made changes to the rear wing for the Canadian GP, placing upwash strakes (red arrow) on the outer face of the endplate in order to work the wing harder whilst negating the effect this has on the drag inducing tip vortex formed above it. Meanwhile, the team took cues from other teams on the grid who’d redesigned their DRS pod in order that the wing and actuator worked more effectively and doesn’t overextend.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Altering the downforce to drag configuration of the wing is critical at certain circuits and so the latest design also incorporated changes to the transition zone, doing away with the last connecting winglet (blue arrow) and introducing more strakes on the outer section of endplate (black arrow). This also led to a change in the shape of the lower section of the endplate (red arrow), in order to adjust how the flow structures interacted with one another.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
For the French GP the Anglo-French team decided it was time to jump on the under-nose cape bandwagon, adding the appendage to the trailing edge of their front wing pillars, in a quest to redistribute the cars CoP.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Additionally the team opted to introduce a new bargeboard and deflector array, making use of the revised flow that was available owing to the change of flow structures that the under-nose cape would deliver.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A glance inside the garage whilst the RS19’s covers are off gives us a great view of the power unit, its installation and all of the ancillary coolers.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The RS19 with the floor adrift gives us a great view of the splitter and leading edge of the floor, complete with aligning strakes, that we don’t ordinarily get to see when the car is bolted together.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Singapore GP puts an onus on downforce and so Renault opted to use a two-tier and slotted T-Wing.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Keen not only to deliver performance in the latter phases of 2019, but also give them a sighter for 2020 the team introduced a revised front wing design in Brazil. This saw changes made to the inboard section of the wing, which would subsequently have an effect on the build, shape and power of the Y250 vortex. The designers had arched the mainplanes inner profile where it met with the neutral section (blue arrow), introduced a slot (yellow highlight) and added a small slot in the first of the upper flaps (red arrow).
The highlight looked like it would be Daniil Kvyat’s third-place finish in the chaotic German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, only the team’s second podium in its history… Until Pierre Gasly went one position better in a similarly-wild Brazilian GP, just holding off Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes on the run to the finish line!
Click on the arrows on the images below to scroll through them…
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A look at the initial complexity of the bargeboard region on the STR14 as it rolls out of the garage for pre-season testing.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Toro Rosso was the first of several teams to utilise this treatment of the upper corner of their rear wing endplate. The inability to use louvres to reduce drag, as it had in the past, forced teams to find other ways to mitigate it.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The team introduced a new bargeboard package in Bahrain as it looked to that area of the car for improved performance. Comparing it with the specification used in testing and Australia you can see it divided up the surface area differently and made changes to the footplate design to fall in line with that.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In search of some extra downforce and balance the team not only bolted on a large rear wing, they also installed a curved and slotted T-Wing.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A new set of mirrors and flow conditioners arrived in Canada as the team looked to take advantage of designs seen elsewhere on the grid.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
An extensive bargeboard and sidepod deflector overhaul was undertaken for the German GP, as the team began to use the mid-tier boomerang wing seen elsewhere on the grid and took the plunge with its own ‘venetian blind-style’ deflector array.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The team was even bolder in search of rear downforce for the Hungarian GP as it installed a massive two-tier T-Wing.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Toro Rosso made several alterations to its front wing for the Italian GP, chief of which was the shaping of the flap tips, which now arced over, resulting in a change to the shape and direction of the Y250 vortex created in their proximity.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
As 2019 development began to ebb away in the latter phase of the season, STR made one lasting alteration to the front wing. The wing seen here, in use since Mexico, has the swan neck supports in differing locations to improve rigidity, whilst the adjuster was also refined.
Let’s say you bought one incredible Formula 1 inspired watch from our collection, but are a little lost as to how to properly use all its functions, apart of knowing the time of day, that is. That’s normal. After all, almost every modern-day designed watch has an array of functionalities, dials and scales engraved unto them that may confuse people who aren’t exactly familiar with them. But fret not, because we’re here to teach you how to squeeze every ounce of utility of that amazing F1 timepiece you got as a Christmas present for yourself.
Let’s start by asking what kind of things can you measure with that fancy racing watch of yours. Well, for starters, you can use it to time a dive, or, more appropriately, a racing lap, or also take a pulse or calculate the remaining fuel in your car, among a lot of other things. I can see you starting to wonder how exactly can you do it. Hang on because we’re about to elaborate, but first...
A bezel is a ring surrounding the face of a watch (which is usually made from sapphire glass). Usually made from gold, or stainless steel, and that can be adorned with little jewels. In the case of sport watches, the bezel tends to have calibration marks and the ability to turn in one or two directions. Their main purpose is to hold the sapphire glass covering the front part of the watch.
Sports watches (and watches in general) have several kinds of bezels, namely:
This kind of bezel only rotates in one direction (counterclockwise). It’s commonly used for diving. Their scale goes from 0 to 60 around the bezel, aligning with the minutes on the watch. Normally, these have the first 15 to 20 minutes are marked in 1-minute increments while the rest of the bezel is marked in 5-minutes increments. The rotate counterclockwise only to avoid running out of air during a dive.
These are similar to count-up bezels, but their minute track is reversed: They go from
60 to 0. This is to set the remaining time left before or during a determinate event.
The tachymeter bezel is a really useful gizmo on your wrist companion. It’s used to measure units per time increments. The most common use for this is measuring distance traveled or speed in mph or kmph, but you can also calculate things like pitches per hour on a baseball game, or the average rate of any other repeating event. We did a full article on how to use a tachymeter watch HERE
Some specialized watches (namely, medical ones) have this function on their bezels. This is a specially calibrated kind of tachymeter that is used to determine heart rate. To use it, you just start the chronograph timer and count the heartbeats until you get to the number for which the scale is calibrated. Stop the timer and read the heart rate in beats per minute.
Also similar to the tachymeter is the telemeter, but instead of calculating speed, this calculates the distance for an event that can be seen and heard. This was first designed for soldiers to calculate the distance of enemy fire, but today you can use it to determine how far is that thunderstorm looming on the horizon, for example. To use it you just start the chronograph watch timer when you see a flash and stop it the moment you hear the thunder clap, and thus you will calculate the distance in miles or kilometers on the scale.
The GMT bezel truly shines when it comes to travels, as it can track a second time zone and a local time. The normal hour hand you use for local time with a second 24-hour hand to line up with the hour on the rotating bezel. The bezel is often in two colors representing day and night. To use it, set the hour that the bezel marks opposite the 24- hour hand for the time zone you want to track.
Well, that’s exactly what this bezel is. To use it, rotate the compass bezel until the south mark is halfway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. Point the hour hand at the sun and use the bezel to determine cardinal points (you know, north, south, east and west). Reset it about once every hour.
This is one of the most complicated types of bezel. The slide rule is at its core, just two matching logarithmic scales, one stationary and one on a rotating outer ring. This allows the wearer of the watch to perform mathematical operations. You can use this bezel to handle all sorts of navigational calculations, ranging from airspeed, to rate/time of climb descent. This is one is found on pilot and racing watches.
Now that you better understand your bezel, you’re sure to use it as intended and fully seize the potential of your sports watch design.