Open Wheel Racing 21/11/2007 We quite often hear F1 described as an "open wheel" form of motor sport, to the extent that it might be thought that this has been one of the fundamental requirements of the formula since its inception in 1950. In fact, it was not always so and, in the fifties, there were F1 cars that had enclosed wheels.The most famous of them was the streamlined version of the Mercedes Benz W196 and most of us have probably seen pictures of Sterling Moss and Fangio in the car. Even in the sixties, it looked strange to me and I wondered how it could be legal. It was nothing but a single seat sportscar really.Maserati 250FA lesser known fact is that there was an enclosed wheel version of the most beautiful F1 car of all time, the Maserati 250F. As can be seen from the photograph, this was not quite as obviously a sportscar as the Mercedes, the tops of the wheels showing through the pannier tanks and streamlined bits ahead of and behind the wheels. But it would still be regarded with horror today, not only because the pure lines of the 250F are ruined by those added extensions.I am not sure when the regulations were changed to outlaw such ventures beyond what we now regard as one of the essential elements of the F1 car - the open wheel. Very likely it was in the late fifties for there were no further attempts to gain speed by covering the wheels.There is no doubt that covering the wheels does give a speed benefit, however. It is only because the wheels are the major block to smooth airflow over the car that we now have winglets, bulges and barge boards sprouting from the bodywork. All are intended to direct the air away from the wheels and to the wings that provide most of the downforce front and rear. How much simpler would the aerodynamicist's job be if he could just cover the wheels with bodywork!It will never happen now, of course. It has become ingrained in our sensibilities that the true F1 car has its wheels out there in the airflow and the experiments of the fifties look weird to us now. It may be that there would be even more expressions of horror at the idea of covering the wheels as there was at this year's suggestion that the driver be put in an enclosed cockpit. Some things are here to stay in F1, no matter what else changes.Unless Max decides otherwise, of course...
Clive
Steven Roy I never knew that they made a 250F with anything other than standard bodywork.Apart from the Mercedes and now the Maserati the car that springs to mind is the Lancia D50 which eventually became the Lancia-Ferrari when Ferrari acquired the assets of Lancia. Date Added: 21/11/2007
Clive The Maserati actually reminded me of the Lancia D50, Steven, thanks to the pannier fuel tanks. But it had no faring in front of or behind the wheels so just qualifies as open wheel, I think. At least the front wheels still had to be pushed through the air! Date Added: 21/11/2007
Dan M I still find enclosed wheel to be far less ugly than the little winglets that have been growing on F1 cars like weeds in an unmaintained garden.If Max is so concerned about lowering emissions, why not start by lowering the drag coefficient? Maybe then we can sneak some slicks under those fenders and he won't even know! Date Added: 21/11/2007
Clive I am too much the purist, Dan - sticking fenders on an F1 car makes it into a sportscar in my book! They can look pretty good with the wheels fared in but there is a meanness and a purposeful look about modern F1 cars that I wouldn't want to lose. Date Added: 21/11/2007
F1 Betting There's no way you could put a fender on a F1 car now! I'm with you on this Clive it would mean the cars lose their edge and mean streak I reckon. Date Added: 22/11/2007
Clive It's so strange that I find it amazing that it was allowed even in the fifties! Date Added: 22/11/2007
donwatters I, too, agree that F1 will and should remain fenderless. The classic example of a fendered F1 car has to be Roger Penske's Xerex special. I saw it compete at Riverside in the early 60's. It was simply an F1 chassis with a very cool sports car body. Date Added: 22/11/2007
Clive That's one I hadn't heard of, Don. Sounds like it must have been the sportscar to beat all sportscars! Date Added: 22/11/2007
donwatters I did a quick search and found the following. I'm sure if I went further I could find some pics.Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 1937, the son of a corporate executive, Penske started racing sports cars before graduating from Lehigh University. He won numerous races and several SCCA championships while driving a wide variety of machinery, Jags, Porsches, Coopers, Maseratis, Ferraris, Corvette Grand Sports and Chaparrals. But it was with a mongrel known as the Zerex Special that Penske achieved his greatest notoriety.A wrecked Formula I car transformed into a two-seat sports racer, the Zerex Special met the letter if not the spirit of the law. With it, Penske blitzed the fields at Riverside and Laguna Seca to win the country's premier sports car races of 1962. Coupled with two more victories in Puerto Rico and Nassau, Penske pocketed $34,350 a princely sum by the standards of the day. At the same time, he also pointed the way toward a new era of major-league corporate sponsorship. Date Added: 22/11/2007
Clive It sounds as though the Zerex was the car that enabled Roger Penske to begin his long career of making racing cars, Don. That prize money would have been a nice little initial investment in the business!Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. And ditto to all my readers. Date Added: 22/11/2007
rob Remeber the presentation of the F1 Ferrari in 76?i thought they looked good,Ofcourse we had the 2nd CanAm seriesF5000 single seaters,all dressed uplooked very good to me... Date Added: 22/11/2007
Clive 1976, let's see now, that would have been the T2, wouldn't it? Yes, very wide car, sidepods virtually pannier tanks between the front and rear wheels. They did look good, Rob, although I preferred the T3 - and then the T5 came along, which looked and handled like a brick...I agree the CanAm cars were mean and sexy but in a different way from F1 cars. Date Added: 22/11/2007
Dan M I guess it would require a spin off series ( and some serious b*lls, Massa need not apply) but I would love to see a true open series like the Can Am series of years past. Being a formula, by definition, F1 requires strict guidelines on certain parts of the car design. It would be great to see a series like F1 (money wise) with a truly limitless car innovation. Heres to a Can Am revival! Date Added: 23/11/2007
Clive Seconded! Date Added: 23/11/2007
rob ijbema clive i was revering to the fairings in front of the front wheels they had in '76 when it was introduced,later they tried them at the french grand prix and got banned... Date Added: 23/11/2007
Clive Ah, I hadn't realised that, Rob. Thanks for mentioning it - I'll have to do some research on that. Date Added: 23/11/2007
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