Why this Formula 1 Car was FASTER Without Suspension

Formula 1 cars run with pretty much rock-solid suspension, but what would happen if they removed it all together? Well, back in 1980 Williams tried it out.

They literally swapped out the springs and shocks with solid members. But what was crazy, was that it appeared to gain them performance.

But how can a car go faster without any suspension, what made it work, and why did the concept never make it to Formula 1?

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First, let’s briefly explain how suspension works, and how it allows a race car to maximize its performance on a track.

Now, we know the size of a tyre’s contact patch is critical for grip during cornering, accelerating and braking.

The more rubber that’s in contact with the ground, the more grip the tyre can generate.

When a car hits a bump in the tarmac, it undergoes a vertical change in momentum.

If the wheels are rigidly attached to the body, they will follow this body movement and the tyre surface would leave the ground, or at the very least lose full contact.

This would lead to a momentary loss of grip and unpredictable handling over bumps.

An example of this is when a stiffly set-up F1 car brakes hard into a bumpy braking zone, and the tyres unload over the bumps and the brakes lock up.

This is where a great suspension setup really matters, being stiff enough to allow for good changes in directions - whilst also absorbing the bumps.

In most race cars, the wheels are connected to the body by wishbones, which are able to articulate up and down with a minimal change in wheel geometry.

The mass of the car is then supported by springs and dampers.

When the car goes over a bump, the spring compresses to absorb the bump on impact, and then the spring forces the tyre back on the ground after the bump.

The dampers control these forces of compression and rebound, and prevent the car from continuing to oscillate on its springs after the bump.

Suspension, therefore, allows the wheels to move independently of the car’s body and follow the contours of the track surface for maximum tyre contact, and grip, at all times.

And as we explained in this video, the engineering that goes into Formula 1

📺 F1 Driver’s Technique Explained

📺 F1 Engineering

🏎️ Track & Racing Driver!

🏁 Sim Racers!

#Formula1 #Suspension #Engineering

[Driver]

Is it just me that would love to drive that car? Well, as long as it had that seat suspension!

Do subscribe, we are so close to 600K so would greatly appreciate it!

[spaghettiman.]

My back already feels broken just by looking at that title

[SOME-RANDOM-GUY]

Can you make a video explaining how sergio perez maintains his tyres so well...is it a unique driving style or just setup?

[thedeamonmeteor]

If there is no suspensions in f1 now, they should bring spare spinal cords just in case

[FllnThBlanks]

Hopefully Williams can discover their crafty championship form for next year again.

[cesarovermars]

I seem to remember reading somewhere how the Jones-Williams conversation continued; when Jones suggested suspension on the seat Williams said "maybe you can use your wallet as a cushion" to which Jones replied "that would only work if you would give me something to put inside it"

[roflchopter]

3:40 NO! The weight transfer still happens with infinitely stiff springs, it just happens instantly! This is a year 1 FS team rookie mistake!

[zerg]

Driver : Suspension seat?
Engineers : Too heavy, have this rubber ring.
Driver : It’s a kids swimmi-
Engineers : Exactly!

[rizkyansyahaditya]

using no suspension car on monaco, baku, or singapore
expectation: ended up on podium/win
reality: ended up in hospital

[fgrid]

The time lost from having to avoid the kerbs would be huge on some circuits. With the current high wall tyres it would be bad enough but with the low profile tyres being introduced for 2022 this would only get worse as the tyres are a big percentage of an F1 cars shock absorption.

[Vultariev]

Misconception: weight transfer is not eliminated with no suspension. The time it takes for weight transfer to occur is almost eliminated when suspension is removed. As long as the center of mass is above the contact patch, there will be weight transfer due to the torque applied when cornering, braking, and accelerating, when talking about cars.

[majinpe]

Removing suspension doesn't reduce weight transfer.
Weight transfer is function of CoG and track width and wheelbase.
Suspension reduce the speed at which weight transfer happens, no suspension means weight transfer is instantaneous.

[fabianpe]

The amount of load transfer is NOT changing without suspension, it is only related to CoG height, trackwidth and lateral acceleration!
A car without suspension has no option to setup lateral load transfer distribution between front and rear axle and may end up being slower in terms of mechanical grip. All it changes is the roll rate to a near infinit value, depending on chassis and tire stiffness.

[turbo_brian]

The weight transfer is the same. The transient weight transfer is less. Basically, the dampers resist fast weight transfer and that results in a temporary increase in the load at the tire contact patch. Once the suspension settles as you mentioned, the weight transfer is identical to a vehicle with no suspension.

[alexandroneale]

Weight transfer only depends on the CG height and track width. NOT on suspension movement!

[skaldlouiscyphre]

Isn't an F1 car without suspension just a very large superkart?

[curgunner]

At the Hillclimb this year I was talking to one of the guys with Randy Pobst’s Tesla and they had their Tesla set up so the aero at 130mph+ the aero was strong enough the suspension was fully compressed therefore solid. So for me this video is pretty good timing lol.

[michaeljohnston]

Pretty sure Martin Brundle has mentioned that Ligier used to do this at the Mangny Cours grand prix too. That track is super flat and they had some of their best performances there as a result.

[satanaz]

Your remark @4:00 on "having no weight transfer in a car without suspension" is wrong, but it is a very common misconception.
A suspension slows down weight transfer during the transient phase of cornering. Once the suspension settles during cornering, the only thing that dictates weight transfer will be the height of the CG and the dimensions of the car - once the car is settled it doesn't matter if there is suspension or not.
This was part of my university thesis BTW.
What I think you are talking about is the "overshoot" phenomena on underdamped systems, because usually the roll of the car is not critically damped.

[Soverenk]

Sorry but weight transfer is almost only dependent on CoG height, track width and/or wheelbase and the acceleration you are experiencing. Soft setup makes it more visible but it occurs on no suspension as well. And you need to be more careful with no suspension since there is not much early sign before loosing grip. If you increase roll stiffness and spring rate too much on front axle, you get more understeer and the same for rear axle. But you are absolutely right about upsetting aero with pitch and roll