Monza gearbox issues for Red Bull remain mystery

[John S]

Running Seb's in 'rain-mode' explains pesky flashing red light.
There's a rule that you must use rear light in bad weather, however should they really be allowed to show it in fair conditions?   

Red Bull left Monza scratching its head, after winner Sebastian Vettel and teammate Mark Webber nursed gearbox problems throughout the race weekend.

"We already had problems on Friday," world championship leader Vettel is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Before the race, the team had to open the gearbox and replace damaged parts, and during the Italian grand prix, both drivers were instructed to 'short-shift'.

And the drivers were also told to select a 'rain-mode' setting, delivering smoother gear changes, which explains why Fernando Alonso complained about Vettel's flashing red tail light.

Red Bull was alerted to the problem after the telemetry showed high oil temperatures.

"Frankly, it's a mystery," admitted car designer Adrian Newey.

"Monza is particularly hard on the gearbox, but we never had a problem like this," he added.

"With Mark it was serious, while for Vettel it was more of a precaution. It is possible that we will open his gearbox in the factory and everything is fine."

Team boss Christian Horner added: "Caterham uses an identical gearbox and had no problems."

Grandprix.com, Today.

[Jericoke]

Personally, I find flashing red lights distracting.  When I see them on bicycles, it draws my eyes toward them, which of course means I start steering that way, I have to look away.

I never understood why the cars had flashing lights at all.

I would suggest in 'rain mode' the cars be lit up with side markers, so it's easier to see where the edges of a slower car is, not the middle.

[Scott]

LED lighting tech as it is these days, they should be able to light up the whole wing.  Vintly's company probably has a way to make the whole back of the car glow.

[lkjohnson1950]

Now that would be cool, the whole car glows in the rain!! Gearbox troubles sound like another case of the R/B being wrapped too tight causing cooling problems.

[vintly]

LED lighting tech as it is these days, they should be able to light up the whole wing.  Vintly's company probably has a way to make the whole back of the car glow.

Now you're talking. Make the whole car out of cast acrylic with one big fat dynamic LED array in the nose, pointing backwards. The whole car could change colour - go purple when you set an FL, or go gradually more red as you slide down the field. Brill!