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F1 News & Discussions => F1 Teams => Topic started by: John S on August 14, 2010, 11:49:30 AM

Title: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: John S on August 14, 2010, 11:49:30 AM

An interesting insight into just what teams need to do ahead of putting an F1 car into production. Seems to reinforce, for me anyway, the old spirit of F1 with grown men tinkering in cramped conditions with toys and concepts to get the best for the car.
Was this room part of the factory tour Wizzo, or is it as James describes a forgotten room?

From jamesallenonf1.com, Today.
When I was doing some behind the scenes filming at the Lotus factory in Norfolk, I came across a room which houses the chassis mock up, made of what looked like clay, which the team built over the winter prior to building their first car.

This is also where the drivers have their seat fitting, making sure they actually fit in the cockpit.

It was amazing to see perfect replicas of the Cosworth engine, the fuel tank, the oil tank and so on, which the engineers and mechanics spent hours on, like a giant Lego set to make sure the car all went together as intended.

What struck me was how intense that work must have been at the time and how quickly things had moved on as now these items lay abandoned. They’d played their part, now they were obsolete.

Soon they will be cleared out as the 2011 chassis mock up will be constructed in there and the whole process will start again.

This video is short and sweet, but it shows a side of F1 few fans ever get to see.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QRDSJANeuM&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QRDSJANeuM&feature=player_embedded)

Title: Re: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: cosworth151 on August 14, 2010, 04:59:05 PM

Some kid could have the world's absolute coolest soap box racer ever!  :yahoo:

Title: Re: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: SennaMan on August 14, 2010, 05:21:54 PM

thanks John for this fascinating video - a good find

Title: Re: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: cosworth151 on August 14, 2010, 07:27:54 PM

I wonder if the larger, super computer equipped teams still use this sort of thing, or if they do it all virtually, via C.A.D. software.

It's a reminder of the vast difference in resources there is from the front of the grid to the back.

Title: Re: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on August 15, 2010, 03:55:45 AM

Good point Cossie! It would be very interesting to know if McLaren or Ferrari does much of this. Seems very labor intensive and time consuming.

Lonny

Title: Re: A forgotten room at Lotus F1 factory
Post by: Wizzo on August 15, 2010, 12:47:08 PM

Yep I saw these mock ups and pretty amazing they are too. If you look in the background of the video you will notice the very accurate cutting machine that cuts out the blocks to the required shapes.

They also pointed out that these mock ups are essential to make sure the drivers feet could reach the pedals!