Question about F1 transmissions

[Tzar]

Hello guys,

I am new on this site but I found it quite impressive!

I've had discussions with other F1 fans about how transmissions in F1 cars work but we could not agree. So I am wondering:

1) Are F1 transmissions fully automatic ? (i.e. the drivers do not upshift or downshift, it's the transmission that is doing all the work)

2) If they are fully automatic, do the drivers have a way of changing the gears themselves in specific circumstances? How does that work? They press a button to deactivate the auto transmission and then shift themselves?

3) Do some drivers still upshift and downshift themselves with paddles behind the steering wheel even if auto transmissions are available?

Thanks a lot for the light you can shed on this!

[Jay]

Hey Tzar, welcome to Ten-Tenths.

I'm not a racing engineer, but I can say that...

F1 transmissions are almost fully automatic. There is almost no working of the clutch and in many cases drivers have opted for automatic upshifts. As far as I know, I don't think any drivers have automatic upshifts and down****s. Most still downshift using the paddles behind the wheels to shift down. Some may be upshifting using the paddles too. I guess you could call that semi-automatic since they don't need to use the clutch or take their foot off the gas. And no, they can't change their gearing setup mid-race(as far as I know...), although they could between sessions.

[Red]

1) It is fully automatic...

2) and 3) ...however the drivers can manually change gears if they wish. Just press the paddles and that would override the auto changing. No need to deactivate anything. There is however a posibility to deactivate the TC if a driver wishes.

The clutch pedal (or a button) wasn't necessary even in the "semi-automatic" (as opposed to fully-auto) gearboxes. Prior introduction of TC, the driver had to manually initiate a shift but all the other stuff were taken care by the electronics. They use the clutch only at the start.

[Tzar]

So it's now fully automatic. Thank you Red for the info.

[con-rod]

The clutch they use for the start- presumably its quite small & out of the way since its not used in the race?

Also what happens when they spin- what do they do to hang on to the engine, do they hit this foot clutch again or use the button on the steering wheel?

[Red]

Well, most of them prefer to use a "clutch-button". To be more specific, a paddle quite similar to those used for gear shifting. Some others (especially the Right-foot-brakers but only a few of them are left) have a foot-pedal (David Coulthard has one I believe; I mean I'm really-less-than-confident about this one).

When they spin. Not always do they manage to keep the engine alive. They of course have the "Neutral-button/paddle". And of course they have to use again the clutch (if they can get out of the gravel that is ). Same they do when pit-stop. And let's not forget the anti-stall devices.

If you want to see the Ferrari's Steering-wheel go to Ferrari' site - games section and click the interactive steering wheel. (complete with Ross Brawn's comments). More than probably it is not an accurate replica, but should give us an idea.

[StuiE]

Originally posted by Red
2) and 3) ...however the drivers can manually change gears if they wish. Just press the paddles and that would override the auto changing. No need to deactivate anything.

What if they want to rev it further than the auto does?

[Red]

Probably they can't. The auto-gearbox will switch if the driver doesn't. But I suspect that the driver can chose one of the several TC settings.

However, like Montoya said after Magny Cours, they can kindly ask the pit-box to temporarily increase the revv-limits via bi-di telemetry. Also, some rumors about BMW's boost button suggested that the override rev-limits could be done by the driver by activating a switch on the wheel. Anyway, probably is not the best idea to use it too much.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by gtr69
What if they want to rev it further than the auto does?

Probably not a good idea! Everything is engine mapped so well.

However, there it is possible to change the engine mapping and rev limits to various limits in the cockpit (or from the pits).

The Williams also have a 'boost' button that gives more power for a brief period of time.

One thing that I would like to add is that F1 gearboxes are not the same as automatic road boxes. They are 'manual' boxes that are controlled automatically by the cars computers. i.e. they have a clutch like normal (and don't have torque converters like a road auto 'box).

[Red]

Yes, they do have a clutch, hydraulically activated. It's the clutch-pedal that is not needed, other that stand-still-start sequence.

[THR]

they have a clutch yea.. but thats only for starting off.
as they are all dog boxes you can shift flat out, you jsut cut the engine momentaryly to drop the revs and take the load off the gears. i think the clutches are 110mm dia 3 or 4 plate carbon carbon. u can buy um for about 5k i think lol.

i guess they need a few more revs when in the tow of other cars, else its like putting the brake on when it hits the limiter.

the anti stall things are very clever... not sure how they work actually! but they work pretty well now cos not so many cars stall out on track after a spin as they used to.