I'm sorry, I'm still laughing to the last paragraph...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114881 I assumed all the Mercedes and RB are running this system? How about Ferrari?

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Formula 1's FRIC suspension systems set to be banned by FIA
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, July 8th 2014, 16:02 GMT

Monaco Grand Prix start 2014

Formula 1's FRIC suspension systems, believed to be one of the strengths of the dominant Mercedes car, could be banned for the German Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT can reveal.

Less than a fortnight before the next race at Hockenheim, the FIA has informed F1 teams that it believes the Front-and-Rear Interconnected Suspension (FRIC) systems used by most of them are illegal.

CRAIG SCARBOROUGH: Secrets of suspension and FRIC

According to sources, the governing body wrote to teams on Tuesday to tell them that following detailed investigations into the design of the FRIC systems, it believes they are in contravention of the rules.

In the note, a copy of which has been seen by AUTOSPORT, Whiting said: "Having now seen and studied nearly every current design of front to rear linked suspension system we, the FIA, are formally of the view that the legality of all such systems could be called into question."

Whiting suggests that the way the suspension systems help control pitch and roll could be in breach of article 3.15 of F1's technical regulations.

Article 3.15 is the catch-all regulation that relates to moveable aerodynamic devices. It outlaws any part of the car that influences the aerodynamics that is not "rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car (rigidly secured means not having any degree of freedom)."

The FRIC systems link the front and rear suspension to maintain a constant ride height for improved performance.

Lotus (then called Renault) was the first team to introduce the concept in 2008.

Mercedes more recently took the design to the next level and is now believed to run the most complicated system, however it is unclear which team would suffer the most from a ban.

FIA OPEN TO DELAY OF BAN UNTIL 2015

With limited testing time before the next race at Hockenheim, and 2014 designs being based around FRIC, the FIA is open to delaying the ban if there is consensus among teams.

It has asked teams to vote on whether or not they will be in favour of delaying the ban until the start of 2015 rather than it coming into force for the German GP.

However, for that to happen it would require unanimous support from all the teams on the grid.

It is unclear how easy it will be to achieve unanimous support for a delay - especially if any team feels its FRIC design is not as good as a rival's, or indeed if a team is not running the system at all.

If unanimous support is not reached, then Whiting has made it clear that from the next race in Germany, any team running FRIC risks being reported to the stewards by the FIA for non-compliance with the regulations.

The fact that the FIA has indicated it believes FRIC to be illegal also opens the door for a team to protest one of its rivals from the next race.

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Let's see what happens, I don't know if Ferrari has this

http://www.grandprix247.com/2014/07/09/f...and+Prix+247%29

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FRIC ban may end Mercedes dominance
9 July, 2014

If the latest developments in Formula 1 are any indication, the Mercedes’ utter dominance might not last for too much longer.

Last year, we reported that a secret under the skin of the silver car is: FRIC – standing for front and rear interconnected.

Emulating active suspension, the system is now widespread up and down the pitlane, but the FIA’s Charlie Whiting has sent a letter to teams warning that FRIC’s legality could be called into question.

An immediate ban is reportedly on the cards. And that is not all. The Spanish sports newspaper Marca reports that the FIA is also considering clamping down on the rate and flow of hybrid power from the new 2014 V6 turbo power units.

A source was quoted as saying that while the actual combustion engines produced by Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault this year are remarkably close in performance, the big advantage enjoyed by Mercedes is in the ‘hybrid’ areas.

The source said Mercedes’ advantage could be as much as “between 110 to 130 horse power on the straights”.

Finally, Mercedes could be set to lose a first-lap advantage over its rivals, after Williams’ Felipe Massa complained about the behaviour of the silver cars on the formation lap at Silverstone.

“I had to stop twice, pulling in the clutch,” the Brazilian is quoted by Spain’s sports daily AS. “They’re doing it [driving slowly] for some reason. We always complain, and Charlie said he was going to fix it, but no one has been penalised yet,” Massa added. (GMM)

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18-inch concept tyres on the Lotus

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Technical analysis: The implications of a FRIC ban in F1
By Craig Scarborough Wednesday, July 9th 2014, 11:45 GMT

Following the British Grand Prix, Formula 1 teams received an FIA technical directive that aims to ban hydraulically interconnected suspension, better known as FRIC.

While not coming completely out of the blue, as the FIA had plans in place to ban the system as part of the cost-cutting measures, the urgency in the technical directive did come as a surprise.

F1 teams need to unanimously agree to run the system until the end of the year, or it will be banned for the next race in Germany in just under two weeks' time. This presents the F1 pack with a huge technical hurdle to overcome - potentially within a very short timescale.
1398352440.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
Secrets of F1 suspension: active and FRIC

FRIC has been around F1 for a long time - its earliest incarnations predate the active suspension era and its latest generation has been on the cars since 2008.

Now every team has a system of some description, although several teams are still in their first year or two of experience of the set-up.

Those teams that adopted the system early, such as Lotus, Mercedes, Ferrari and Marussia, have the car's design fully adapted to the slightly different mechanics of the FRIC.

In most cases teams have replaced the third heave element on each end of the car with a hydraulic element. The chambers in the telescopic device compress hydraulic fluid that passes along the car, through valves and accumulators to a matching device at the other end of the car.

Removing the system and replacing it with an unconnected set-up is not quite as simple as it sounds. The car's ride height, mechanical and aero set-up will all need to change.

The teams with suspension fully optimised around the FRIC design do not necessarily have the mounting points for a full complement of side, heave and roll elements that an unconnected system requires. There may not be the space or sufficient hard points inside the car to create these at short notice.

As a result the extremely low ride heights at the front of the car, which FRIC allows teams to run, will have to be compromised. A raised front ride height is required to keep the splitter and plank off the track and avoid them suffering excessive wear.

With these higher ride-heights the cars' front wing and underbody will need to be changed. Different specifications of wing and floor are designed for specific ride height ranges, and as the car will have to run higher, the bodywork will need optimising to cope with this. Otherwise the car will lose downforce and suffer balance changes at different speeds.

It could be argued that a rushed FRIC ban will be unsafe, but it is probably more fair to say that the change will compromise cars' handling and teams' ability to predict it. But there should not be the dramatic effect seen when active suspension was banned for 1994.

In any rule change there will be winners and losers, and the teams mentioned above with more time and car design invested in FRIC will suffer the most. Those on the initial learning curve will be able to step back earlier and will most likely have the car equipped to run without FRIC anyway.

As a ban under the cost cutting measures was already mooted, some teams had already commenced a test programme to research their car's performance without FRIC. This could help them if a unanimous decision cannot be reached and the ban is applied with immediate effect.

As always with F1 it is the teams with resources and budget that will adapt to the change quickest regardless of their FRIC status.

It is unlikely to knock Mercedes' dominance of the sport this year, nor have a huge effect on the running order behind it.

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He will be the best in it, just helmet on n race!!! Its really awesome news... Wondering how massa, alonso n hamilton will survive

Lets see...


FOM official transcript of Singapore gp 21.9.2014


Warming lap..

Massa : err..its a warm evening isnt it? unnamed: yes, very warm, we think its about+ 80C. Ideal weather.
Hamilton: so...its a warm evening guys race engineer: yep, buns are in the oven.
Hamilton: wtf? Is Nicole pregnant? race engineer: oh, ****. yes , its a warm evening, ideal evening.
Rosberg: Am I ready? race engineer: depends what you are talking about.
Rosberg: Ha ha guys. Were you awake in race meeting? race engineer: you are ready
Alonso: My bicycle was wabling in the other day race engineer: the evening is a bit cold. I think it should warm about 5 degrees we are fine.
err..sorry about your bicycle.
Kimi: ...... race engineer: Minttu is a hot chick
Kimi: wtf? race engineer: ...not so hot anymore
Kimi : WTF ? race engineer: buns are in the oven
Kimi: yes, yes, yes, I know what I have been doing
rage engineer to Vettel: we think your too electrical this evening
Vettel: again?
Ricciardo: I am too good to be true race engineer: cool down guy, cool down

During the race it emerges the radio silence is a relative matter, but the the teams messages were disturbingly similar with all the cars except Kimi. He didnt say a word.
a few messages were taken to air just to show spectators a few examples:

Massa: Anyone? Hey, guys, anyone there? sing me something, mam? on lap 25 Massa drove out. He didnt hurt himself but the safety car had to come out. Massa said he didnt know where the track is turning.
Rosberg: I feel I could spear someone on lap 24 when trailing Hamilton. race engineer:only your wife , pal
Hamilton: I feel pressure in my butt race engineer: we go to the toilet together after the race
Ricciardo: There is flies between my teeths race engineer: maybe turning the visor down helps
Alonso: My path is so difficult with you race engineer: then there is left path to choose
Bottas: I am coming in race engineer: deeper, deeper and slower

After the race FOM saw that it needs another transcription of race transcription to judge if there had been briech of rules within all teams. Also the FOM saw a few messages contained too intimet information for family program.