planetf1.com

http://www.f1zone.net/news/mclaren-soft ... ams/17830/

Pirelli’s heavily degrading tyres were not the only ‘control’ components causing problems for F1 teams in Barcelona this week.

The standard electronics used by every team, and supplied by McLaren subsidiary MES according to a FIA tender contract that was recently extended, was also toying with the patience of engineers up and down pitlane as the ‘middle’ pre-season test in sunny Spain got into gear.

"It was like the "Middle Ages" of motor sports".
That would have been a sensational headline. Imagine the Horror.

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PF1 Pick 10
Aus13: 2nd
Chi13: 3rd

No more race bans


Bring out the Iron Maiden.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

LOL... Or the Guillotine. "Off with thy head"

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PF1 Pick 10
Aus13: 2nd
Chi13: 3rd

Hardly mclaren's fault. It will be built to a specification provided by the FIA. Any new unit would have to have extensive testing to ensure no problems or hidden options ect and that's comming next year with the new heat recovery regulations for the new engine.

lol of course it is McLaren's fault...its just a different part of McLaren from the formula 1 team. The FIA tells them what they need to include with input from the teams, MES says okay here is how we will do it, then they get the go ahead to build it. Sounds like they need to bring some development parts.

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Isn't the Software Micro$haft?

Only the ECU being Macca.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

Inappropriate post removed.

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RSR Racing

The software is Microsoft and is designed around the McLaren hardware. Mclaren builds the hardware with cabling and sensors they approve. Meaning every other team better have the same hardware after the ECU or at the very least, match their tolerances.

This becomes problematic when McLaren tests the software with it's ECU and sensors that only work a certain temperature range and it's all fine. But when another team has an issue that the sensor is getting out of it's range because it's close to the exhaust. who's problem does it belong to? A team can simply put a different sensor to cope with the heat but will it even work with the ECU properly?

This is why I was always against a common ECU. Every team should have their own ECU development. It should go through the FIA tests for approval before hand. Simply put, the FIA should let one or two other ECU manufactures into the paddock and let teams choose which one to use much like engines.

I don't think they are having individual problems like sensors out of range...it sounds like a more fundamental issue that is cutting off communication from the car.

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i knew it! none of the crashes last year were grosjean's fault!

Only way to test it thoroughly is real world testing. Better now than during a race weekend.

Software is a nightmare in general. New upgrades every day? Double nightmare.

I always thought it was a bad idea to have any one team supply the others; McLaren won by 1 point in the first year of the ECU they supplied -- and Ferrari had both cars blow up in the first 2 races. Surprise, it was an ECU that McLaren were already used to, and that Ferrari's engine was not made to work with.

Also, if you look pre-2008, other teams had more-advanced ECU's with dual LCD displays. The McLaren's still has that same primitive LED readout that looks silly on a car that's supposed to be hi-tech. It looks like equipment from the 70's.

These must of been the ones that Martin Brundle made...!

According to the article they are having problems only this year coz MES is upgrading in prepartion for 2014... So software glitches are understandable.

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PF1 Pick 10
Aus13: 2nd
Chi13: 3rd

The ECU build is nothing to do with the McLaren team and it is designed in conjunction with all the teams. So if a teams sensor is out of range that's their fault for not telling MES they needed the sensor to read in that range.

By the sounds of it it's software and especially the telem. Software seems to be Micro$haft, nothing to do with Macca and the new ECU provides real time telem to the Stewards. Seeing as we didn't hear of any problems in Jerez I wonder if they are trialling the new system in Barca and it is causing the glitches.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

It's all built and designed under the McLaren umbrella. And no there really isn't any other team input for it. It's pretty much the same hardware since it first came out.

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articl ... claren.htm

The other teams and the FIA did have input into it.

do you really think the teams would accept a control part such as an ECU they had no input into?

Just because it's designed under the McLaren umbrella doesn't mean the F1 team had enough to do with it to give an advantage. The McLaren Umbrella is a lot of things these days.

A quote from 2006

[quote"MES acts independently of the (F1) team", .[/quote]

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

a team specific ECU would require careful analysis and testing of each and every one by independent FIA engineers to confirm that they were 'in spec' and weren't using any trick software - say, that could allow more off throttle %, etc. The whole idea of a common part was that it uses common software and is under close FIA scrutiny. I think it was a sensible way to go. (Unless, of course, you would like to go back to the Benetton days of 'Oh, yes, we do have launch/traction control/whatever - but it's not switched on!'....?)

Losing total communication with the car is not using a sensor out of spec. They are either having a software glitch prevent them from receiving the data or there is a problem with the fibre/antenna system. If MES is going around doing updates or reverting back to 2012 spec, its the former.

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Microsoft provides only platform for the ECU software and they don't even do it directly with McLaren. They do it via EMC corp. All they did was allowing McLaren and EMC to use of MS SQL Server as a base for software called SQL Race and software that analyze the data form the ECU.

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Renault!

2012 Planet F1 Prediction Competition Champion

Aren't some teams using 2014 Spec- ECU?

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/pre ... FIAPR.aspx


sounds a bit more than providing a base.

I remember one of the teams complaining that they were forced to run Microsoft on all their computers because of the way it all works. All the banks for Telem etc are on Microsoft.

http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/microsoft-at ... 115397.htm

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

You don't understand. Microsoft did not write a single piece of code specifically for ECU. It's like using Excel. When things don't work in your spreadsheet and you blame Microsoft. You should rather look at your formulas and fix them rather than passing blame on Excel itself. Excel is mere tool. All the software provided by MS are just general use tools that McLaren use as a base for the ECU. I had an internship at bank (ING) and they used the some of tools that you listed. IMHO IBM tools are better, but MS are also quite robust.

And don't link to any silly blogs as a proof of anything where even site doesn't take responsibility for content.

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Renault!

2012 Planet F1 Prediction Competition Champion

From everything I have read the whole system is based on Windows. Everything on the Pit wall is based on Microsoft products as FIA official supplier.

So depending on what needs updated it might not be at the MES but the Microsoft end who are working with MES. So without knowing what exactly is failing you cannot simply point the finger at Macca.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

So you recklessly point the finger at others, while keeping McLaren intact?

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Renault!

2012 Planet F1 Prediction Competition Champion

I haven't pointed the finger at anyone. Read what I have said. without knowing the full details you cannot simply point the finger at macca.

There are two companies involved with the data/ecu. We do not know which is to blame so we cannot say which to point the finger at.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

You did.

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Renault!

2012 Planet F1 Prediction Competition Champion

See the 'Seems to be'? And at no point did I definitively blame Micro$haft.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."