Which is the most beautiful F1 car in history?

It's conscionable complete a week until nan Formula 1 play resumes pinch nan penultimate Dutch Grand Prix astatine Zandvoort.

It mightiness beryllium nan summertime break but your questions support coming and BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson has been answering them.

With bedewed races ever being a awesome race, showing disconnected nan drivers' skills and teams' decision-making, do you ever deliberation we will get an artificial bedewed title successful nan future? - Kevin

When erstwhile Formula 1 leader Bernie Ecclestone first raised this thought 15 years aliases truthful ago, it was met pinch a substance of scary and ridicule., external

The point pinch Ecclestone was you ne'er rather knew erstwhile he was being serious. No matter, nan thought softly died down.

There are a fewer cardinal tenets to F1 and nan accuracy by which it is tally that are worthy mentioning here.

The first is that it is mostly considered a bully point to alteration nan rules each fewer years. Usually, this is to reside immoderate benignant of rumor that has arisen.

For example, nan caller rules for 2026 person travel astir because F1 wanted to pull much car manufacturers and nan existing hybrid engines were considered excessively complicated, excessively expensive, and not sufficiently applicable to nan wider world.

In this case, nan dream was that some Audi and Porsche would enter; successful nan event, only Audi did, moreover if that was not nan responsibility of nan rules.

Ford and General Motors followed them in, and Honda decided to enactment alternatively than quit, each 3 because of nan caller motor rules.

The caller chassis rules were introduced because nan 2026 engines needed them to alteration to alteration them to beryllium operated effectively, and because it was mostly considered that nan 2022 ground-effect rules person been a nonaccomplishment - nan racing is nary better, and nan cars person rock-solid suspension and person a basal imbalance.

But - and it's a large but - it is considered important that F1 retains its purity, and that artificial gimmicks, moreover if they are needed, are a basal evil to beryllium restrained arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, and they should not pollute nan principle of earthy racing.

The DRS overtaking assistance - and nan electrical overtaking boost that will switch it adjacent twelvemonth - is simply a bully example. No-one really likes it, but it's considered basal astatine slightest to make overtaking imaginable erstwhile aerodynamics are truthful important.

In that context, it's difficult to ideate nan athletics getting to a spot collectively wherever artificially wetting nan way is considered thing acceptable.

On apical of that, location are already capable issues pinch wet-weather racing successful position of visibility and information cars and tyres and truthful on.

Do you person a favourite F1 car, and why? For sheer aesthetics nan JPS Lotus 72 and nan 1975 312T Ferrari are mine... shows my property I guess. - Geoff

Without wanting to sound pompous, "favourite" is simply a conception I find problematic - I'm a journalist and my occupation is to beryllium objective. By definition, therefore, I can't person favourites successful F1.

Having said that, if we're talking astir aesthetics, that is by meaning a subjective concept, and bias doesn't really apply. So possibly objectivity tin beryllium put to 1 broadside for this topic!

On that basis, nan 1990 Ferrari 641 tin virtually beryllium considered a activity of art. It has been connected show successful New York's Museum of Modern Art, though nan organisation's website says it is "not connected view" astatine nan moment.

I'm not alert of immoderate different F1 car that has been granted an accolade of artistic merit arsenic powerful arsenic that one.

It's easy to spot why that car was chosen. It's simply gorgeous, pinch its elegant curves and simplicity, arsenic bully an illustration arsenic it is imaginable to get of "form follows function".

I've ever had a soft spot for nan 1982 Ferrari 126C2, peculiarly aft nan beforehand suspension rocker arms it started nan play pinch were replaced by wishbones and a pullrod, though its fragility, exposed successful nan accidents suffered by Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi, has to count against its beauty.

The Renault RE30B of that play is almost arsenic pretty.

There are different evident contenders, nan names of which often travel up - nan Maserati 250F from nan 1950s, nan Eagle Mk1 from 1966-69, nan Brabham BT46 from 1978 (or 44 aliases 45 aliases 52, for that matter), nan Lotus 72 and 79, Williams FW07B, McLaren MP4/4, Jordan 191, Williams FW14B, for example.

Of nan existent cars, nan McLaren MCL39 is to my eyes easy nan astir beautiful, particularly from side-on aliases rear three-quarters. Every statement and curve seems to beryllium successful nan correct place. It's exquisite, moreover allowing for nan alternatively ungainly noses forced connected this era of F1 cars by nan regulations.

Just nan latest of a bid of examples of nan saying: "If it looks right, it will spell right."

Can you explicate why a car tin beryllium amended successful qualifying trim but not arsenic bully during title day? What are nan factors that trim a car's capacity different than tyres and weather? – Brian

The overarching facet is that highest tyre grip tends to hide a car's deficiencies.

So, a car that has important flaws tin look amended complete 1 thigh erstwhile nan tyres are moving to their maximum than it does complete a title stint.

The much flaws a car has, nan much it is apt to harm its tyres. So, while an F1 car is sliding astatine each times during cornering, location is an optimum measurement to descent it nether control, and past really overmuch 'slip' it experiences beyond that depending connected its behaviour.

So, a car that has plentifulness of downforce and a bully equilibrium will overmuch much easy enactment connected its planned trajectory.

Less downforce, aliases a much imperfect balance, will mean much sliding, and each other spot of sliding puts much load into nan tyres. Which gets them hotter.

This becomes a vicious circle - arsenic nan tyres go hotter, nan car slides more, and vice versa. So nan tyres degrade overmuch faster connected a little effective car than connected a bully one, and that has a important effect connected gait complete a title stint, and nan imaginable long of that stint.

Another facet could beryllium really nan car heats up its tyres. Some cars make tyre somesthesia quickly, immoderate much gradually.

Getting up to somesthesia quickly is mostly a bully point for a qualifying thigh - nan tyres will beryllium easier to get into nan correct operating model for that lap.

But that is besides apt to mean that nan car useful its tyres harder, truthful they will get hotter quicker during a title and it will beryllium harder to support nan temperatures nether power complete a stint.

By contrast, a car that is benignant to its tyres mightiness not power them up arsenic efficaciously for a qualifying lap, and truthful mightiness not beryllium capable to show its afloat comparative imaginable then. But it would beryllium overmuch much effective successful a race.

Teams get penalised for much than nan allocated motor aliases gearbox replacements. But what constitutes a replacement? Can they portion an point down, switch bearings/change gearbox ratios for example, aliases is this considered a replacement? - Tony

All engines are sealed betwixt races and immoderate activity connected them has to beryllium approved by nan FIA.

If an motor suffers a problem, a shaper is allowed to analyse nan rumor up to a constituent and whitethorn beryllium allowed to repair it.

But a replacement is defined arsenic breaking nan FIA seals placed connected nan motor items. Do that, and you've "consumed" it and it's retired of nan pool.

There is nan overseas juncture erstwhile reaching an unsealed constituent mightiness request involution connected a seal, and nan FIA tin assistance this support connected those occasions.

Gearboxes tin beryllium repaired arsenic agelong arsenic nan activity has been authorised by nan FIA, and each different competitors person been notified.

The rules opportunity that gears and canine rings tin beryllium changed for others of identical specification provided nan FIA is satisfied location is beingness harm to nan parts successful question.

But nary "significant parts" of a gearbox whitethorn beryllium replaced betwixt races unless nan FIA has granted permission.