F1 2023: Brazilian GP - São Paulo (Nov 5)

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by dfox

If you watch his onboard camera during the formation lap, his car was giving him trouble from the beginning, doesn't sound good. Then his engine locked up, you can hear it go silent, then he tries steering into the corner and spun because clearly his rear tires were locked up. It wasn't hydraulics, it was an engine failure, which obviously led to the hydraulics being useless.

Charlie got a ECU (Electronic Control Unit) failure (!)
This means that he got transmission, brake system, PU , gearbox, fuel pump and power steering failure .
This was really bad luck ...
On the other hand , I think Charlie was very lucky that it occurred during the formation lap at low speed and 'NOT at topspeed !

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Charlie got a ECU (Electronic Control Unit) failure (!)
This means that he got transmission, brake system, PU , gearbox, fuel pump and power steering failure .
This was really bad luck ...
On the other hand , I think Charlie was very lucky that it occurred during the formation lap at low speed and 'NOT at topspeed !

Leclerc queried through the onboard radio why he was so unlucky.

From hindsight, he was very lucky that it happened during the formation lap.

Any such failure whilst racing the car could end with dire consequences, possibly even fatal, for the driver (who becomes a passenger of a loose bullet).

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Charlie got a ECU (Electronic Control Unit) failure (!)
This means that he got transmission, brake system, PU , gearbox, fuel pump and power steering failure .
This was really bad luck ...
On the other hand , I think Charlie was very lucky that it occurred during the formation lap at low speed and 'NOT at topspeed !

Originally Posted by Artemis

Leclerc queried through the onboard radio why he was so unlucky.

From hindsight, he was very lucky that it happened during the formation lap.

Any such failure whilst racing the car could end with dire consequences, possibly even fatal, for the driver (who becomes a passenger of a loose bullet).

Yeah . Spot on my friend !

[M5Rick]

^^ I mentioned this in a previous post, how can an ECU just fail causing this catastrophic loss of control. There should be a safety take over system for by-passing the electronic brain control of car in the event of a total failure to retain control at least to slow car and pull over safely, just like in modern road cars and is that not what the FIA refers to in their safety message.
''The FIA guarantees that events held worldwide adhere to equitable, well regulated and above all, safe standards''.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Charlie got a ECU (Electronic Control Unit) failure (!)
This means that he got transmission, brake system, PU , gearbox, fuel pump and power steering failure .
This was really bad luck ...
On the other hand , I think Charlie was very lucky that it occurred during the formation lap at low speed and 'NOT at topspeed !

The rear wheel lockup suggests something other than an ecu failure to me. Seemed more mechanical. If it was just the ecu the rear wheels wouldn't have locked, it would have just coasted to a stop with no power.

His engine sounded like complete crap on that formation lap. Could be an engine failure caused by an ecu failure I guess, but the locked wheels are important.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by dfox

The rear wheel lockup suggests something other than an ecu failure to me. Seemed more mechanical. If it was just the ecu the rear wheels wouldn't have locked, it would have just coasted to a stop with no power.

How do you know that when an ecu fails, the diff doesn't lock up, creating massive oversteer in a corner?
I mean, an F1 car is radically different from a normal car.
And who knows what happens with the gearbox if one of the ecu's fails (remember, we don't know how it failed, it could send commands everywhere, actuating all sorts of things).
The gearbox works on a totally different concept than normal cars. Shifting is done without clutch action, so potentially it could get stuck in 2 gears at the same time if not actuated properly.

Edit: apparently it was a sensor in the transfer case/diff, putting the complete hydraulic system and engine in safety mode to prevent further damage (which is a bit debatable if it causes the car to crash....)

[M5Rick]

Apart from the ECU failure there was something else that was the issue as explained in this link by Leclerc himself, and he doesn't want to open up on that.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/le...ulic%20failure.