Are formula 1 cars manuals or automatics?

Question

Are formula 1 cars manuals or automatics?

Answer 1

paddle shift behind the wheel, first seen on a ferrari f1 car in 1989. last manual on forti f1 in 1996

Answer 2

semi auto, they have no clutch pedal, the clutch is actually on the steering wheel i think, which is used for the start and when in the pits. and they change gears manually with the paddels on the steering wheel

Answer 3

they are not automatics in the sense that you think of an automatic.  They have manual transmissions that are sequential (like those on a motorcycle) and for the last couple of years most teams have been running a "seamless" shift feature so they can change gears without letting off the gas.  They select the gear manually, however, using paddle shifters located to the left or right of the steering wheels.

Answer 4

Traction Control was automatic... but they don't use in this season.

Others systems are controlled by the steering-whell...

Answer 5

They have something like an automatic, but behaves like a manual, its called a sequential gearbox.  In fact, the new GTi has a gearbox like it.  Its a direct drive gearbox on the F1 cars.

Answer 6

The majority of modern Formula One cars use seven-speed semi-automatic gearboxes. Regulations stipulate at least four forward gears, up to a maximum of seven. All cars must also have a reverse gear. Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT) systems are not allowed and cars may have no more than two driven wheels. Transmissions may not feature traction control systems, nor devices that help the driver to hold the clutch at a specific point to aid getaway at the start of the race.

For safety reasons all cars must have a means of disengaging the clutch that is operable from outside the cockpit by marshals. This control is usually situated just ahead of the cockpit opening and is marked on the car’s body by a red letter “N” within a white circle.

Answer 7

It is not an automatic in the sense that street cars have an automatic with a fluid coupling torque converter.  It is an electronically shifted manual transmission.  Several seasona ago drivers had the option of placing their cars in a full automatic mode but this is no longer allowed.  Ayrton Senna often drove his car with the transmission in a fully automatic mode.

Answer 8

Formula One cars use semi-automatic sequential gearboxes with six or seven forward gears and one reverse gear. The driver initiates gear changes using paddles mounted on the back of the steering wheel and electro-hydraulics perform the actual change as well as throttle control. Clutch control is also performed electro-hydraulically except from and to a standstill when the driver must operate the clutch using a lever mounted on the back of the steering wheel. By regulation the cars use rear wheel drive. A modern F1 clutch is a multi-plate carbon design with a diameter of less than four inches (100 mm), weighing less than 2.20 lb (1.00 kg)and handling 900 hp (670 kW) or so.

Continuously variable transmissions have long been banned, thus creating contention in the introduction of the new seamless shift gearbox, a type of dual-clutch transmission which nearly eliminates the brief power interruption during a gear change. The ultimate advantage of this is said to be from five to ten seconds over a complete race distance, which is a significant gain when races are sometimes only won by three seconds or less. As of the 2007 race season, most of the top teams are using seamless shift transmissions. Shift times are around .05 seconds for the 2007 season.

As of 2008 race season, all gearboxes must endure for four consecutive events, although gear ratios can be changed for each race. Changing a gearbox before the allowed time will cause a five places drop on the starting grid.

Answer 9

Semi-Automatic!

Answer 10

It's not an automatic because it doesn't change gear whenever it chooses to, the driver decides where and when.

It's not a manual because the gears change by pressing a button and electronic and hydraulic systems doing the rest.

That's why it's called a semi automatic gearbox, the driver tells when to change gear but he doesn't do the gearchange himself like in a mechanical box, it's done by automatic systems.

Answer 11

Theres your answer right above me!