![]() “But we decided to keep semi-auto ’boxes because 95 percent of engine failures in the old days were caused by a driver changing down too early and over-revving the engine. 6th gear of H pattern transmission has sequential system which creates the 5-speed sequential transmission with direct gear ratio of 5th gear. “Some people tell me that F1 would be better if the drivers still used stick shifts, but that’s a bit like saying, “isn’t it a pity we don’t still walk around in clogs!” There was a discussion in ’93 about banning semi-auto ’boxes because people like Alain Prost viewed changing gear with a lever as part of a driver’s skill-set. All of our cars since have had semi-automatic gearboxes. The problems were very easily solved and from mid-season we were very fast and reliable. It was then part of the FW14 in ’91 and I think the system cost us that year’s championship because we had appalling reliability in the first four races. “We ran the system on-track for the first time in 1990, but we didn’t race it. For that reason it will be noisy on the road but still useable. The gears are straight cut dog engagement. This is the MkII heavy duty transaxle said to be good for 600hp. Without him, we’d have been a year later with it. 1 I have a Quaife 6 speed sequential transaxle together with cable shifter and gear indicator light + concentric chutch release. Thats a good thing in high-performance or racing applicationsFormula 1 cars use highly-developed. He thought the semi-auto gearbox was the best thing since sliced bread and a week after we gave him the drawings he had a ’box all up and running. Sequential transmissions like this are lightweight, inexpensive, and known for shifting hard. We had a great guy in our prototype department called Ian Anderson he was our chief mechanic when we first started winning grands prix in ’79 and he had a very natural technical ability. Based on the successful S4 transaxle this transaxle provides an extra gear for applications that need increased hi speeds on the top end. “When John Barnard’s 1989 Ferrari came out with a semi-auto ’box, our development drive in this direction increased. Simplicity, durability and 5 gears, that's what the Mendeola S5 sequential shift transaxle delivers. But we never actually produced a ’box with a sequential barrel selector. James Robinson was very keen on the idea of servo valve-operated gear changes, so he started looking into it and drew out quite a few of the bits. “We started work on such a gearbox in about 1986. Coliseum was not only a risk from a marketing perspective, but also technically, especially when you consider that the first race for the new independent rear. Second, you can change gear in 30-50 milliseconds as opposed to 200-250 milliseconds, so it’s significantly faster. First, the driver gets to keep both hands on the wheel, so it’s easier for him to get the maximum from the car – particularly through fast corners, when the steering gets very heavy. “There are several advantages to the semi-automatic gearbox. ![]() ![]() ![]() The team’s Director of Engineering, Patrick Head, talks us through its evolution. Williams F1 began work on its semi-automatic gearbox several years before it raced for the first time in 1991. ![]()
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