If you ever get the info from back then I would really love to read it
as I didn't participate in r.a.s back then yet. But one should also be
aware that between GP1 and GP2 there is a huge difference in the feel
and behaviour of the car.
It's fairly easy to see what is modelled in F1 2000 simply by checking
the .veh files which are pure ASCII. Just looking at the parameters
combined with some engineering knowledge will, based on the knowledge of
how GPL works according to the Papy team, convince you that the physics
model of F1 2000 models basically the same stuff as GPL.
Aerodynamics, for example, is modelled separately for both wings with
the location points of the overall force specified. Drag on the car is
modelled as well, with the point of the overall drag force specified as
well. So you can easily see a full Newtonian phyics model being applied.
The individual suspension parts are indeed not modelled, but they are
not modelled in GPL either (WSC and MotorSims sim will be the first sim
to do so I believe). In a modern F1 car that is even less important as
in GPL since the suspension movement is rather small and can be well
described with the linear response theory just as it is.
The engine torque is clearly specified as a function of RPM, and so is
the negative torque when the accelerator is off.
There is obviously a misunderstanding. There are huge differences
between the different chassis, but in modern F1 these are dominated by
aerodynamic differences, and to a smaller extent by suspension effects.
I jwanted to say that no sim developer can gain access to the exact
aerodynamical data for different cars; even some smaller teams would
probably like to have those for their own cars as well :). You can
indeed put the differences between different chassis into a sim. For F1
2000 you can just go into the .veh files and do so yourself if you wish
to do so, it's up to you. I just wanted to say that the differences that
the programmers or yourself can buld into the program will in no way
reflect the real differences since that knowledge is not available.
That's why you see mostly the same chassis used for all cars in modern
F1 sims.
-Gregor