![Takuma Sato demonstrating Lotus 78 2010 Japan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Takuma_Sato_demonstrating_Lotus_78_2010_Japan.jpg)
A Formula One car (also known as an F1 car) is a single-seat, open-cockpit,
open-wheel formula racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and
an engine positioned behind the driver, intended to be used in competition at
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing events. The regulations governing the cars are unique to the championship and specify that cars must be constructed by the racing teams themselves, though the design and manufacture can be outsourced. Formula One cars are the fastest cars in the world around a
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...
, owing to very high cornering speeds achieved through the generation of large amounts of aerodynamic
downforce
Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip. ...
. As a result of the amount of
braking force and the total cornering envelope of a Formula One car (by the
friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...
component of the tyre, the
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
of the machine and the downforce generated); Formula One drivers experience frequent lateral
g-loadings in excess of five g, and peak cornering forces of up to seven lateral g.
Chassis design
Modern-day Formula One cars are constructed from composites of
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
and similar ultra-lightweight materials. The minimum weight permissible is including the driver but not fuel. Cars are weighed with dry-weather tyres fitted.
Prior to the 2014 F1 season, cars often weighed in under this limit so teams added ballast in order to add weight to the car. The advantage of using ballast is that it can be placed anywhere in the car to provide ideal weight distribution. This can help lower the car's
centre of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
to improve stability and also allows the team to fine-tune the weight distribution of the car to suit individual circuits.
Engines
![Ferrari 053 engine front Museo Ferrari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Ferrari_053_engine_front_Museo_Ferrari.jpg)
The
2006 Formula One season
The 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 60th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 57th Formula One World Championship which began on 12 March and ended on 22 October after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championshi ...
saw the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA) introduce a then-new engine formula, which mandated cars to be powered by 2.4 L
naturally aspirated
Naturally may refer to:
;Albums
* ''Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley
* ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album)
* ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album)
* ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album)
* ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album)
* ''Naturally'' ...
engines in the
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
configuration, with no more than four valves per cylinder.
Further technical restrictions, such as a ban on variable intake trumpets, have also been introduced with the new 2.4 L V8 formula to prevent the teams from achieving higher RPM and horsepower too quickly. The season limited engines to 18,000 rpm in order to improve engine reliability and cut costs.
For a decade, F1 cars had run with 3.0 L naturally aspirated engines with all teams settling on a
V10 layout by the end of the period; however, development had led to these engines producing between ,
and the cars reaching top speeds of (Jacques Villeneuve with Sauber-Ferrari) on the
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
circuit. Teams started to use exotic alloys in the late 1990s, leading to the FIA banning the use of exotic materials in engine construction, with only aluminium, titanium and iron alloys being allowed for the pistons, cylinders, connecting rods and crankshafts.
The FIA has continually enforced material and design restrictions to limit power. Even with the restrictions, the V10s in the
2005 season were reputed to develop , power levels not seen since before the ban on
turbo-charged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
engines in 1989.
The lesser funded teams (the former
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...
team spent less than 50 million, while
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
spent hundreds of millions of
euros
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...
a year developing their car) had the option of keeping the current V10 for another season, but with a
rev limiter
A rev limiter is a device fitted in modern vehicles that have internal
combustion engines. They are intended to protect an engine by restricting its maximum rotational speed, measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).
Rev limiters are pre-set by th ...
to keep them competitive with the most powerful V8 engines. The only team to take this option was the
Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red ...
team, which was reformed and regrouped Minardi.
In 2012, the engines consumed around of air per second (at the 2012 rev limit of 18,000 rpm);
race fuel consumption rate was normally around .
[
All cars have the engine located between the driver and the rear axle. The engines are a stressed member in most cars, meaning that the engine is part of the structural support framework, being bolted to the cockpit at the front end, and transmission and rear suspension at the back end.
In the 2004 championship, engines were required to last a full race weekend. For the 2005 championship, they were required to last two full race weekends and if a team changes an engine between the two races, they incur a penalty of 10 grid positions. In 2007, this rule was altered slightly and an engine only had to last for Saturday and Sunday running. This was to promote Friday running. In the 2008 season, engines were required to last two full race weekends; the same regulation as the 2006 season. However, for the 2009 season, drivers were allowed to use a maximum of 8 engines per head over the season, meaning that a couple of engines had to last three race weekends. This method of limiting engine costs also increases the importance of tactics, since the teams have to choose which races to have a new or an already-used engine.
As of the 2014 season, all F1 cars have been equipped with turbocharged 1.6 L V6 engines. Turbochargers had previously been banned since 1989. This change may give an improvement of up to 29% fuel efficiency. One of the many reasons that Mercedes dominated the season early, was due to the placement of the turbocharger's compressor at one side of the engine, and the turbine at the other; both were then linked by a shaft travelling through the vee of the engine. The benefit is that air is not traveling through as much pipework, in turn reducing turbo lag and increasing the efficiency of the car. In addition, it means that the air moving through the compressor is much cooler since it is farther away from the hot turbine section.
]
Transmission
Formula One cars use highly automated semi-automatic sequential
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
es with paddle-shifters, with regulations stating that 8 forward gears (increased from 7 from the 2014 season onwards) and 1 reverse gear must be used, with rear-wheel-drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
. The gearbox is constructed of carbon titanium, as heat dissipation is a critical issue, and is bolted onto the back of the engine. Fully-automatic gearboxes, and systems such as launch control and traction control
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
, have been illegal since 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, respectively, to keep driver skill and involvement important in controlling the car, and to ensure that no teams are using these systems illegally to gain a competitive advantage, as well as to keep costs down. The driver initiates gear shifts using paddles mounted on the back of the steering wheel
A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles.
Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...
, and advanced electric solenoids, hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
actuator
An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system, for example by opening a valve. In simple terms, it is a "mover".
An actuator requires a control device (controlled by control signal) a ...
s, and sensor
A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...
s perform the actual shift, as well as the electronic throttle control
Electronic throttle control (ETC) is an automobile technology which electronically "connects" the accelerator pedal to the throttle, replacing a mechanical linkage. A typical ETC system consists of three major components: (i) an accelerator ped ...
. Clutch control
Clutch control refers to the act of controlling the speed of a vehicle with a manual transmission by partially engaging the clutch plate, using the clutch pedal instead of (or in conjunction with) the accelerator pedal. The purpose of a clutch is i ...
is also performed electro-hydraulically, except when launching from a standstill (i.e., stationary, neutral) into first gear, where the driver operates the clutch manually using a lever mounted on the back of the steering wheel. The last F1 car fitted with a conventional manual gearbox
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...
, the ''Forti FG01
The Forti FG01, also designated Forti FG01-95, was a Formula One car for the 1995 season and was the first car made by Forti. The number 21 seat was taken by rookie Pedro Diniz and the number 22 seat was taken by veteran Roberto Moreno. The team n ...
'', raced in 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.
A modern F1 clutch is a multi-plate carbon design with a diameter of less than , weighing less than and handling around . race season, all teams are using ''seamless-shift'' transmission
Transmission may refer to:
Medicine, science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual transmission
*** ...
s, which allow almost instantaneous changing of gears with minimum loss of drive. Shift time
Shift time refers to the time interval between gear changes in a transmission. This interval is the time in which power delivery is transferred to the next selected gear, and engine speed is reduced or increased to synchronize the speed of the ne ...
s for modern Formula One cars are in the region of 2 – 3 ms. In order to keep costs low in Formula One, gearboxes must last five consecutive events and since 2015, gearbox ratios will be fixed for each season (for 2014 they could be changed only once). Changing a gearbox before the allowed time will cause a penalty of five places drop on the starting grid for the first event that the new gearbox is used.
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
has become key to success in the sport and teams spend tens of millions of dollars on research and development in the field each year.
The aerodynamic designer has two primary concerns: the creation of downforce, to help push the car's tyres onto the track and improve cornering forces; and minimising the drag that gets caused by turbulence and acts to slow the car down.
Several teams started to experiment with the now familiar wings in the late 1960s. Racecar wings operate on the same principle as aircraft wings but are configured to cause a downward force rather than an upward one. A modern Formula One car is capable of developing 6 Gs of lateral cornering force due to aerodynamic downforce. The aerodynamic downforce allowing this is typically greater than the weight of the car. That means that, theoretically, at high speeds, they could drive on the upside-down surface of a suitable structure; e.g. on the ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...
.
The use of aerodynamics to increase the cars' grip was pioneered in Formula One in the season by Lotus, Ferrari and Brabham
Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
. At first, Lotus introduced modest front wings and a spoiler on Graham Hill's Lotus 49
The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s. It was one of the fi ...
B at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on 26 May 1968. It was race 3 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was ...
, then Brabham and Ferrari went one better at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix with full-width wings mounted on struts high above the driver.
Early experiments with movable wings and high mountings led to some spectacular accidents, and for the 1970 season, regulations were introduced to limit the size and location of wings. Having evolved over time, similar rules are still used today.
In the late 1960s, Jim Hall of Chaparral, first introduced " ground effect" downforce to auto racing. In the mid-1970s, Lotus engineers found out that the entire car could be made to act like a giant wing by the creation of an airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
surface on its underside which would cause air moving relative to the car to push it to the road. Applying another idea of Jim Hall's from his Chaparral 2J sports racer, Gordon Murray designed the Brabham BT46B
The Brabham BT46 is a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team, owned by Bernie Ecclestone, for the 1978 Formula One season. The car featured several radical design elements, one of which was the use of flat pane ...
, which had a radiator fan that also extract air from the skirted area under the car, creating enormous downforce. After technical challenges from other teams, it was withdrawn after a single race. Rule changes then followed to limit the benefits of 'ground effects' – firstly a ban on the skirts used to contain the low-pressure area, later a requirement for a 'stepped floor'.
Despite the full-sized wind tunnels and vast computing power used by the aerodynamic departments of most teams, the fundamental principles of Formula One aerodynamics still apply: to create the maximum amount of downforce for the minimal amount of drag. The primary wings mounted on the front and rear are fitted with different profiles depending on the downforce requirements of a particular track. Tight, slow circuits like Monaco require very aggressive wing profiles – cars run two separate 'blades' of 'elements' on the rear wings (two is the maximum permitted). In contrast, high-speed circuits like Monza see the cars stripped of as much wing as possible, to reduce drag and increase speed on the long straights.
Every single surface of a modern Formula One car, from the shape of the suspension links to that of the driver's helmet – has its aerodynamic effects considered. Disrupted air, where the flow 'separates' from the body, creates turbulence which creates drag – which slows the car down. Almost as much effort has been spent reducing drag as increasing downforce – from the vertical end-plates fitted to wings to prevent vortices forming to the diffuser plates mounted low at the back, which helps to re-equalise pressure of the faster-flowing air that has passed under the car and would otherwise create a low-pressure 'balloon' dragging at the back. Despite this, designers can't make their cars too 'slippery', as a good supply of airflow has to be ensured to help dissipate the vast amounts of heat produced by the engine and brakes.
In recent years, most Formula One teams have tried to emulate Ferrari's 'narrow waist' design, where the rear of the car is made as narrow and low as possible. This reduces drag and maximises the amount of air available to the rear wing. The 'barge boards' fitted to the sides of cars have also helped to shape the flow of the air and minimise the amount of turbulence.
Revised regulations introduced in 2005 forced the aerodynamicists to be even more ingenious. In a bid to cut speeds, the FIA reduced downforce by raising the front wing, bringing the rear wing forward, and modifying the rear diffuser profile. The designers quickly regained much of this loss, with a variety of intricate and novel solutions such as the 'horn' winglets first seen on the McLaren MP4-20
The McLaren MP4-20 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren for the 2005 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Adrian Newey, Paddy Lowe, Pat Fry, Mike Coughlan and Peter Prodromou with Mario Illien designing the besp ...
.
Most of those innovations were effectively outlawed under even more stringent aero regulations imposed by the FIA for 2009. The changes were designed to promote overtaking by making it easier for a car to closely follow another. The new rules took the cars into another new era, with lower and wider front wings, taller and narrower rear wings, and generally much 'cleaner' bodywork. Perhaps the most interesting change, however, was the introduction of 'moveable aerodynamics', with the driver able to make limited adjustments to the front wing from the cockpit during a race.
That was usurped for 2011 by the new DRS (Drag Reduction System) rear wing system. This too allows drivers to make adjustments, but the system's availability is electronically governed – originally it could be used at any time in practice and qualifying (unless a driver is on wet-weather tyres), but during the race, it could only be activated when a driver is less than one second behind another car at pre-determined points on the track. (From 2013 DRS is available only at the pre-determined points during all sessions). The system is then deactivated once the driver brakes. The system "stalls" the rear wing by opening a flap, which leaves a 50 mm horizontal gap in the wing, thus reducing drag and allowing higher top speeds. However, this also reduces downforce so it is normally used on long straight track sections or sections which do not require high downforce.
The system was introduced to promote more overtaking, and is often the reason for overtaking on straights or at the end of straights where overtaking is encouraged in the following corner(s). However, the reception of the DRS system has differed among drivers, fans, and specialists. Returning Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Poles, Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW in ...
has been quoted as saying he "has not seen any overtaking moves in Formula 1 for two years", suggesting that the DRS is an unnatural way to pass cars on the track as it does not actually require driver skill to successfully overtake a competitor, therefore, it would not be overtaking.
Wings
Early designs linked wings directly to the suspension, but several accidents led to rules stating that wings must be fixed rigidly to the chassis. The cars' aerodynamics are designed to provide maximum downforce with a minimum of drag; every part of the bodywork is designed with this aim in mind. Like most open-wheel cars they feature large front and rear aerofoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
s, but they are far more developed than American open-wheel racers, which depend more on suspension tuning; for instance, the nose is raised above the centre of the front aerofoil, allowing its entire width to provide downforce. The front and rear wings are highly sculpted and extremely fine 'tuned', along with the rest of the body such as the turning vanes beneath the nose, bargeboards
Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...
, sidepods, underbody, and the rear diffuser
Diffuser may refer to:
Aerodynamics
* Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties
* Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds
* The channel betw ...
. They also feature aerodynamic appendages that direct the airflow. Such an extreme level of aerodynamic development means that an F1 car produces much more downforce than any other open-wheel formula; Indycars, for example, produce downforce equal to their weight (that is, a downforce:weight ratio of 1:1) at , while an F1 car achieves the same at , and at the ratio is roughly 2:1.
The bargeboards, in particular, are designed, shaped, configured, adjusted, and positioned not to create downforce directly, as with a conventional wing or underbody venturi, but to create vortices from the air spillage at their edges. The use of vortices
In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
is a significant feature of the latest breeds of F1 cars. Since a vortex is a rotating fluid that creates a low-pressure zone at its centre, creating vortices lowers the overall local pressure of the air. Since low pressure is what is desired under the car, as it allows normal atmospheric pressure to press the car down from the top; by creating vortices, downforce can be augmented while still staying within the rules prohibiting ground effects.
The F1 cars for the 2009 season came under much questioning due to the design of the rear diffusers of the Williams, Toyota and the Brawn GP cars raced by Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, dubbed ''double diffusers''. Appeals from many of the teams were heard by the FIA, which met in Paris, before the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 19 April 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula ...
, and the use of such diffusers was declared as legal. Brawn GP boss Ross Brawn claimed the double diffuser design as "an innovative approach of an existing idea". These were subsequently banned for the 2011 season. Another controversy of the 2010 and 2011 seasons was the front wing of the Red Bull cars. Several teams protested claiming the wing was breaking regulations. Footage from high-speed sections of circuits showed the Red Bull front wing bending on the outsides subsequently creating greater downforce. Tests were held on the Red Bull front wing and the FIA could find no way that the wing was breaking any regulation.
Since the start of the 2011 season, cars have been allowed to run with an adjustable rear wing, more commonly known as DRS (drag reduction system), a system to combat the problem of turbulent air when overtaking. On the straights of a track, drivers can deploy DRS, which opens the rear wing, reduces the drag of the car, allowing it to move faster. As soon as the driver touches the brake, the rear wing shuts again. In free practice and qualifying, a driver may use it whenever he wishes to, but in the race, it can only be used if the driver is 1 second, or less, behind another driver at the DRS detection zone on the race track, at which point it can be activated in the activation zone until the driver brakes.
Nose box
Nose box or more commonly the nose cones serve three main purposes:
# They are the structures on which the front wings are mounted.
# They channelise the airflow to the bottom of the car toward the diffuser.
# They act as shock absorbers in case of accidents.
Nose boxes are hollow structures made of carbon fibers. They absorb the shock at the time of crash preventing injury to the driver.
Air box
Just behind the driver's cockpit is a structure called the Air Box. The AirBox serves two purposes. It receives the high-speed moving air and supplies it to the intake manifold of the engine. This high-speed air is pressurised and hence is compressed due to the Ram Effect. This high-pressure air, when supplied to the engine, boosts its power. Also, the air supplied to it is highly turbulent since it passes above the driver's helmet. The airbox absorbs this turbulent air, preventing it from disturbing the laminar airflow along with other parts.
The second advantage of the air box is its large size, which provides a large space for advertising, in turn, providing opportunities for additional ad revenue.
Ground effect
F1 regulations heavily limit the use of ground effect aerodynamics which are a highly efficient means of creating downforce with a small drag penalty. The underside of the vehicle, the undertray, must be flat between the axles. A 10 mm thick wooden plank or ''skid block
A skid block is a common term for a mandatory attachment to the underside of a racing car. Initially applied to Formula One cars in 1994, it has also been used in other categories including Formula 3000 and Formula Three. It is a flat rectangle ...
'' runs down the middle of the car to prevent the cars from running low enough to contact the track surface; this skid block
A skid block is a common term for a mandatory attachment to the underside of a racing car. Initially applied to Formula One cars in 1994, it has also been used in other categories including Formula 3000 and Formula Three. It is a flat rectangle ...
is measured before and after a race. Should the plank be less than 9 mm thick after the race, the car is disqualified.
A substantial amount of downforce is provided by using a rear diffuser
Diffuser may refer to:
Aerodynamics
* Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties
* Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds
* The channel betw ...
which rises from the undertray at the rear axle to the actual rear of the bodywork. The limitations on ground effects, limited size of the wings (requiring use at high angles of attack
In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
to create sufficient downforce), and vortices
In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
created by open wheels lead to a high aerodynamic drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag equ ...
(about 1 according to Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...
's technical director Gabriele Tredozi Gabriele Tredozi (born September 9, 1957, in Brisighella, Italy) is a former engineer with the Minardi and Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One teams.
While studying mechanical engineering at Bologna University, Tredozi began working for Minardi as an a ...
; compared with the average modern car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
, which has a ''C''''d'' value between 0.25 and 0.35), so that, despite the enormous power output of the engines, the top speed of these cars is less than that of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
vintage Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
and Auto Union
Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today.
As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...
Silver Arrows
Silver Arrows (german: link=no, Silberpfeil) was the nickname given by the press to Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939. The name was later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula ...
racers. However, this drag is more than compensated for by the ability to corner at extremely high speed. The aerodynamics are adjusted for each track; with a low drag configuration for tracks where high speed is more important like Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...
, and a high traction configuration for tracks where cornering is more important, like the Circuit de Monaco
Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the Principality of Monaco. It is commonly, and even officially, referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside ...
.
Regulations
With the 2009 regulations, the FIA rid F1 cars of small winglets and other parts of the car (minus the front and rear wing) used to manipulate the airflow of the car in order to decrease drag and increase downforce. Currently, the front wing is shaped specifically to push air towards all the winglets and bargeboards
Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...
so that the airflow is smooth. Should these be removed, various parts of the car will cause great drag when the front wing is unable to shape the air past the body of the car. The regulations which came into effect in 2009 have reduced the width of the rear wing by 25 cm, and standardised the centre section of the front wing to prevent teams from developing the front wing. The cars underwent major changes in 2017, allowing wider front and rear wings, and wider tyres
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
.
Throughout much of the turbo-hybrid era, drivers have noted that following closely behind other cars, particularly when attempting to overtake, has been made considerably more difficult by large amounts of turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...
or 'dirty air' from the leading car reducing the aerodynamic performance of the following car. Thus, for the 2022 season, the FIA has made technical changes to the aerodynamic characteristics of the cars to reduce the amount of this 'dirty air' and allow for easier overtaking. Front wing, side pods, and rear wing have all been redesigned to redirect aerodynamic turbulence upwards, and larger tyres with 18-inch wheels will be adopted in an effort to limit disruptive vortices
In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
generated by their rotation.
Steering wheel
The driver has the ability to fine-tune many elements of the race car from within the machine using the steering wheel. The wheel can be used to change gears, apply rev. limiter, adjust fuel/air mix, change brake pressure, and call the radio. Data such as engine rpm, lap times, speed, and gear are displayed on an LCD screen. The wheel hub will also incorporate gear change paddles and a row of LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
shift light
A digital dash and data acquisition system for car and motorcycle racing incorporating LED shift lights
A shift light is a warning lamp fitted to vehicles in order to indicate to the driver that maximum revolutions per minute (r/min) has almost ...
s. The wheel alone can cost about $50,000, and with carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
construction, weighs in at 1.3 kilograms. In the 2014 season, certain teams such as Mercedes have chosen to use larger LCDs on their wheels which allow the driver to see additional information such as fuel flow and torque delivery. They are also more customizable owing to the possibility of using much different software.
Fuel
The fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
used in F1 cars is fairly similar to ordinary (premium) petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
, albeit with a far more tightly controlled mix. Formula One fuel would fall under high octane premium road fuel with octane thresholds of 95 to 102. Since the 1992 season onwards all Formula One cars must mandatorily utilize unleaded racing gasoline fuel.
F1 Blends are tuned for maximum performance in given weather conditions or different circuits. During the period when teams were limited to a specific volume of fuel during a race, exotic high-density fuel blends were used which were actually more dense than water, since the energy content of a fuel depends on its mass density.
To make sure that the teams and fuel suppliers are not violating the fuel regulations, the FIA requires Elf, Shell, Mobil, Petronas, and the other fuel teams to submit a sample of the fuel they are providing for a race. At any time, FIA inspectors can request a sample from the fueling rig to compare the "fingerprint" of what is in the car during the race with what was submitted. The teams usually abide by this rule, but in 1997, Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...
was stripped of his third-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium after the FIA determined that his fuel was not the correct formula, as well as in 1976, both McLaren and Penske cars were forced to the rear of the Italian Grand Prix after the octane number
An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of a fuel's ability to withstand compression in an internal combustion engine without detonating. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonatin ...
of the mixture was found to be too high.
Tyres
The 2009 season saw the re-introduction of slick tyre
A racing slick or slick tyre is a type of tyre that has a smooth tread used mostly in auto racing. The first production slick tyre was developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing. By eliminating any grooves cut into the tre ...
s replacing the grooved tyres used from 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
to 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
Tyres can be no wider than at the rear, front tyre width expanded from 245 mm to 305 mm for the 2017 season. Unlike the fuel, the tyres bear only a superficial resemblance to a normal road tyre. Whereas a road car tyre has a useful life of up to , a Formula One tyre does not even last the whole race distance (a little over ); they are usually changed one or two times per race, depending on the track. This is the result of a drive to maximize the road-holding ability, leading to the use of very soft compounds (to ensure that the tyre surface conforms to the road surface as closely as possible).
Since the start of the 2007 season, F1 has had a sole tyre supplier. From 2007 to 2010, this was Bridgestone, but 2011 saw the reintroduction of Pirelli into the sport, following the departure of Bridgestone. Seven compounds of F1 tyre exist; 5 are dry weather compounds (labeled C1 through C5) while 2 are wet compounds (intermediates for damp surfaces with no standing water and full wets for surfaces with standing water). Three of the dry weather compounds (generally a harder and softer compound) are brought to each race, plus both wet weather compounds. The harder tyres are more durable but give less grip, and the softer tyres the opposite. In 2009, the slick tyres returned as a part of revisions to the rules for the 2009 season; slicks have no grooves and give up to 18% more contact with the track. In the Bridgestone years, a green band on the sidewall of the softer compound was painted to allow spectators to distinguish which tyre a driver is on. Beginning in 2019, Pirelli scrapped the tyre naming system such that the tyres will denote at each Grand Prix independently as hard, medium and soft with white, yellow and red sidewalls respectively rather than having a separate name and colour for each of the five tyres. The change was implemented so that casual fans could better understand the tyre system. Generally, the three dry compounds brought to the track are of consecutive specifications.
Brakes
Disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s consist of a rotor and caliper at each wheel. Carbon composite rotors (introduced by the Brabham team in 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
) are used instead of steel or cast iron because of their superior frictional, thermal, and anti-warping properties, as well as significant weight savings. These brakes are designed and manufactured to work in extreme temperatures, up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1800 °F). The driver can control brake force distribution fore and aft to compensate for changes in track conditions or fuel load. Regulations specify this control must be mechanical, not electronic, thus it is typically operated by a lever inside the cockpit as opposed to a control on the steering wheel.
An average F1 car can decelerate from 100 to 0 km/h (62 to 0 mph) in about 15 meters (48 ft), compared with a 2009 BMW M3, which needs 31 meters (102 ft). When braking from higher speeds, aerodynamic downforce enables tremendous deceleration: 4.5 g to 5.0 g (44 to 49 m/s2), and up to 5.5 g (54 m/s2) at the high-speed circuits such as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing circuit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar ...
(Canadian GP) and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...
(Italian GP). This contrasts with 1.0 g to 1.5 g (10 to 15 m/s2) for sports cars (the Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pie ...
is claimed to be able to brake at 1.3 g). An F1 car can brake from 200 km/h (124 mph) to a complete stop in just 2.9 seconds, using only 65 metres (213 ft).
Currently Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
, AP Racing
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
, Akebono and Hitco
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of E ...
are the Formula One brake manufacturers to date.
Performance
Every F1 car is capable of going from and back to 0 in less than five seconds.
During a demonstration at the Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
circuit in Britain, an F1 McLaren-Mercedes
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...
car driven by David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
gave a pair of Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
street cars a head start of seventy seconds, and was able to beat the cars to the finish line from a standing start, a distance of only .
As well as being fast in a straight line, F1 cars have greater cornering ability. Grand Prix cars can negotiate corners at significantly higher speeds than other racing cars because of their levels of grip and downforce. Cornering speed is so high that Formula One drivers have strength training routines just for the neck muscles. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver.
He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...
claimed to be able to perform 300 repetitions of with his neck.
The combination of light weight (642 kg in race trim for 2013), power ( with the 3.0 L V10, with the 2007-regulation 2.4 L V8, with 2016 1.6 L V6 turbo), aerodynamics, and ultra-high-performance tyres is what gives the F1 car its high performance figures. The principal consideration for F1 designers is ''acceleration'', and not simply top speed. Three types of acceleration can be considered to assess a car's performance:
* Longitudinal acceleration (speeding up)
* Longitudinal deceleration (braking)
* Lateral acceleration (turning)
All three accelerations should be maximised. The way these three accelerations are obtained and their values are:
Acceleration
The 2016 F1 cars have a power-to-weight ratio of 1,400 hp/ t (1.05 kW/ kg; 1,270 hp/ U.S. ton; 0.635 hp/ lb). Theoretically this would allow the car to reach in less than 1 second. However the power cannot be converted to motion at low speeds due to traction loss and the usual figure is 2.5 seconds to reach . After about traction loss is minimal due to the combined effect of the car moving faster and the downforce, hence continuing to accelerate the car at a very high rate. The figures are (for the 2016 Mercedes W07):
*0 to : 2.4 seconds
*0 to : 4.2 seconds
*0 to : 8.4 seconds
The acceleration figure is usually 1.45 g (14.2 m/s2) up to , which means the driver is pushed by the seat with a force whose acceleration is 1.45 times that of Earth's gravity.
There are also boost systems known as kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS). These devices recover the kinetic energy created by the car's braking process. They store that energy and convert it into power that can be called upon to boost acceleration. KERS typically adds and weighs . There are principally two types of systems: electrical and mechanical flywheel. Electrical systems use a motor-generator incorporated in the car's transmission which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. Once the energy has been harnessed, it is stored in a battery and released at will. Mechanical systems capture braking energy and use it to turn a small flywheel which can spin at up to 80,000 rpm. When extra power is required, the flywheel is connected to the car's rear wheels. In contrast to electrical KERS, mechanical energy does not change state and is, therefore, more efficient. There is one other option available, hydraulic KERS, where braking energy is used to accumulate hydraulic pressure which is then sent to the wheels when required.
Deceleration
The carbon brakes in combination with tyre technology and the car's aerodynamics produce truly remarkable braking forces. The deceleration force under braking is usually 4 g (39 m/s2), and can be as high as 5–6 g when braking from extreme speeds, for instance at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit or at Indianapolis. In 2007, Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012.
Brundle contested the 19 ...
, a former Grand Prix driver, tested the Williams Toyota FW29
The Williams FW29 was a Formula One car, built by the Williams F1 team that competed in the 2007 Formula One season. It was driven by Alexander Wurz and Nico Rosberg. The car had a Toyota engine, making it only the second time in the team's histo ...
Formula 1 car and stated that under heavy braking he felt like his lungs were hitting the inside of his ribcage, forcing him to exhale involuntarily. Here the aerodynamic drag actually helps, and can contribute as much as 1.0 g of braking, which is the equivalent of the brakes on most road sports cars. In other words, if the throttle is let go, the F1 car will slow down under drag at the same rate as most sports cars do with braking, at least at speeds above .
There are three companies that manufacture brakes for Formula One. They are Hitco (based in the US, part of the SGL Carbon Group), Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
in Italy, and Carbone Industrie of France. Whilst Hitco manufactures their own carbon/carbon, Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
sources theirs from Honeywell, and Carbone Industrie purchases their carbon from Messier Bugatti.
Carbon/carbon is a short name for carbon fibre reinforced carbon. This means carbon fibres strengthening a matrix of carbon, which is added to the fibres by way of matrix deposition ( CVI or CVD) or by pyrolysis of a resin binder.
F1 brakes are in diameter and a maximum of thick. The carbon/carbon brake pads are actuated by 6-piston opposed callipers provided by Akebono, AP Racing
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
or Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
. The callipers are aluminium alloy-bodied with titanium pistons. The regulations limit the modulus of the calliper material to 80 GPa in order to prevent teams using exotic, high specific stiffness materials, for example, beryllium. Titanium pistons save weight, and also have a low thermal conductivity, reducing the heat flow into the brake fluid.
Lateral acceleration
The aerodynamic forces of a Formula 1 car can produce as much as three times the car's weight in downforce. In fact, at a speed of just , the downforce is equal in magnitude to the weight of the car. At low speeds, the car can turn at 2.0 g. At already the lateral force is 3.0 g, as evidenced by the esses (turns 3 and 4) at the Suzuka circuit. Higher-speed corners such as Blanchimont (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held ...
) and Copse (Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...
) are taken at above 5.0 g, and 6.0 g has been recorded at Suzuka's 130-R corner. This contrasts with a maximum for high performance road cars such as Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italians, Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari ...
of 1.5 g or Koenigsegg One:1 of above 1.7 g for the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Since the force that creates the lateral acceleration is largely friction, and friction is proportional to the normal force applied, the large downforce allows an F1 car to corner at very high speeds. As an example of the extreme cornering speeds; the Blanchimont and Eau Rouge corners at Spa-Francorchamps are taken flat-out at above , whereas the race-spec touring cars can only do so at 150–160 km/h (note that lateral force increases with the square of the speed). A newer and perhaps even more extreme example is the Turn 8 at the Istanbul Park
Intercity Istanbul Park ( tr, İstanbul Park), also known as the Istanbul Racing Circuit or initially as the Istanbul Otodrom, is a motor sports race track in the Tuzla, Istanbul, Tuzla district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was designed by the well ...
circuit, a 190° relatively tight 4-apex corner, in which the cars maintain speeds between (in 2006) and experience between 4.5 g and 5.5 g for 7 seconds—the longest sustained hard cornering in Formula 1.
Top speeds
Top speeds are in practice limited by the longest straight at the track and by the need to balance the car's aerodynamic configuration between high straight-line speed (low aerodynamic drag) and high cornering speed (high downforce) to achieve the fastest lap time. During the 2006 season, the top speeds of Formula 1 cars were a little over 300 km/h (185 mph) at high-downforce tracks such as Albert Park, Australia and Sepang, Malaysia. These speeds were down by some from the 2005 speeds, and from the 2004 speeds, due to the recent performance restrictions (see below). On low-downforce circuits greater top speeds were registered: at Gilles-Villeneuve (Canada) 325 km/h (203 mph), at Indianapolis (USA) 335 km/h (210 mph), and at Monza (Italy) 360 km/h (225 mph). In testing one month prior to the 2005 Italian Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya of the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team recorded a record top speed of 372.6 km/h (231.5 mph), which was officially recognised by the FIA as the fastest speed ever achieved by an F1 car, even though it was not set during an officially sanctioned session during a race weekend. In the 2005 Italian GP Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes was recorded at 370.1 km/h (229.9 mph). This record was broken at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix
The 2016 Mexican Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2016) was the Formula One motor race run on 30 October 2016 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the eighteenth Mexican Grand Prix, and the sixte ...
by Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, whose top speed in race conditions was 372.54 km/h (231.48 mph). However, even though this information was shown in FIA's official monitors, the FIA is yet to accept it as an official record. Bottas had previously set an even higher record top speed during qualifying for the 2016 European Grand Prix
The 2016 European Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 June 2016 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The race was the eighth round of the 2016 season, ...
, recording a speed of 378.035 km/h (234.9 mph), albeit through the use of slipstream drafting. This top speed is yet to be confirmed by any official method as currently the only source of this information is the Williams team's Twitter post, while the FIA's official speed trap data measured Bottas's speed at 366.1 km/h in that instance. At the moment Montoya's speed of is still regarded as the official record, even though it was not set during a sanctioned session.
Away from the track, the BAR Honda team used a modified BAR 007
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
car, which they claim complied with FIA Formula One regulation, to set an unofficial speed record of 413 km/h (257 mph) on a one way straight-line run on 6 November 2005 during a shakedown ahead of their Bonneville 400
British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which l ...
record attempt. The car was optimised for top speed with only enough downforce to prevent it from leaving the ground. The car, badged as a Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
following their takeover of BAR at the end of 2005, set an FIA ratified record of on a one way run on 21 July 2006 at Bonneville Speedway
Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed recor ...
. On this occasion the car did not fully meet FIA Formula One regulations, as it used a moveable aerodynamic rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
for stability control, breaching article 3.15 of the 2006 Formula One technical regulation which states that any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic performance must be rigidly secured.[2006 Formula One Technical Regulation]
www.fia.com
. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
Recent FIA performance restrictions
In an effort to reduce speeds and increase driver safety, the FIA has continuously introduced new rules for F1 constructors since the 1980s.
These rules have included the banning of such ideas as the "wing car" ( ground effect) in 1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
(reintroduced in 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
); the turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
in 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
(these were reintroduced for 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
); active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
and ABS in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
; slick tyres in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
(these were reintroduced for 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
); smaller front and rear wings and a reduction in engine capacity from 3.5 to 3.0 litres in 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
; reducing the width of the cars from over 2 metres to around 1.8 metres in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
; again a reduction in engine capacity from 3.0 to 2.4 litres in 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
; launch control and traction control
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, and again in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, alongside engine braking
Engine braking occurs when the retarding forces within an engine are used to slow down a motor vehicle, as opposed to using additional external braking mechanisms such as friction brakes or magnetic brakes.
The term is often confused with sever ...
, after electronic driver aids were reintroduced in 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. Yet despite these changes, constructors continued to extract performance gains by increasing power and aerodynamic efficiency. As a result, the pole position speed at many circuits in comparable weather conditions dropped between 1.5 and 3 seconds in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
over the prior year's times. The aerodynamic restrictions introduced in 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
were meant to reduce downforce by about 30%, however, most teams were able to successfully reduce this to a mere 5 to 10% downforce loss. In 2006 the engine power was reduced from by shifting from the 3.0L V10s, used for a decade, to 2.4L V8s. Some of these new engines were capable of achieving 20,000 rpm during 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, though for the 2007 season engine development was frozen and the FIA limited all engines to 19,000 rpm to increase reliability and control at increasing engine speeds.
In 2008, the FIA further strengthened its cost-cutting measures by stating that gearboxes are to last for 4 Grand Prix weekends, in addition to the 2 race weekend engine rule. Furthermore, all teams were required to use a standardised ECU supplied by MES (McLaren Electronic Systems
McLaren Applied Limited is a British technology company that works in conjunction with companies such as GSK, NHS and more. Its electronic division, McLaren Electronics, manufactures parts such as engine temperature and pressure sensors for F ...
) made in conjunction with Microsoft. These ECUs have placed restrictions on the use of electronic driver aids such as traction control, launch control, and engine braking and are tagged to prevent modification. The emphasis is on reducing costs as well as placing the focus back onto driver skills as opposed to the so-called 'electronic gizmos' mainly controlling the cars.
Changes were made for the 2009 season to increase dependency on mechanical grip and create overtaking opportunities – resulting in the return to slick tyres, a wider and lower front wing with a standardized centre section, a narrower and taller rear wing, and the diffuser being moved backward and made taller yet less efficient at producing downforce. The overall aerodynamic grip was dramatically reduced with the banning of complex appendages such as winglets, bargeboards and other aero devices previously used to better direct airflow over and under the cars. The maximum engine speed was reduced to 18,000 rpm to increase reliability further and conform to engine life demand.
Due to increasing environmental pressures from lobby groups and the like, many have called into question the relevance of Formula 1 as an innovating force towards future technological advances (particularly those concerned with efficient cars). The FIA has been asked to consider how it can persuade the sport to move down a more environmentally friendly path. Therefore, in addition to the above changes outlined for the 2009 season, teams were invited to construct a KERS device, encompassing certain types of regenerative braking systems to be fitted to the cars in time for the 2009 season. The system aims to reduce the amount of kinetic energy converted to waste heat in braking, converting it instead to a useful form (such as electrical energy or energy in a flywheel) to be later fed back through the engine to create a power boost. However, unlike road car systems that automatically store and release energy, the energy is only released when the driver presses a button and is useful for up to 6.5 seconds, giving an additional and 400 kJ. It effectively mimics the ' push to pass' button from IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
and A1GP
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
series. KERS was not seen in the 2010 championship – while it was not technically banned, the FOTA collectively agreed not to use it. It however made a return for the 2011 season, with all teams except HRT, Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
and Lotus utilizing the device.
The regulations for the 2014 season limit the maximum fuel mass flow to the engine to 100 kg/h, which reduced the maximum power output from 550 kW to about 450 kW. The rules also double the power limit of the electric motor to 120 kW for both acceleration and energy recovery, and increase the maximum amount of energy the KERS is allowed to use to 4 MJ per lap, with charging limited to 2 MJ per lap. An additional electric motor-generator unit may be connected to the turbocharger.
See also
* Pitot tube
A pitot ( ) tube (pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by a French engineer, Henri Pitot, in the early 18th century, and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by a French scientist, Henry Darcy. It is ...
References
External links
Official F1 site
F1 Technical
Animated F1 Car Guide
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081012214615/http://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/1/f1.html Racecar EngineeringCars
Racecar Engineering
Engines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formula One Car
Formula One
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