In the early 1900s, it initially started with rich people showing off their cars by racing them in different towns across Europe. Today it is the fastest, most prestigious motorsport event in the world. Simply put, it is the greatest four wheeler racing event on the planet and the cars are built for one purpose only – tearing down the track (and probably also tearing your eardrums, but we’ll get to that in a bit)!
Dear reader, welcome to the 300+kmph world of Formula 1!
Although an automobile enthusiast, I only recently entered the exhilarating world of F1. Yet I was instantly blown away by the sheer insanity of this sport. We’re talking about cars that produce 1600 kgs of downforce (which we will address later), boasting a top speed in excess of 340kmph and phenomenal cornering capabilities (thanks to extreme aerodynamics), paired with the best race tracks, drivers and engineers on Earth, period! As an enthusiast I was immediately able to appreciate what I saw and this blog is my tribute to Formula 1.
If you’re one of the people wondering why, out of all the catchy names a motorsport event can be given, this one was given the name “Formula 1”, it’s actually because “Formula” refers to the set of rules and regulations that a team has to follow in order to be able to participate in the event and “1” simply refers to the highest class of automotive racing. In the early stages, the only rule was that the engines could not exceed a displacement of 2.5L and had to be Naturally Aspirated (NA), which means forced induction was not allowed.
Forced induction is when air is forced into the engines using devices like superchargers/turbochargers.
Apart from this rule, the sky was the limit. But as innovations became crazier, often leading to crashes and fatalities, more rules were introduced to make F1 safe for drivers and fans alike. A very recent example of this would be the introduction of the “halo” in 2018 which saved Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean’s life at the 2020 Bahrain GP.
Formula 1 is essentially a Grand Prix (or GP), which means the races are held at venues all across the globe. In the case of F1, races are held on all continents except Africa and Antarctica. Now, as thrilling as the races are, the behind-the-scenes logistics of getting to each venue is a behemoth of a task and no less mind-blowing than the race itself. I was absolutely astounded by the sheer jaw-dropping large-scale magnitude of the ordeal.
We’re talking about 10 teams transporting all of their equipment and staff to 20 races across 5 entire continents using every mode of transport available – roadways, airways, seaways, you name it. Needless to say, moving all the equipment from one race to another, sometimes in a span of just a week, involves flawless planning and coordination by each and every team. While races within Europe are
relatively easier (as all teams either have their HQ or a main operating office in the continent), races outside of Europe - “flyaway” races as they’re called, are a lot more challenging and are executed with much precision and foresight. I’ll leave a link to a video that dives deeper into the topic - be sure to check it out!
Formula 1 is perhaps the most expensive motorsport event in the world. This sport spends cash just as quickly as its cars guzzle gas. There is money involved in this sport in whichever direction you look. From paying the drivers, to planning logistics, to R&D, to sourcing/manufacturing engines and building their cars, money rules this sport. So much so that even the drivers are expected to bring monetary backing to the table, which highly increases their probability of getting a seat in the team. Unfortunately, talent isn’t everything in the most expensive sport. F1 is a business as much as it is a sport. To stay in the game, you need a bank account flush with cash, or you need to draw inspiration from Fast Five and steal a vault from a police station! Good luck calling Hobbs for help!
With that, let’s get to the most crucial and my favourite part of F1 – the cars themselves. Right away, you can tell that these look nothing like a car but more like something Elon Musk would bring back from some remote alien planet on one of his SpaceX expeditions. When I first saw them, the only thing that gave it away was the four wheels.
So why do F1 cars look…extraterrestrial? Well, it doesn’t take an intellectual to figure out that these cars are purpose-built. They are made to lay rubber on road and set fire to the race track. Every bit of design and engineering on this car is functional - aimed at making it faster and more aerodynamic. Unlike cars like the Bugatti Veyron or Bugatti Chiron which are specifically built for straight line speeds, Formula 1 cars are all about the race track.
When it comes to these cars, the focus is on two aspects – the engine (of course) and aerodynamics. As of today, manufacturers are only allowed a max displacement of 1.6L in a
V6 layout and an electrical Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) adding about 160 HP to the total power output, which it gets by harvesting the braking energy and storing it in a battery, using it later for boosts of power when it’s needed (like when overtaking or down a straight to attain maximum speed).
Coming back to the engines, 800 HP from a 1.6L V6 is honestly mind-blowing (like everything else about this sport). The key to squeezing so much power from a relatively small engine is by making it spin at staggeringly high RPMs (Revolutions per Minute). While a regular street car would rev to a max of 6000-7000 RPM, these V6 powerhouses rev up to a whopping 15000 RPM (which is more than double the average car).
At such high RPMs the engine is capable of generating ludicrous amounts of power (like 800 HP)! The downside to this is that the engines are short-lived. Revving up to 15000 RPM on a regular basis puts extreme stress on the engine and therefore it wears out quickly. For this very reason, the FIA allows each team to use 3 engines per season. The upside, though (along with the insane power), of 15000 revolutions per minute is that F1 cars sound fantabulous. Screaming and howling louder than a rock concert, these machines are sure to make your eardrums bleed. Fans were actually disappointed when the 1.6L Turbo V6 were introduced because they didn’t sound anything as good as the V8s and V10s of yesteryears but mistake me not dear reader, for even these V6s scream “Highway to Hell” when in their element.
Next up in F1 Science Class is Aerodynamics. We can understand aerodynamics by breaking it down into aero which means “air” and dynamics which means “motion / movement”. So aerodynamics refers to the movement of air around an object - an F1 car in our case. Every structure of the body of these cars is specifically designed to channel air around the car in a specific manner - ducts near the wheels that channel air into the brakes to cool them (so that they don’t look like glowing rings and can actually work when the driver needs them to), massive ducts that shove air into the engine (because engines need air as much as they need fuel) and the front and rear wings that force air upwards so that it pushes back down on the car (so that it doesn’t fly off).
This is what is called downforce and can be explained by Newton’s third law of motion which states that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. You push the air upwards; it’s going to push down on you in return – ‘tit for tat’ in layman’s terms, if I may. Notice that exactly the opposite of what I’m currently explaining is what enables airplanes to fly – in that case it’s called lift. Don’t ever confuse downforce with lift because the latter on an F1 car will rip it off the race track and send it shooting towards the same alien planet that Musk brought it from to begin with! There is a lot more advanced complexities but I shall restrict today’s aerodynamics class to this much information.
With great power and performance comes great responsibility, and Italian manufacturer Pirelli takes responsibility of the tyre department of this machine. There is no point in having a powerful vehicle if the tyres don’t instill confidence in a driver to push it to the limits. Luckily Pirelli know this better than anyone else. They make some of the world’s best tyres and thus it only makes sense that they are the producers of tyres for every team.
The tyres come in various compounds – some for wet conditions and some for dry. The wet tyres have treads in them for water to flow through so that the cars don’t slip and slide off the track when there’s rain (a phenomenon called “aquaplaning” when water gets stuck between the tyre and road causing slick tyres to loose grip). Tyres for dry conditions are commonly referred to as slicks; these tyres have no grooves whatsoever and are super smooth on the surface. Much like everything else about the car, these slicks are functional too as they optimise grip enabling the driver to push the car and himself to the extreme limits. The softest compound tyres have highest grip but only last a few miles whereas harder compounds compromise a bit on grip for durability. Pirelli chooses 3 compounds for each race and each driver gets 13 sets. How they use them is all about strategy.
All the awesomeness of an F1 car needs an equally awesome human behind the wheel to be able to unleash its full potential. Some of the most legendary superhuman drivers we’ve even seen behind the wheel are Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sir Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna (the McLaren Senna is named after this God), Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Jim Clark and the very recent 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Just like cars need able drivers, drivers need facilitating race tracks. A good track is one that is smooth, flowy, has a good amount of corners, chicanes (a sharp double bend) and straights. Some of the best race tracks where Formula 1 is held are Monaco, Marina Bay (Singapore), Nürburgring (Germany), Monza (Italy), Silverstone (England) and many more. The atmosphere in one of these during a race is absolutely electric! One has to experience it to know it; and one should definitely experience it…
2020, to be very honest, was a less exciting season. Most races were predictable and Lewis Hamilton kept winning relentlessly. But 2021 sees change. There are new rules, new cars, new teams, new team members and new tracks. We see Aston Martin make an entry as anew team and we also see an old yet unforgotten face by the name of Fernando Alonso make a comeback.
One seat at Mercedes still remains empty as Lewis hasn’t signed a contract yet. If he retires, we could be looking at George Russell filling his shoes (as he proved his mettle at the 2020 Sakhir GP). With newer, better cars, we can look forward to more overtaking and racing action next year, which should make it much more exciting than 2020.
With that I bring my humble tribute to an end. Dear reader, writing this piece was pleasure of the purest kind and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. My aim was to introduce you to and give you an essence of this truly magnificent sport. If you don’t follow F1, I hope this blog inspires you to watch a race and get a feel of what it stands for – cutting edge technology, top-notch engineering and performance of the highest order. If you are a follower, I hope I put a smile on your face. I have but barely skimmed the surface of the ocean that is Formula 1, but I hope you liked it. I sincerely thank you for your time and hope you have something to take away from here!
The Insane Logistics of Formula 1 - YouTube - Check out this video to know more about the logistical challenges I talked about earlier!
Author: Shashank S