90% Car, 10% Driver

Today, there are more modern racing series out there than most people can count, but what makes Formula 1 unique (other than perhaps LMP1) is its emphasis on a team’s engineering ability vs. skill of individual drivers. With most teams based around a small area in the UK and operating with annual budgets exceeding $500 million USD, Formula 1 teams attract some of the world’s top engineering talent, spanning many disciplines: aerospace, mechanical, electrical, software, chemical, materials science, and systems engineering. Both on and off season, teams work long hours developing their respective cars, pursuing various ideas and concepts. Between races, the cars are usually stripped down, inspected, upgraded, re-assembled, re-painted, and prepared for the next challenge.

Mercedes AMG shows what it takes to get the car built and ready between races.

It’s this significant level of off-track manufacturing and R&D that sets Formula 1 apart from other racing series; the driver of the car is critical of course, but it’s the efforts of a team’s engineers that make the most difference in lap time, and it then becomes the driver’s responsibility to maximize on the car’s potential (as well as bring it home in one piece). It should be mentioned that this is the very aspect of F1 that some general motorsport fans do not like, but I find that anyone in a STEM-related field can relate to these teams quite well, making the sport easy to appreciate (and a lot of fun to watch).

Dynamic Specifications

I often summarize Formula 1 as:

A sport made up of corporations, all competing to create the best version of a product within a carefully-defined set of regulations, all while operating without the aid of patent protection.

Each season has a new set of these regulations, much like specifications in any engineering project. The teams are tasked with analyzing these rules to make their car as fast as possible within the established technical limits, often embarking on massive engineering projects to gain just a tenth of a second or less. Loopholes in the rules are often found, and can result in some fascinating innovations, such as 2017’s “T-wing”, or 1978’s “Fan Car”. The lack of patent protection results in teams making an effort to hide visible elements on their car for as long as possible, as there are often spy-like photographers motivated to capture and document these features for sale to other teams.

Red Bull’s F1 team often uses “cammo” liveries during pre-season testing in an attempt to hide their aerodynamic concepts.

Most seasons see evolutionary changes to the rules: minor modifications to aerodynamic limits, engine rules, or safety improvements. However, every 4–6 years there is a transformational, era-defining revamping of the regulations, and 2014 was one of those years.

Red Bull’s excellent overview of the 2013->2014 engineering regulation overhaul.

Today, we still live in that era that begin in 2014, largely defined by its V-6 Turbo Hybrid “power unit”. The internal combustion engine is paired with a turbo-charger, electric motors, batteries, and energy recovery in both the brakes (MGU-K, like a Prius) as well as the turbo (MGU-H, not like a Prius). The 6 cylinders only make up 1.6 L in volume, but they run at 15,000 RPM, giving the modern F1 car it’s peak ~1000 horsepower when combined with the electric motors.

That’s not to say that we haven’t seen change since 2014 though: in 2017 we saw a significant increase in downforce and mechanical grip, ultimately decreasing lap times by up to 5 seconds (an eternity in the world of F1), as well as increasing the G-forces imposed on the driver and car.

James Allison (Technical Director, Mercedes AMG) explains what’s new in 2018’s F1 regulations.

As you can see in the video above, 2018’s regulations are largely a refinement on 2017’s, with the most obvious changes related to safety in the form of the “halo” cockpit protection system. Many die-hard Formula 1 fans hate this particular change (entirely due to its poor aesthetics), but I personally believe James Allison when he says that we’ll see the teams positively develop this new part of the car over the coming years.

Mission Control

Some engineering is executed on timescales from months to years, while other constraints require informed decision making to be executed in a matter of seconds. Formula 1 has both. On-track strategy requires a deep understanding of materials science and mechanical engineering as conditions change and tire compound decisions are made. Like all pieces of an F1 team, the engineers that fill these roles typically have the backgrounds that aid their intuitive understanding of what’s happening to the car and track, as we can learn in this interview with Sauber’s Ruth Buscombe.

Ruth Buscombe, Chief Strategist for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team

While the on-track decision making is critical, there’s even more live race analysis happening back at the factory. There is likely no sport on Earth as dependent on high-performance compute as Formula 1. In this DigitalTrends article about McLaren’s factory Mission Control room, we learn that McLaren’s super computers are taking live data from the track and computing up to 300k race simulations every second. It’s this need to rapidly compute mountains of live data that forms a big reason why Formula 1 teams frequently seek sponsorship arrangements with tech companies, sometimes in the form of silicon or software, instead of dollars.

“It’s like flying with a dead elephant on our back.”

Formula 1 cars have always been technical marvels, but they never been more complicated than they are today. Many components are designed to trade-off longevity for performance and weight, and teams are often able to predict their failure down to the lap. But sometimes, they get this very wrong.

Mechanical failures are often a surprise that can present challenges to both the teams and drivers.

It’s this engineering game of risk-vs-reward that keeps fans like me glued during races. Anything can happen: a cylinder can blow, the transmission can break, electrical harvesting or deployment can fail; we’ve even seen suspected “firmware updates” delivered by swapping out the steering wheel during a pitstop.

Often times during a season, certain teams start to show trends: some are fast, others are reliable. Some are both. Others are neither. In-season developments from a specific team can arrive with hype for the next race, as they can increase performance, but also can increase the risk for a mid-race failure.

Amazon’s “GRAND PRIX Driver” shows how a team with two excellent drivers can struggle to overcome serious engineering challenges.

Amazon’s excellent but short “GRAND PRIX Driver” series covers McLaren’s engineering struggles as they try to make their car reliable and performant with Honda’s power unit during the 2017 season. This is an excellent way to understand what can go wrong in a Formula 1 team.

Pushing the Technological Envelope

During my mechanical engineering courses in college, we learned that an “engine with > 50% thermal efficiency is impossible”. In 2016, Mercedes AMG got their F1 power unit over 50% efficiency. Of course, part of this is thanks to the harvesting of kinetic energy and deploying it later through electric motors, but their improvements to internal combustion played a huge part in helping them break that barrier.

As F1 teams continue to develop for the current regulations, we should see even more development around the areas of electrical harvesting and deployment. These kinds of technical innovations trickle down to our road cars, which is increasingly important as we all shift to hybrids and full-electrics.

Alright, I’m in. Now what?

Here’s how to watch Formula 1:

Embrace time-shifting, and temporarily black-out your social media . F1 is a global sport, with each race occurring every in a different country every 1–3 weeks. This often means that the race time can be painful. Look up the local start time, find a way to record the race, and watch it when it’s convenient.

. F1 is a global sport, with each race occurring every in a different country every 1–3 weeks. This often means that the race time can be painful. Look up the local start time, find a way to record the race, and watch it when it’s convenient. If you’re American, F1 is now on ESPN/ABC. However, we will soon be getting a dedicated streaming service, which many expect to be a far superior option, especially given the camera options we’ll be given over a traditional broadcast.

If you’re in the UK , your best bet is Sky. Their coverage has traditionally been better than what we’ve had in the states. The UK won’t see the streaming service for at least a while, unfortunately.

, your best bet is Sky. Their coverage has traditionally been better than what we’ve had in the states. The UK won’t see the streaming service for at least a while, unfortunately. Elsewhere: check out this handy guide.

Advice on how to get the most out of the first race:

Check out the Official Formula 1 YouTube page . The content up there has gotten really good in the past few years.

The content up there has gotten really good in the past few years. Learn about what happened in 2017 (and prior) to get a lay of the land. Mercedes AMG has been on top since 2014, with Ferrari and Red Bull fighting to dethrone them. Much of this dominance comes from Mercedes’ ability to perfect their implementation of the current power unit regulations, but the other teams should be very close this year.

Pick a team , and try to not fixate on the top three. The mid-pack can often be the most exciting, and the smaller teams are fun to watch as well (large budgets and headcount can still be out-innovated).

, and try to not fixate on the top three. The mid-pack can often be the most exciting, and the smaller teams are fun to watch as well (large budgets and headcount can still be out-innovated). Understand that some teams will persistently dominate others , usually due to their current engineering advantages for a given race. Formula 1 races can sometimes look like a tiered series. Look for battles that happen all the way up and down the lineup, and watch your favorite team improve on their car (or slip down the paddock) over a season.

, usually due to their current engineering advantages for a given race. Formula 1 races can sometimes look like a tiered series. Look for battles that happen all the way up and down the lineup, and watch your favorite team improve on their car (or slip down the paddock) over a season. Learn about tyre compounds and the rules . They are one of the most important pieces of strategic variability during a race.

. They are one of the most important pieces of strategic variability during a race. Watch Qualifying , which happens on the Saturday of a race weekend. It is comparatively short, has all cars out on track at once, and is made up of 3 rounds, where the slowest cars in the pack are eliminated. If you understand the rules, the end of qualifying can be just as exciting as the start of a race.

which happens on the Saturday of a race weekend. It is comparatively short, has all cars out on track at once, and is made up of 3 rounds, where the slowest cars in the pack are eliminated. If you understand the rules, the end of qualifying can be just as exciting as the start of a race. Watch for overtakes , because they are equally rare and significant. Formula 1 is to hockey as NASCAR is to basketball. Battles can happen for multiple laps, with tension building until an overtake is finally executed (or properly defended).

, because they are equally rare and significant. Formula 1 is to hockey as NASCAR is to basketball. Battles can happen for multiple laps, with tension building until an overtake is finally executed (or properly defended). Visit /r/formula1 , a subreddit where the most passionate F1 fans meet to share photos and analysis of races, technical development, and more.

a subreddit where the most passionate F1 fans meet to share photos and analysis of races, technical development, and more. Subscribe to F1 podcasts, such as BBC’s Chequered Flag Formula 1, Autosport F1, and my personal favorite: For Formula 1’s Sake, an often hilarious podcast that is usually recorded from an English pub.

FF1S: One of the best Formula 1 podcasts out there.

Check out Ron Howard’s Rush . It’s a great movie, regardless of its context with F1. Senna , a documentary about the legendary driver, is also highly regarded.

It’s a great movie, regardless of its context with F1. , a documentary about the legendary driver, is also highly regarded. Jump into a simulator. Much like throwing around a football before a game, learning the track via an F1 simulator can really help the enjoyment of a race. Many of these sims have gotten so good that you’ll find that you have trouble in the same sections of track as the real drivers.

Driving an F1 track in a sim before a race weekend can truly amplify your enjoyment and understanding of a race.

Bonus: watch with food themed for the hosting country that weekend. This can be a lot of fun, especially if you have some people over to watch the race.

Moving Forward

2018 is going to be an excellent year to get into F1, especially for those with a background in STEM. The technical regulations have never been more interesting, and we’ll soon have more options to watch than ever. Watch some of the supporting content that I’ve linked to throughout this guide, and make sure to watch the 2018 Australian Grand Prix this coming weekend.