Sidepodcast

The veritable lack of Formula 1 action at the moment has allowed me to catch up with a bunch of magazines that have been lying around unread. Today I’ve been working my way through last months issue of Race Engine Technology. Don’t laugh.

Available from all good newsagents, but not to be confused with Racecar Engineering magazine mentioned recently, the November edition of Race Engine Technology has, amongst other things, some wonderful insight into the future of F1 energy recovery solutions.

I’ll have to save that for later discussion though, because today I’m mostly interested in their interview with Renault’s head engine boffin, Rob White.

The interview was conducted during the course of the British Grand Prix weekend, so even without my palpable attempts at time management, it’s still a little out of date. The detail I’m most interested in is the discussion relating to next years fuel regulations.

It came of something of a surprise to learn that next year the FIA technical regulations state that 5.75% of an F1 cars fuel must be derived from biological sources. Actually that’s oversimplifying it a little. Here’s what the 2008 Technical Regulations state:

19.4.5 A minimum of 5.75% (m/m) of the fuel must comprise oxygenates derived from biological sources. The percentage that each component is considered to originate from a biological source is calculated from the relative proportion of the molecular weight contributed by the biological starting material.

19.4.6 Synthetic hydrocarbons or mixtures of synthetic hydrocarbons, which have been produced from biomass, will be considered for future inclusion into Formula One fuel, provided that a suitable analytical procedure is available to verify their biological origin.

According to Rob, the changes specified won’t require any major work, beyond simple engine remapping.

I did a little research and discovered that Auto Industry recently reported Williams were the first team to run their car using bioethanol elements and the fuel was manufactured using sources such as crop waste. Auto Industry also report that:

The new rules are consistent with one of the latest EU directives which will require all road cars to use the same bio-content blend of fuel by 2010.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I recall this idea being introduced by the FIA back in 2005, but had assumed it was pushed back along with other energy saving rules.

I’m surprised Max and the teams aren’t making a bigger fuss about this already, maybe PR will ramp up before the start of the ‘08 season?

• Length: 2:58 
• Size: 2.8 MB 
• File: guide4.mp3 
• Transcript: guide4.pdf 
• Torrent: guide4.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

A Formula 1 car is different to a regular road car. I mean, you know that already, because they make a lot more noise, they go a lot faster, and they look a lot different. But there’s more to it than that. There is an enormous amount of technology that goes into just getting an F1 car started, let alone maintaining it throughout a race.

The most important thing about a Formula 1 car is the aerodynamics. Hundreds of people make a living back at the factory, designing and testing new bits and pieces of the car to make it smoother through the air and thus faster on the track. What you basically need the F1 car to be is low to the ground, with as little disruption to the air flow as possible. Of course, at the high speeds the cars go, precautions need to be in place to stop the cars taking off, and that’s where the wings come in. Whereas aeroplane wings help get things skybound, F1 wings are designed to push the car into the ground.

The extra tenths that a good aero design can bring you will only be useful if you have the engine package in the car to go with it. With 7 gears, the engine and the car can get up to a top speed of 210mph, they produce about 800 brake horse power and can rev to 19,000rpm.

To control this much power, the drivers need some top technology at their fingertips. The steering wheel is small but holds an enormous amount of control, and is one of the most expensive items to be found on the car. Coming in at about $40,000, the wheel doesn’t just steer. It has paddle shift gear selection, can apply the pit lane speed limiter, contains an LCD screen with lap times, position and speed information displays, and lets the driver contact his crew with the radio. That’s why the steering wheel is the first thing a driver will grab for when he flies off the track.

A team has two drivers and each has their own car. The teams bring various spare parts with them to each race, front and back wings, replacement body parts, spare noses, and a spare engine. But if a car is beyond repair, then look no further than the T car – a spare for use in emergencies only.

All this equipment costs buckets and buckets of money. The majority of teams are backed by road car manufacturers, which means new technologies can be passed in either direction. The paddle shift gears was an F1 invention – and is now available as standard on some top range sports cars. It’s all supplemented by sponsors, and they are who really dictate what colours the cars are going to be. You can understand why Ferrari and Vodafone made such a great partnership, with their main brand colours both being red. With sponsor names scrawled across the bodywork, and all the nooks and crannies, angles and wings, F1 cars aren’t your normal kind of beauty. But they hold a certain fascination about them that will only grow the more you watch.

We’ve looked at all the good stuff about Formula 1, the next instalment will be about the rules.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.