What is Formula1?

Hie friends, I’m back with my business of writing blogs, the previous one and the first one was about Formula1 drivers. Well not a bad start, but still I felt my first blog should have been the second one. Reason : well, a couple of my friends don’t know what is Formula1 n what is all about. They think its something about Ferrari (as F1= Ferrari No:1), they think Formula1 is about Fast cars (how fast…good question), they think Formula1 is about money (well you can say that ), the best one is “Is it the super formula of Mathematics by Archimedes ?”(I thought, this is too much...)

Well to stay away from such embarrassing situations, I found a solution. Why not educate friends about Formula1 and not Maths (please…). Then only I decided to write my second blog, What is Formula1?

A Formula1 basically is a set of technical regulations for single-seater racing cars. The regulations specify maximum and minimum dimensions, engine capacity, what is permitted technically and what is not permitted and, perhaps most important of all, a large number of safety belts with a view to protecting the driver. A car built to these regulations is a Formula1 car. Formula 3 and Formula 3000 are also FIA Formulae, but each has lower performance than Formula One.

A question arises, what is FIA?

FIA = Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, since 1904, is the governing body of motor sport worldwide and administer the Formula One World Championship, as well as all other international motor sport. The first "formula" in 1904 by the FIA (which restricted maximum weight), categories were created for the smaller cars.

The Formula One World Championship was created in 1950. FIA conducts Grands Prix all over the world. Grands Prix means "Grandes Epreuves" (Great Events). Each Grand Prix has two titles, one for the Drivers’ World Championship and one for the Constructors’ Championship. Maximum of 17 events or races are conducted. A minimum of eight races must take place for the World Champion Drivers' and Constructors' titles to be awarded.

The constructors add together the points scored in every race by each car of their make (they cannot enter more than two), in the same way as the drivers accumulate the total number of points scored in each event.

In the event of two drivers having the same number of points, the title is decided on the basis of the quality of the places obtained, that is, the number of first places, followed by the number of second places, etc. The number of points awarded to the winner in each race has been modified on two occasions, the most recent of which was in 1991; the first now obtains 10 points. The following seven finishers are awarded points (8 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1).

The FIA has a Formula One Technical Working Group. This makes recommendations to the FIA Formula One Commission on which the teams, race promoters, engine manufacturers, sponsors, tyre manufacturers are represented. There are large number of regulations governing the specifications of the Formula1 cars like chassis design, cylinder capacity of the engine, prohibits supercharging and weight of the car (including the driver).

These Formula1 technical regulations are based on two main concerns, controlling speed, in the interests of safety (for drivers at the time of accident and otherwise also), at the same time preserving the technological excellence of F1 This is why there are restrictions on cylinder capacity, fuel, tyre dimensions, weight car, as well as on the dimensions and positioning of the aerodynamic devices and on electronic driving aids.

Moreover, the strength of the chassis, the protective roll bars, leak-resistant fuel tanks, fire extinguishers, harnesses, as well as head and neck protection. The positions of the fuel and oil tanks are specified and they must have special protection. Cockpit dimensions are also regulated. All engines must be reciprocating four strokes with ten cylinders, none of which may be oval. It is obligatory for each car to have four wheels, only two of which are steered or driven.

Now I would like to spend some time about the different parts which play a very crucial role in a F1 car.

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a very important field within most motor sports today, especially Formula One. FIA made it mandatory for each car to have a flat bottom between the rear wheel centre line and the rear of the front wheels, thereby reducing down force (the so-called "ground effect"), and thus reduce cornering speed. The constructors have nevertheless managed to optimise the behavior of the aerofoils and aerodynamic extractors situated behind the gearbox.

As air flows over the wing, it is disturbed by the shape, causing what is known as form or pressure drag. Although this force is usually less than the lift or downforce, it can seriously limit top speed and causes the engine to use more fuel to get the car through the air. Drag is a very important factor on a Formula1 car. The front wing on the car creates about 25% of the cars downforce, but this can be reduced to about 10% when a car is directly behind another - that's why overtaking is so difficult in Formula1.

Cockpits

The cockpit of a Formula1 driver is a very sparse environment. The driver must be comfortable enough to concentrate on driving while being strapped tight into his seat, experiencing G-forces of up to 5G under harsh braking and 4G in fast corners whereas a good road car achieves about 1G. Definition of G-Force: A physical force equivalent to one unit of gravity that is multiplied during rapid changes of direction or velocity.
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Every possible button and switch must be close at hand as the driver has limited movement due to tightness of the seat belts. The cockpit is also very cramped, and drivers often wear knee pads (David Coulthard for instance) to prevent bruising. The car designers are forever trying to lower the centre of gravity of the car, and as each car has a mass of 600 Kg, with the driver's being roughly 70 Kg, he is an important factor in weight distribution. This often means that the drivers are almost lying down in their driving position.

Engine

With ten times the horsepower of a normal road car, a Formula One engine produces quite amazing performance. With around 900 moving parts, the engines are very complex and must operate at very high temperatures. Engines are currently limited to 3 litre, normally with 10 cylinders. These engines produce approximately 800 - 850 bhp and have blocks and heads made from cast aluminium alloy, with pistons being forged aluminium. In a Formula1 engine revving at 18,000 rpm, the piston will travel up and down 300 times a second. The picture shows a Ferrari engine.

Electronics

Every one of the 20 Formula1 cars on the grid is dependent upon sophisticated electronics to govern its many complex operational systems. Each Formula 1 car has over a kilometer of cable, linked to about 100 sensors which monitor and control many parts of the car. Rarely a race goes by without a car retiring with electrical problems, indicating the important role that this technology has in modern F1 cars. The 800 bhp of a modern F1 engine is largely a result of a complex electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the many systems inside an engine so that they work to their maximum at every point around the lap. The ECU also controls the clutch, electronic differential and the gearbox.

Every aspect of the car, whether it be speed, brake and engine temperature, suspension movements, ride height, pedal movements and g-force are measured and controlled from the pit when the car is out on the track.

Gearbox & Brakes

Formula1 cars have semi-automatic gearboxes mean that most transmissions are fitted with seven gears, the maximum permitted by the Technical Regulations. A reverse gear is also compulsory but may not be used in the pit-lane.

All Formula One cars are equipped with brakes with callipers made from light alloy while the discs and pads tend to be made from synthetic materials, e.g. carbon. Their resistance to heat is much greater (which is why, in certain conditions, the insides of the wheels appear completely incandescent) and they weigh significantly less. Their braking power is very high: at the end of a straight, at maximum speed around 340 km/h, a Formula1 car can brake at less than 100 metres in order to take a slow corner.

Fuel & Tyres

Fuel used to run a Formula1 car is not special but unleaded with very low sulphur ("green") fuel.

The regulations allow each driver to use a maximum of 40 dry-weather tyres (12 of which may not be used after the first day of practice) and 28 wet-weather tyres throughout the duration of the event. Moreover, each driver may use a maximum of two rubber specifications for his dry-weather tyres during free practice, but he must then choose the rubber specification he wishes to use for the rest of the event before the start of qualifying practice. Every single tyre used at a Grand Prix incorporates an FIA-supplied bar-code so that the scrutineers can check that no driver exceeds the maximum number of tyres allowed.

Starting the Race

One minute before the start, engines are started. FIA does not allow any mechanics in the grid with only the fifteen seconds for the race. When the green lights come on, the drivers begin the formation lap. When they come back to the grid, they keep their engines running.

Once all the cars have come to a halt in their starting positions, the starter activates the automatic pre-programmed final start procedure: five lights turn red one after the other at one-second intervals until all five lights are lit. The start signal is the extinction of all the lights at once. This occurs between 0.2 and 3 seconds after the last red light has been lit. This lapse of time is pre-programmed by the starter at each race, but kept secret.

If a driver is delayed during the formation lap and cannot reach the grid and stop before the last light is illuminated, he must start from the pit lane.

Any car which is temporarily delayed during the formation lap can regain its position provided it does so before the "pole position" car has taken up its position on the grid.

During the race, the officers may also impose a time penalty (sometimes called a "stop-go") on a driver. In this case, the driver must go to at his pit and remain there for the duration of the penalty, usually 10 seconds. In reality, this penalty involves a far greater loss of time, because of the time taken to return to the pit and to leave it again. Depending on the circuit, this can result in a total time loss of up to 40 seconds.

If the time penalty is imposed during the last five laps of a race, 25 seconds will be added to the race time of the driver concerned, instead of a stop-go.

The purpose of the Safety Car is to neutralise the race in the event of an accident or other incident which exposes competitors or officials to immediate physical danger. It may also be used in the event of a very heavy and sudden shower. The Safety Car slows the racing cars so that they do not endanger emergency teams working on or near the track, and are not at risk from slow moving vehicles, such as ambulances.

Yes, but it may only rejoin the track when the green light is on in the pit lane. It will be on at all times except when the Safety Car and the line of cars following it are about to pass or are passing the pit exit. A car rejoining the track must proceed at reduced speed until it reaches the end of the line of cars behind the Safety Car. It may not overtake.

Thus, a car which makes a pit stop in such circumstances will lose its position and rejoin the race at the back of the field, (but not necessarily in last place since there might be cars in the field which are one or more laps behind the car which made the pit stop).

Speed Limits

Strange though it may seem, yes, but only in the pit lane, where the speed limit is 60 km/h (37.5 mph) during practice and 80 km/h (50 mph) during the race (except Monaco – 60 km/h at all times).

Electronic devices check the speed of the cars along the whole of the pit lane. If a competitor exceeds the limit during the race, he is usually penalised with a time penalty, during practice, he is usually fined US$250 for each km/h over the limit. To avoid this, all the teams have equipped their cars with speed limiters which the driver activates (usually by pressing a button on the steering wheel) as soon as he enters the pit lane.

Flag signals

In addition to the red flag, "stopping the race", and the chequered flag, "end of the race", there are other flags, each having a specific meaning.

The blue flag during the race tells a driver he is about to be lapped and to let the other car overtake, on pain of a time penalty for obstruction.

The yellow flag indicates danger, and overtaking is prohibited. One waved yellow flag means slow down; two waved at the same post means slow down and prepare to stop if necessary.

The green flag indicates the end of the danger and the ban on overtaking.

A flag with vertical red and yellow stripes warns the competitors that the track is slippery (usually oil), and a black flag with an orange disc accompanied by the number of a car warns the driver that his car has a mechanical problem and that he must go to his pit. A flag with a white triangle and a black triangle accompanied by the number of a car is a warning for unsporting behaviour.

The black flag, accompanied by the number of a car, summons the driver of such car to immediately return to his pit. This procedure is mostly used to notify a competitor of his exclusion from the race.

Conclusion

Friends I have tried my best to cover much about Formula1 in five pages, still what I’ve written is just 20% and 80% is still left. But after reading this blog, atleast one thing is for sure, people can sit n enjoy a Formula1 Race only on Sundays at 4PM.