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The Physics behind Formula 1

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, it involves high engineering. 4 major fields, part of this high engineering are the Aerodynamics, Chassis, Power Unit (PU) and the Durability.

The aerodynamics takes care of the airflow over, alongside or under the car. A factor that makes aerodynamics so interesting is drag. Since the faster you go, the more drag you get. This makes all F1 teams pushing to the limit, trying to minimize the drag as much as possible. This fierce battle also puts up an interesting fight during race time since the cars are always separated by only a second or 2 on paper. The FIA (International Automobile Federation) introduced a new system into the sport, known as the Drag Reduction System (DRS) in 2011. As the name suggests, the system reduced drag on the straight, making the car faster.

The chassis side of departments depends mainly on factors like the floor, the bargeboards, the tires etcetera. The chassis department’s main goal is to achieve the light body weight of the car. The car being lighter in weight makes it easier to turn into corners, get more traction out of it and gain an advantage. The floor is used in both the Aerodynamics department, trying to out manoeuvre the air and reduce drag, and used in the Chassis department to make it lighter.

Each F1 team must pick a power unit when entering the sport for obvious reasons. As of 2021 there are 4 main engine producers, Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda. For instance, the team of Alpha Tauri have chosen the Honda engines, which means that every upgrade the senior red bull team gets from the power unit, the junior Alpha Tauri team will also inherit. But other teams like Mercedes, who produce their own engines, can make upgrades to it whenever they want to do so.

Durability of the car isn’t the durability of the structure but the durability of the engine units present inside the car. There are 7 main instruments which are the Internal Combustion Engine, Control Electronics, MGU-H, MGU-K, The Gearbox, Energy Store and the TurboCharger. Maintaining these parts are very important since you only get a limited amount throughout the season.