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Dismantling an F1 Car

An F1 car is an extremely complex piece of machinery as it comprises several technical elements as we learnt in the previous edition. Each of its parts have their own importance and small parts of machinery can ruin the entire car if missing. As the new 2022 season is advancing closer, starting any day from the second week of March. The new season brings the largest yet the latest regulation changes ever in F1 history. But for now as none of the cars have been released we shall stick with the 2021 cars.

Let us start at the front of the car. The car with many technical elements of aerodynamics at the front must not be damaged during the race or any session, if it does happen these very sensitive parts can reduce the performance significantly. The front wing endplates reflect air that is flowing in vortexes and flows above the cars tires. Above the endplates there is a big long narrow piece of carbon fibre that connects the endplates to the rest of the car. Above that is the relatively new safety system that is known as the halo. Made out of titanium the whole structure weighs 7 kg. This halo system is to protect the drivers and their heads from any fatal accidents. The halo has come in useful on several occasions like the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix or the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix.

Now to the centre of the car. The car itself in the centre on both sides is made up of large sheets of carbon fibre known as the sidepods. Before that there are small fin-like structures that reflect the vortexes into the floor of the car which we will discuss sooner. The bargeboards can be made out of several small fins to trap the vortexes not sure though. Inside the sidepods there is the engine, a large block that has several pistons running at once and producing a ridiculous amount of momentum. As this tends to get extremely hot inside a few cars before the race starts have coolers blowing into the small space above the sidepod to cool the engine down. According to the regulations book the cars after the formation lap (warm up lap before the race starts) cannot be cooled manually by coolers or fans.

The back side of the car consists mainly of more aerodynamic elements as it depends on the rear wing to reduce drag. The rear wing is a T-Shaped structure that as mentioned depends heavily on reducing drag. The DRS system (Drag Reduction System) was introduced into F1 in the 2011 season as a beta feature but became a mandatory feature in the year 2014.

The underside of the car mainly consists of the floor. The floor has tiny fins and is made out of carbon fibre. The floor also protects the internal engine parts and prevents them from falling out of the car. The floor creates a lot of downforce (or pushing the car into the ground for more technical grip).

With the new 2022 regulations coming in, more than fifty percent of the car will be changed as the cars currently produce a lot of dirty air (or distorted air) which makes it extremely difficult for other cars to overtake, which might make races boring. The new 2022 regulations will be discussed in further detail in Edition 8.