FormulaOneRaceStrategy

McLarenRacingLimited
SportsTechnology

INTRODUCTION

McLarenisaregisteredtrademark
ofMcLarenRacingLimited

We will solve this problem in three steps as

follows:
Step1: Howlong will ittaketoreachthefirst
pitstop?

Figure1:AVodafoneMcLarenMercedesdrivenbyLewis
Hamilton

McLaren Racing, the company behind Vodafone

McLaren Mercedes, operates in the highly
competitive and technological environment of
Formula One. McLaren Racing comprises a
multitude of administrative and engineering
departments, ranging from vehicle design and
aerodynamics,tomaterialsscienceandthepaint
shop.Asoneofthemostsuccessfulteamsinthe
history of Formula One, McLaren has won more
Grand Prix than any other Constructor since it
enteredthesportin1966.
IMPORTANCEOFEXEMPLARINREALLIFE
Every F1 team must decide how much fuel their
cars will start each race with, and the laps on
whichtheywillstoptorefuelandchangetyres.In
thesport,thisisknownasRaceStrategy.Awise
choice can get a driver to the finish quicker,
helpinghim gain more pointsand maybeevena
worldchampionship.
SCENARIO
McLaren have entered a race of length 50 laps.
Weplantostoponceonlap20torefuel.Ourfuel
consumptionis3kgalap.Eachkgoffuelwehave
in our fuel tank at the start of a lap makes us
0.03sec/lap slower than our fastest possible lap
time of100.045sec/lap.When we stop to refuel,
wetake20seconds(plusthetimetoputthefuel
in)longertocompletethatlap.Ittakes0.5secto
putinonelapsworthoffuel.Howlongwillittake
ustocompletetheraceifwestoponlyonce?
MATHEMATICALMODEL
Accordingtothescenario,wehave:
Total RaceTime =Timetoreachfirststop
+ Timeforfirststop (1)
+ Timetoendofrace

From the scenario, we have the following

information:
FuelConsumption
C = 3kg/lap
Howmuchslowerourlap
E = 0.03sec/
timeisforeverykgoffuelon
(lapkg)
board(alsocalledtheweight
effect)
Timetocompletealapwith1 t1 = 100.045
lapoffuelonboard
sec
Usingthis,wecancalculatehowmuchslowerthe
cargoesforeverylapsworthoffuelwehaveon
board. We call this the Fuel Laps Weight Effect
( W )andthisiscalculatedasfollows:
W = Fuel LapsWeightEffect
= FuelConsumption WeightEffect
= 3 0.03= 0.09sec/(laplapof fuel)

Theextra time taken to completea lap when we

havefuelonboardcanbecalculatedasfollows:
Extra timetakentocompletelapduetofuelonboard
= Averagenumberoflapsof fuelonboard
FuelLapsWeightEffect

(2)
WecallthistheFuelLoadEffectandthevalueof
thisislistedinthe4th columnofTable1foreach
of the first twenty laps, e.g. for the first lap, we
have:
Extra timetakentocompletelapduetofuelonboard
20+ 19
=
0.09= 1.775sec
2

Next, we need to calculate the perfect laptime

(t0). This is the time it would take to completea
lap if the car had no fuel on board (but was
magicallystillabletorunnormally!):
t0 = Timetocompletealapwith1lapof fuelonboard
- (Averageno.oflapsof fuelonboard W)
1+ 0

= t1-
W
2

= 100.045- (0.5 0.09) = 100sec

Finally, we can calculate the time to complete a
lapasfollows:
LapTime= FuelLoadEffect+ t 0 (3)

This is calculated and listed in the 5th column of

Table1.

Lap

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Lapsof
fuelon
boardat
startof
lap
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Lapsof
fuelon
boardat
endoflap

Fuel
Load
Effect
(sec)

Lap
Time
(sec)

19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

1.755
1.665
1.575
1.485
1.395
1.305
1.215
1.125
1.035
0.945
0.855
0.765
0.675
0.585
0.495
0.405
0.315
0.225
0.135
0.045

101.755
101.665
101.575
101.485
101.395
101.305
101.215
101.125
101.035
100.945
100.855
100.765
100.675
100.585
100.495
100.405
100.315
100.225
100.135
100.045

Extra timeforalapwithapitstop
= Fuelflowtime
+ Extratimetocompletealapwithapitstop
butwithoutrefuelling
= 15+ tp = 15+ 20= 35sec

Hence, it will take 35 seconds more to complete

thelapwiththepitstoponlap20.
Step 3: How long will it take to complete the
restoftheraceafterthepitstoponlap20?
Thiscanbecalculatedinasimilarwaytostep2.
However, this time we begin with 30 laps of fuel
and have 30 laps to complete. The tablefor this
secondstintisshownbelow:

21

Lapsof
fuelon
boardat
startof
lap
30

22

29

28

2.565

102.565

23

28

27

2.475

102.475

24

27

26

2.385

102.385

25

26

25

2.295

102.295

26

25

24

2.205

102.205

27

24

23

2.115

102.115

Table1:Calculationsfortimetakentocompleteeachlap

28

23

22

2.025

102.025

Whenweaddallthevaluesincolumn5ofTable
1,wegetthetotaltimetakentoreachthepitstop
on lap 20. This is 2018 seconds, which is
approximately33.6minutes.Thisisknownasthe
timetocompletethefirststint.
Step 2: How long will the pit stop on lap 20
take?

29

22

21

1.935

101.935

30

21

20

1.845

101.845

31

20

19

1.755

101.755

32

19

18

1.665

101.665

33

18

17

1.575

101.575

34

17

16

1.485

101.485

Again, we have the following data from the

scenario:
Lend = 50
Totalnumberoflaps
L2 = 20
Stoplap
= 0.5
tf
Timetoaddonelapoffuel
sec
Extratimetocompletealap
= 20sec
tp
withapitstopbutwithout
refuelling
= 3
C
Fuelconsumption
kg/lap
Usingthisdata,wecalculate:

35

16

15

1.395

101.395

36

15

14

1.305

101.305

37

14

13

1.215

101.215

38

13

12

1.125

101.125

39

12

11

1.035

101.035

40

11

10

0.945

100.945

41

10

0.855

100.855

42

0.765

100.765

43

0.675

100.675

44

0.585

100.585

45

0.495

100.495

Numberoflapsof fueltoaddatpitstop

46

0.405

100.405

= Totalnumberoflaps- lapsalreadydone

47

0.315

100.315

= Lend - L2 = 50- 20= 30lapsof fuel

48

0.225

100.225

49

0.135

100.135

50

0.045

100.045

Fuel flowtimeduringstop
= Lapsof fueltoadd Timetoaddonelapof fuel
= 30 0.5= 15sec

Lap

Lapsof
fuelon
boardat
endoflap

Fuel
Load
Effect
(sec)

Lap
Time
(sec)

29

2.655

102.655

Table2:Calculationsfortimetakentocompleteeachlap

Whenweaddallthevaluesincolumn5ofTable
2wegetthetotaltimetakentoreachtheendof
theracefromlap20.Thisis3040.5seconds.
Hence,ifweareplanningtostoponlyonceduring
the race on lap 20, it will take approximately 85
minutestocompletetherace.
Total RaceTime = 2018+ 35+ 3040.5
= 5093.5 sec

Thesolutiontothisintegralis:
L

Wl2
StintTime = t 0l + L2Wl (7)
2

L1

Forthefirststint,wehavethefollowingdatafrom
thescenario:
= 100sec
t0
L1 and L2

= 84.9minutes

ALTERNATIVEMATHEMATICALMODEL
Lets review what weve just done. Weve
calculated the time it took to complete each lap,
then added all the lap times up to give the total
race time. Essentially, we are summing the area
under graphs like the one shown in Figure 2
(below).

= 0and20lapsrespectively

= 0.09sec/(laplapoffuel)
W
Substitutingthesevalues,weget:
First StintTime
0.09 20 20
= (100 20) + (20 0.09 20) -

= 2018sec

Thisisthesameanswerasthatcalculatedinstep
1butwithalotlesswork!

FirstStint:lap1to20
105

EXTENSIONACTIVITY 1:

104

Usingthesolutiontothegeneralintegralformula
for calculating stint time given in equation (7),
calculatethetimeforthesecondstintandverifyit
withtheoneachievedinstep3.

Laptime(sec)

103

102

101

100

99

EXTENSIONACTIVITY 2:

98

97

96

95
1

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

2 0

Lap

Figure2:Laptimesinfirststint

This can be done much more easily using

integrationratherthansummingvaluesinatable
withthehelpofacalculator.
UsingIntegration,wehave:
Total RaceTime
= Integraloflaptimesoverfirststint
+ Timeforfirststop

(4)

+ Integraloflaptimesoversecondstint

The formula for the lap time on any given lap is

similartotheoneweusedtocalculatedcolumn5
inourtablesabove:
LapTime = [t 0 +(L2 - l)W] (5)

where l is the number of laps completed. The

fact that l is now continuous over a lap
automaticallyaveragesthefuelloadoverthelap.
Check this yourself: if you integrate it over any
specificlapitwillgivethecorrectlaptime.
Integratingequation(5)overastint,weget:
L2

StintTime =

[t0 +(L2 - l)W]dl (6)

L1

a) Wouldwehavealongerorshorterracetimeif
wedidntstopatall?
b) Which lap should we stop on if we want to
makeourracetimeasshortaspossible?
c) Whyisthisnotthehalfwaylap?

Didyouknow?
Theonly reason stoppingforfuel is quicker than
starting with enough fuel to finish the race is
becausetheaveragemassofacarwhichrefuels
duringaraceislowerthanwhenitdoesnt.When
the car is lighter it takes less time to completea
lap.Thereasonbehindthisisasfollows:
Essentially,Newtonssecondlaw(F=ma)applies
tothecarasittravelsaroundthetrack.Fromthis,
we can see that if mass goes up but forces
remain unchanged then accelerations must
reduce and lower accelerations mean increased
laptimes.
Inreality,itisslightlymorecomplicatedallofthe
forces dont stay the same when fuel load (and
hence car mass) changes. Tyre frictional forces
(F = mN,where m isthecoefficientoffrictionand
N is the normal force) change substantially, but
Aerodynamicforcesstaylargelythesame(liftand
drag)andthesearelarge.However,theneteffect
is that a heavy car (i.e. one that is full of fuel)
takeslongertogetaroundthetrack.

WHERETOFINDMORE
1. Basic Engineering Mathematics, John Bird,
2007,publishedbyElsevierLtd.
2. Engineering Mathematics, Fifth Edition, John
Bird,2007,publishedbyElsevierLtd.
3. Visit www.autosport.com or any website on
Formula One Car Racing for more
information.

WilliamMulholland,VehicleDynamicsEngineer,McLarenRacingLimited
Photograph
Awaited

WilliamholdsanMEngfromCambridgeUniversity.
As a Formula one engineer, I use mathematics and physics every day to try and help
McLarenwinmoreF1races.Ifyoulikemathsproblems,andgetabuzzfromsolvingones
likeinthisexemplar,thenyoushouldthinkaboutgoingontostudyengineeringatuniversity
andcomingtoworkatMcLaren.

INFORMATIONFORTEACHERS
Theteachersshouldhavesomeknowledgeof
Simplecalculationsusingempiricalformulaeandacalculator
Tabulatingthefindingsineachstep
Representingdatagraphically
Usingderivativestofindoptimumpoints
Integration
Areaunderthegraph
TOPICSCOVEREDFROMMATHEMATICSFORENGINEERING
Topic1:MathematicalModelsinEngineering
Topic4:Functions
Topic6:DifferentiationandIntegration
LEARNINGOUTCOMES
LO01:Understandtheideaofmathematicalmodelling
LO04:Understandthemathematicalstructureofarangeoffunctionsandbefamiliarwiththeirgraphs
LO 06: Know how to use differentiation and integration in the context of engineering analysis and
problemsolving
LO09:Constructrigorousmathematicalargumentsandproofsinengineeringcontext
LO10:Comprehendtranslationsofcommonrealisticengineeringcontextsintomathematics
ASSESSMENTCRITERIA
AC1.1:Stateassumptionsmadeinestablishingaspecificmathematicalmodel
AC1.2:Describeandusethemodellingcycle
AC4.1:Identifyanddescribefunctionsandtheirgraphs
AC6.2:Usederivativestoclassifystationarypointsofafunctionofonevariable
AC6.3:Finddefiniteandindefiniteintegralsoffunctions
AC6.4:Useintegrationtofindareasandvolumes
AC8.1:Summariseasetofdata
AC9.1:Useprecisestatements,logicaldeductionandinference
AC9.2:Manipulatemathematicalexpressions
AC9.3:Constructextendedargumentstohandlesubstantialproblems
AC10.1:Readcriticallyandcomprehendlongermathematicalargumentsorexamplesofapplications
LINKSTOOTHERUNITSOFTHEADVANCEDDIPLOMAINENGINEERING
Unit1:InvestigatingEngineeringBusinessandtheEnvironment
Unit4:InstrumentationandControlEngineering
Unit6:InvestigatingModernManufacturingTechniquesusedinEngineering
Unit7:InnovativeDesignandEnterprise
Unit8:MathematicalTechniquesandApplicationsforEngineers
Unit9:PrinciplesandApplicationofEngineeringScience

ANSWERSTOEXTENSIONACTIVITIES

EA2(b):

EA1:

Whichlapshouldwestoponifwewanttomake
ourracetimeasshortaspossible?

Usingequation(7):
L

wl2
StintTime = t 0l +L2wl
2

L
1

with:
= 100sec

t0

L1 and L2 = 20and50respectively
= 0.09sec/(laplapoffuel)

W
weget:

First,letsassumeonlyonestop.Theequationfor
thetimetakentocompletetheracewithonestop
isalreadygiveninequation(1).IfwestoponLap
L2, then using equation (7) for first and second
stinttogether,wegetfromequation(1):
TotalRaceTime
L

Wl2
= t0 l +L2Wl + (Lend - L2) tf + tp
2

end

Wl2
+t0l +LendWl
2

Second StintTime

0.09 50 50
= (100 50) + (50 0.09 50) -

0.09 20 20
- (100 20) + (50 0.09 20) -

= 3040.5sec
EA2(a):

Wouldwehavealongerorshorterracetimeifwe
didntstopatall?
Foranonstopracewehaveonlyonestint.This
meanswecanuseequation4forthewholerace.
= 100sec

t0

L1 and L2 = 0and50respectively
= 0.09sec/(laplapoffuel)

Substitutingthesevalues,weget:
Total RaceTime

Thisis19secondslongerthanittookthecarthat
stoppedonceonlap20.ThisisshowninFigure3
below:

OnestoponL20

11

16

21

26

31

36

41

46

Nostops

140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90

(8)
whereallthetermsaresameasdefinedearlier.
Expandingthiswith L1 = 0 gives:
TotalRaceTime

WL2
2
= t0L2 + L2WL2 + (Lend - L2) tf + tp
2

W(L2
end - L2)
+ t0(Lend - L2)+LendW(Lend - L2)
2

..(9)

Differentiatingequation(9)withrespectto L2 and
settingtheLHStozero,wecanfindthestoplap
L2 thatgivestheminimumvalueforracetime:

0 = 2WL2 - tf - LendW (10)

0.09 50 50
= (100 50) + (50 0.09 50) -

= 5112.5sec

Laptime(sec)

Lap

Figure3:RaceLaptimes

Solvingfor L2 gives:
L2 =

Lend
t
+ f (11)
2
2W

Substitutingtheknownvalues,weget:
L2 =

50
0.5
+
= 25+ 2.78 = 27.78
2 2 0.09

which we round up to the nearest lap: 28. So, if

we plan to stop once, then stopping on lap 28
gives thequickest racetime. Youcan check this
by calculating the total race time for each of the
stoplapsbetween20and30usingthemethodin
part(a)and(b)ofthisextension.Theanswersto
thisareshowninFigure4.

5094

TotalRaceTime(sec)

5093
5092
5091
5090
5089
5088
5087
5086
5085
20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Pits topLap

Figure4:Totalracetimes,varyingfirststoplap

The quickest race time is 5088.06 sec, stopping

onlap28.Thisis5.44secquickerthanonestop
onlap20.
EA2(c):
Whyisthisnotthehalfwaylap?
Equation (11) gives us the optimal stop lap. The
firsttermontheRHSisthehalfwaypoint.Weadd
asecondtermtothis,whichmovesusawayfrom

the half way point. In this term, tf is the time

takentoaddonelapoffuel,while W istheFuel
LapWeightEffect.So,ifittakesalongertimeto
addalapoffuel(i.e. tf islarger)thenthesecond
term will be greater and the optimal stop lap will
be further away from the halfway point.
Conversely,ifcarryingonelapoffueladdsmore
t
toourlaptime(i.e. W islarger)then f willbe
2W
smallerandourstoplapwillbeclosertohalfrace
distance.
Thisarrangementgivesusacluetothephysical
meaning of this relationship. It accounts for the
factthatthefuelyoubegintheracewithisputin
the tank before the race starts (and so doesnt
counttowardtotalracetime)whereasthetimeto
addfuelduringapitstopcountstowardtotalrace
time.So,ifittakesalongtimetofillupwithalap
offuel (i.e. tf is large), then it is quicker to start
withmorefuelandgofurtherintotheracebefore
stopping.Thismeansyouaddlessfuelduringthe
stop. Of course, this only works if the lap time
penaltyforbeingheavyinthefirststintislow(i.e.
W islow).