Racecar Engineering - November 2019 PDF

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November 2019 • Vol 29 No 11 • www.racecar-engineering.com • UK £5.95 • US $14.50
McLaren MCL34
We reveal the tech secrets behind the
legendary team’s return to form
Formula 1 2021 F1 exhaust design Elbow room

Dieter Rencken uncovers the Technology that’s about so The neglected art of racecar
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CONTENTS – NOVEMBER 2019 – Volume 29 Number 11
COVER STORY TECHNICAL

16 McLaren MCL34 49 The Consultant
Up close and personal with 2019’s Taking things to the extreme with F1 wishbones
‘best of the rest’ Formula 1 car 51 Slip angle
How analysing coasting can improve driver performance
COLUMNS 57 Aerobytes
5 Ricardo Divila More aerodynamic tweaks for our Reynard SF79 FF2000
Putting a different spin on motorsport PR 60 Formula 1 exhausts
7 Mike Blanchet Pipe technology and system packaging explained
Why drivers must realise that racing is intrinsically dangerous 72 Racecar ergonomics
Ricardo Divila’s guide to designing driver-friendly cockpits
FEATURES 84 Danny Nowlan
Our sim man goes off piste to give his views on racing’s future
8 F1 2021 regulations
Dieter Rencken gives us a sneak preview of the new rules
BUSINESS & PEOPLE
24 Andreas Seidl
McLaren’s new boss on his F1 ‘dream job’ 88 Business people
28 Rodin FZed Stephane Ratel talks GT racing; Ferdinand Piech obituary
Formula 1 performance for track day drivers 93 Chris Aylett
38 Lotus active suspension The MIA CEO on Brexit and the future of EVs
Peter Wright recalls a remarkable technical adventure 95 Autosport International 2020
The countdown to the big event begins
98 Bump stop
By the time you read this it’s likely that the Corvette
C7R IMSA racecar will have competed in its last
race, the Petit Le Mans. Look out for next month’s
issue for a technical feature on its replacement
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NOVEMBER 2019 www.racecar-engineering.com 3

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STRAIGHT TALK – RICARDO DIVILA
Spinning off
How PR has infiltrated nearly every aspect of the motorsport and automotive worlds
C
ommunication has always had its pitfalls, a well-known essay on Politics and the English own agendas, usually by complaining about
dependent as it is on noises accepted as Language, reflecting his great concern about their material or unfair penalties. A classic quote:
ways of passing on thoughts to others, how deliberately misleading language is used to ‘Despite the (insert problem here) with the car,
plus the miracle of squiggly lines that crystallise conceal disagreeable political facts. only my impressive driving talent, huge guts and
them on stone, parchment, paper or screen. Just unstinting perseverance got me the win. For sure.’
ponder how those squiggles can take you into the Going public At least they were speaking their own mind,
mind of someone you have never met and has Today we can see the lesson was well learnt. before the clamping down of the PR machine,
been dead for a couple of centuries. Spooky. One of the world’s fastest growing industries is turning them into programmed clones. They were
Humanity owes a great debt to it, more public relations. It is achieving growth through more amusing and genuine back then.
than animals, which have a limited vocabulary, stealth; this is all the more surprising because this If you deal with a race driver now it will even
expressing themselves by non-verbal cues. We can industry’s very purpose is communication. influence your own words, you will spin it to at
also use these shortcuts by, say, flipping the bird The 2015 World Public Relations Report, which least keep up their morale when you are in 20th
at someone or frowning. A raised eyebrow while covered the industry’s larger companies, shows place on the grid. ‘It was good that we tried that
listening to someone can convey a whole mind- that the industry grew by seven per cent in 2014, tweak, we have learnt that it doesn’t work.’ A
set, not to mention eye rolling. following on from an 11 per cent growth in benign spin to keep the driver motivated.
Steven Pinker, a linguistics professor, claims 2013. There has in fact been an almost unbroken Engineering publications tend to be immune
that human language is different from animal pattern of growth despite setbacks that inflicted to most of this, as this is not a grey area subject
communication not just in scope, but in kind. Most considerable damage on other sectors. where nuances can be twisted to the party line.
important, it is hierarchical and nested in Physics tend to keep to rules that are not
structure. A trained bonobo chimpanzee liable to be subverted; pigs still can’t fly, no
can obey commands such as ‘give water to matter the PR spin put on such a story.
Cynthia’, but has no better than a random But there remains the caveat that
chance when told to ‘give water and banana tendentious reporting of technical subjects
to Cynthia’. Meanwhile, a two-year-old child can try to drive consensus towards a
tested alongside quickly understands that given goal. This is not an accident. Shall
two nouns can make up a noun phrase, we mention the previous diesel/petrol
pasted as a direct object into a verb phrase, equivalence in the LMP1 rules?
which in turn is part of a sentence. This Being cynical, there seems to be the
‘recursive’ structure is key to syntax. same agenda on the future direction of
XPB
energy used in racing, which is but a small

Talk the torque Paul di Resta being interviewed at a DTM event. Top-level subset of the struggle going on in politics
A second claim is that language is innate, race drivers are trained in all aspects of PR work these days over environmental effects. The environment
not merely an extension of general human will be the major influencer on the entire
intelligence. This is a moot point, given that the According to the Global Public Relations transportation field and thus the motor industry,
huge quantity of phrases that can be spoken seem Agencies Market Report, revenues of international on which racing relies for its existence.
to fall into a distinctly self-serving style. PR companies reached a record $14bn last year,
This also means there are many language cases. but this figure is just the tip of the iceberg because Break bias
Engineers and nerds talk techno-speak, with weird it does not include earnings from the much So inform yourself about the whole issue, thinking
sub tribes with their own jargon: electronic bods, broader range of non-international companies. about long-term outcomes, and above all check
programme coders, strategists. These are new Welcome to post-truth and alternative facts. what the agendas are. This applies particularly to
peaks of semantics, but sometimes literate lows There are more PR people than journalists the motoring press. Remember that while it does
of the mangling of syntax laden with polysyllabic now. Fact. Just look at politics everywhere. And have a duty to be objective, gaining access to the
words. They are a sign of someone striving to be impartial journalists are the exception, not the rule, news sources can mean cosying up to them. And
lyric and knowledgeable, but coming across as driven by the advertiser list of any publication. the building up of a driving icon by extravagant
verbose, with a tinge of nouveau lexical invention. Infotainment and advertorials admit to the praise and accolades all too often seems to be a
In racing we had one of the prime exponents medium, but usually in a tiny font at the top. prelude to then destroying them in the search for
of this trait. Ronspeak was named after former In racing in the old days there would be the circulation. After all that will generate interest.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis, there were even usual Q&A with a team principal, who knew what But technical matters are not well served by
lexicons for it and an on-line translator. he wanted to convey, and not surprisingly, for his spin, nor are the users of the technology. The best
George Orwell put it well: ‘Never use a long own benefit. But the one the readers wanted to advice is to read Racecar Engineering, where
word where a short one will do.’ Orwell also wrote hear from was the driver. They would push their engineering and physics still hold sway.
Inform yourself about the whole issue, thinking about long term
outcomes, and above all check what the agendas are
6 PATENTS
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SIDETRACK – MIKE BLANCHET
Steering clear of danger

The fickle practice of judging F1 drivers and how attitudes to safety have changed
T
iming can be everything. Had the more Trying to overtake on the outside of a corner happen? The time we live in now sees sentiment
‘racy’ attitude of the stewards in the second is always risky. Hamilton’s successful attempt the sometimes over-played. There is a line between
half of this year’s F1 championship been in previous year on Vettel was lucky as well as bold – empathy and becoming maudlin.
place since the start, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel they touched, and it could equally have been the Lewis Hamilton said it right; all the drivers had
would likely have won the controversial Canadian Mercedes driver who spun out. Leclerc did nothing to do was to ‘compartmentalise it, move forward,
GP. If this had been the case, it is feasible that that Hamilton hasn’t done in the past – just ask get in [the car] and do your job’.
many of the latter’s current difficulties might have Nico Rosberg how many times he was cleverly run In times not so long past, professional racing
been avoided. The confidence that winning brings out of road by his team-mate. Motor racing has drivers understood and accepted that it is not
cannot be underestimated – Vettel was denied that. to have an element of risk attached to make it the a game, it is a serious sport. Don’t expect the
Ironically, of course, it was that very incident mental as well as mechanical challenge it needs rewards without being prepared for the possible
which forced the revision in interpreting similar to be, and to provide the excitement for fans that consequences – which are mercifully rare these
actions – one can also question if it’s fair to change enables it to survive and thrive. days, despite poor Hubert’s exception.
the sporting rules, any more than the technical Anyone who isn’t prepared for this should grow-
regulations, in the middle of a season? Risk assessment up and get real. Unfortunately, in some ways, the
Vettel is going through a lengthy dismal patch, Which is why I was rather baffled by Daniel amazing safety of modern cars and tracks clearly
that’s for certain, for reasons which can only be Ricciardo admitting that he’d had doubts about leads to a mind-set that cannot accommodate
speculated upon. But members of the motorsport taking part in the Belgian Grand Prix following the fatality, especially among young competitors. I
media, who should know better, are not really death of Formula 2 racer Anthoine Hubert on the have retained growing reservations about the
helping by claiming that the Ferrari trend towards ever more youthful drivers
driver is a spent force, predicting his – it’s not about questioning their ability,
imminent retirement and the end it‘s about responsibility to them and the
of his dream of winning the world need to think beyond finding the next
championship in a Ferrari. Nothing like wunderkind. Imagine the remorse and the
kicking a man when he’s down. highly damaging headlines if it had been a
16-year-old killed at Spa?
Short memories
Convenient for some to forget that Personal experience
this year, apart from leading in Canada I might be accused of being callous and
under great pressure (yes, he made an armchair critic writing without personal
an error, but so did Lewis Hamilton, experience here. But just for the record, in
locking up brakes down at the hairpin), my race and test-driving past, I competed
Vettel produced a great drive in the immediately after another driver was killed
XPB
treacherous conditions of the German – at the same event – as did all my fellow
Grand Prix to take second place, after Many say Sebastian Vettel is now a spent force in F1 and yet he raced his competitors; and we were all well aware of
starting from the back. Something Ferrari from the back of the grid to second place at the German Grand Prix what had just happened.
for which he received puzzlingly little In testing, I once helped to extract a
recognition, in contrast to similar feats in other Saturday, the Renault driver saying: ‘You question seriously-injured and in great pain Jochen Mass
races by Max Verstappen and Hamilton. ”is it really worth it”’. Yeah, it’s our job and it’s our from his wrecked Formula 1 Arrows after he
Clearly, it’s flavour of the month to knock the profession and it’s our life, but also it’s still just suffered a high-speed crash at Silverstone, right
German. Charles Leclerc is doing an absolutely racing cars around in circles.’ ahead of me. Once the circuit was re-opened, I
brilliant job in the other Ferrari, certainly, and is For which, of course, he is being paid many went on to set my fastest lap of the day. I am not
proving very tough to beat, as the Mercedes millions of dollars a year. It’s not as if Hubert was a a particularly courageous person, nor lacking
drivers found out at Monza – he is on a roll just close friend of his, to the best of my knowledge. imagination, and this really was not bravado, it
as Vettel is suffering a slide right now. The next day’s F2 race was cancelled – why? I was simply a case of getting on with the job I
After the tremendous race at Monza it’s almost doubt if one driver would disagree with the view loved and not letting the team down.
amusing to read and hear comments about Leclerc that, if he or she was the person whose life had I have seen first-hand the drastic impact on
deserving to be penalised for edging Hamilton off been lost, the best tribute would be for everyone families, friends and team members that a racing
the track at the Roggia chicane. Were these the to go ahead and race. What of the effects on the fatality causes, but the sad fact is that countless
same people who, only a short time before, were championship, the effort and expense wasted, young people die every day due to accidents,
demanding (rightly, in my view) more leeway to disaffected sponsors and disappointed spectators illness and crime. Life, I believe, is sacred only in
encourage wheel-to-wheel racing in Formula 1? and TV audiences; those who make motor racing that it is to be lived and celebrated.
In times not so long past, professional racing drivers understood

and accepted that this is not a game, it is a serious sport
FORMULA 1 – 2021 REGULATIONS
A glimpse
of the
future
The 2021 F1 rules are

not due to be announced
until the end of October but
Racecar got a sneak preview
of the draft regulations – and
while there are few surprises on the
technical and sporting side, they do
show that Formula 1 is on the right track
in a broader sense, as the paddock’s top
business reporter explains
By DIETER RENCKEN
8 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2019

The fact is that from purely technical perspectives
the changes outlined in the draft regulations
are minor in the bigger scheme of things
T
hat F1 faced paradigm technological
and sporting shifts – potentially
the largest in its 70-year history
– was clear immediately Liberty
Media completed its purchase of the sport’s
commercial rights in January 2017. Over time,
the sport had become bogged down in the
antiquated ways of its out-of-touch tsar Bernie
Ecclestone – who, it was said, could not send a
text message, let alone fathom social media.
Not only did the American company
immediately boot Bernie, who had ruled F1 with
an iron-clad glove since the mid-70s, ‘upstairs’ as
chairman emeritus – saliently, without executive
powers – but it also employed technical legend
Ross Brawn as managing director of motorsport,
to lead its $8bn acquisition into a new era.
Brawn in turn recruited a number of
specialist from within Formula 1’s ranks with
Pat Symonds, the former Renault and Williams
technical director, overseeing the technical
overhaul. Steve Nielsen, who draws on a career
stretching back to the 1990s with organisations
such as Lotus, Tyrrell, Benetton and Williams,
was appointed sporting director, while former
Brawn/Mercedes financial manager Nigel Kerr
was charged with devising a budget cap.
Who calls the shots?

A veritable roll-call then, and indicative of
Liberty’s ultra-serious intentions of sending F1
kicking and screaming into the next decade.
However, regardless of Liberty’s commercial
interests in Formula 1, motor racing’s ‘Formula
Number One’ is contested under the ‘FIA
Formula One World Championship’ banner, and,
as such the FIA, the global motoring body, is F1’s
ultimate administrator and regulator.
Indeed, during a recent presentation to
the Motorsports Industry Association in July,
Symonds prefaced his talk with: ‘I just want to
explain for those who sometimes get confused
exactly what the role of the FIA and Formula
One is. The FIA is the regulator of Formula 1
and Formula One, which used to be known as
Formula One Management, is the promoter and
the commercial rights holder.
‘In the past this has been a very distinct
difference,’ Symonds added. ‘There is more and
more integration now, and all of what I’m going
to talk to you about is what we’re doing within
The model of the 2021 F1 concept has already Formula One to try and help the FIA to produce
undergone its first wind tunnel tests, which the team regulations that will enhance the product for
behind the regulations described as ‘promising’ us. But ultimately it is only the FIA who can

produce those regulations. They can listen to us Equally, Ferrari’s ‘protection right’ (veto)
and they can work with us, but it’s the FIA who’s over any regulations that are ‘likely to have
responsible for those regulations.’ a substantial adverse impact on Ferrari’s
That succinctly sums up the differences legitimate interests’ looks likely to be retained
between Formula 1’s two entities. So, in a despite indications from both Liberty and the
nutshell, after Symonds, Nielsen and Kerr – led FIA to the contrary. The much-vaunted $150m
overall by Brawn – have framed their proposals annual budget cap has also been increased,
and suggestions for Formula 1’s new dawn, with a number of exceptions added to boost
these are forwarded to the FIA. The governing the number to an effective $225m. Still, better
body then accepts, rejects or fine-tunes these that limit than none at all.
before they are presented to the teams. The first In framing Formula 1’s ‘new era’, the sport’s
such (joint) presentation took place during the dual masters face the classic multi-faceted
2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, then again a year later, conundrum, one that increasingly dogs motor
with regular follow-ups since. racing’s premier category: balancing technology
versus road relevance; sport versus spectacle;
Rowing back costs versus income; and, last but not least,
Upon assuming office Brawn, who reports to traditional values versus modern attitudes. All
US broadcast veteran Chase Carey – Liberty this in the face of increasing electrification by
CEO and chairman – promised ‘all change’ once the global motor industry. Liberty has hired Ross Brawn to head F1’s new era
the current sporting, technical and engine In revamping F1 for the post-2020 period
regulations expired at the end of 2020, but Liberty addressed five primary areas, namely
it soon became apparent that some of his technical (including engines, albeit as a separate
comments were overly ambitious and there sub-section), sporting, financial (which relates
would be an element of rowing back. to the actual cost of racing), governance and
For starters, where Brawn initially hinted commercial (revenue distribution).
that engines would be ‘cheaper, simpler, louder’
with the contentious and costly MGU-H – which On the money
strangles engine sound to boot – outlawed, The FIA has the final word on all but the last-
Formula 1’s 2021 engines will now essentially be named, because of a EU Commission directive
the same as the current crop. handed down as a condition of approving the
‘In that case I was perhaps a bit more sale of F1’s commercial rights in order to ensure
ambitious in terms of the changes that could a full separation between regulatory powers
have been made,’ Brawn admitted recently, and commercial activities. Thus the FIA may not
adding: ‘There’s a very strong argument that involve itself in commercial matters between
we have four reasonably settled suppliers in the rights holder and the teams, but may, for
Formula 1. Whilst there are people looking example, intervene on budget cap regulations.
at coming in, they weren’t as committed, so With F1’s current governance process
therefore let’s consolidate what we have.’ expiring on 31 December 2020 and no ready Pat Symonds is overseeing F1’s technical overhaul
‘They can listen to us, they can work with us, but in the final
analysis it’s the FIA who’s responsible for the regulations’
There’s no indication in the draft regulations that Ferrari is about to lose its veto

Various other racing categories have long raced on low profile rubber
and, if anything, Formula 1 has actually been an anachronism
structure to drop in its place, the FIA looked Although renderings of swoopy cars with
to its International Sporting Code, which ground effects underbodies and overlarge
demands that 18 months’notice be given for wheels made headlines, the fact is that from
major sporting/technical regulation changes. purely technical perspectives the changes
The mandated D-day was 30 June 2019 for outlined in the draft regulations seen by Racecar
implementation on 1 January 2021, although Engineering are quite minor in the bigger
that date could be postponed by consent from scheme of things, for engineers face regulatory
the FIA, Liberty and all the Formula 1 teams. changes (at least) annually – some more
swingeing than others, true, but bolts remain
What will change? bolts, whatever their fastening angles.
Although the basic technical, sporting and Apart from the‘wetted’(that is, visible)
financial rules were in place by the deadline, all aerodynamic componentry, the biggest
parties agreed that a delay would better serve (aesthetic) change is to 18in wheel rims sizes
F1 by eliminating the need for fine-tuning and which will add up to five kilogrammes per
subsequent clarifications, and thus the revised corner. Again, no great shakes here for various
deadline of 31 October. Still, a number of other racing categories have long run low
changes can be expected before the regulations profile rubber, and, if anything, Formula 1 has
The 2021 low profile tyre and 18in wheel on Renault during testing come into force, notably on the sporting side. been an anachronism.
Why the need for financial regulations?
C
ommercial sponsorship was first permitted in Formula 1 in 1968, 2020 by offering huge annual bonuses. Under such circumstances attempts
and after that grand prix racing’s budgets and grids exploded as at imposing cost controls are farcical, with the net effect that Mercedes and
tobacco manufacturers exploited the opportunities provided by Ferrari now spend upwards of $400m via head counts of 1500-plus on fielding
a global sporting activity that increasingly came to dominate primetime two racing cars for two hours on 20-odd Sundays per year.
Sunday afternoon television viewing.
So powerful did the tobacco barons become that they dictated deals across Financial casualties
Formula 1, from driver contracts through team ownership – Marlboro, for Although the listing was eventually aborted, lasting damage was done, and,
example, brokered the sale of McLaren to Ron Dennis’ Project Four operation, tellingly, no team outside of the‘bonus’ teams has won a race nor finished in
while British American Tobacco bankrolled the BAR team – to race venues. If the top three in the constructors’ classification since the inequitable bonus
countries banned tobacco branding they found themselves dropped from the structure was introduced. Indeed, the four‘budget’ teams collapsed within as
calendar, as Belgium discovered in 2003. many years, and Lotus, Sauber and Force India all sold out to new owners after
However, as World Health plunging into serious financial straits.
Organisation and European Union ‘Budget’ teams Caterham (left) and Marussia could not survive in F1 Thus the FIA’s determination to
laws started to bite, so tobacco introduce a regulatory cost control
sponsorship was phased out, framework that restricts teams to an
with major motor manufacturers annual spend of $175m (or domestic
immediately stepping into the equivalent), with exclusions for team
breach, in some instances even travel and accommodation, marketing
exceeding the already over-generous and hospitality costs, the three highest
stipends of the cigarette brands. aggregated staff member salaries,
Toyota, for example, blew over $3bn driver wages, and costs of activities such
in eight years without winning a race. as heritage programmes.
It could not, of course, last, and Crucially, the FIA will appoint a Cost
after Jaguar, then part of a still- Cap Adjudication Panel comprising a
mighty Ford empire, withdrew on group of independent judges who will
account of costs after unsuccessfully hear and determine cases of alleged
campaigning for cost caps – ultimately selling the team to Red Bull, allegedly breaches of these Financial Regulations that are referred to it. The verdicts will
for a dollar – the FIA realised it needed to impose stringent cost controls. have the same powers as stewards and may be appealed.
Despite a dedicated task team headed by Nigel Kerr, former CFO of the
Cap in hand Mercedes F1 Team, and comprising FIA, F1 and team financial officers plus
FIA president Max Mosley’s first initiative was a $40m budget cap, which input from specialist auditors, the Financial Regulations took three years
attracted four new teams, but before they hit the grid the cap was aborted to finalise in the face of push-back from major teams, all of whom sit in F1’s
after a stand-off between the FIA and major teams. A truce was reached via a Strategy Group – on which the independent teams have no voice.
Resource Restriction Agreement that required teams to report out-sourcing Indeed, so concerned were they when the FIA pushed for unanimous
and internal spend to independent auditors. However, that fell apart almost agreement to delay the regulatory process from 30 June to 31 October that five
immediately after a penalty system could not be agreed upon. independents refused to grant permission without irrevocable undertakings
Fast forward to 2012 and F1’s commercial owners CVC Capital Partners from the FIA that the terms of the Financial Regulations would not be amended
target a Singapore Stock Exchange IPO, and entice major teams to commit to in favour of the big teams. That illustrates nicely how delicate the situation is.

The $175m budget cap is aimed at reducing the delta between the
haves at the sharp end and the have-nots lower down the grid
Equally, save for a switch to three-day
weekend formats – Thursday activities are due
to be dropped as a cost-saving sop – the draft
sporting regulations hold very few surprises.
For example, refuelling is off the table. Bringing
back in-race fuel stops was briefly flirted with
as a means of reducing start line weight. Plans
to mandate use of three rubber compounds in
order to impose a minimum of two stops have
also been scrapped.
Qualifying races
Although pre-races to determine grids remain
a perennial discussion point, contrary to
recent media reports no final decision has yet
been taken, for the teams are concerned that
more races cost more money, and yet they are
expected to remain within a budget cap.
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner
reckons a qualifying race would increase costs
‘because you need more spare parts because
you have two races a weekend,’ while Toro
Rosso boss Franz Tost is sceptical:‘You can have A proposal to bring back in-race refuelling pit stops, so as to reduce the car weight at the start, has now been dropped
whatever format, if there are some cars far
ahead of the others, one second or even more, what is called‘Following Car’(FC) to maintain simply for turning up, and the streamlined
then it doesn’t change anything,’ he says. overtaking distances – the‘gap’is said to have governance procedure (also TBA), the biggest
There are further sporting restrictions been reduced by 80 per cent – 2021’s outline impact on the show is likely to be driven by the
listed in the draft regulations, though, such as mechanical package (and packaging) will budget cap and associated activities.
reductions in annual pre-season testing from remain fundamentally as it is now. With the budgets of the top three Formula 1
eight days to six, with aero testing – both wind Disappointed? Read on, for massive operations (excluding engine costs, already
tunnel and CFD – being further limited. In shakeups to the current hierarchy can be fixed at around $20m for a two-car seasonal
addition, limits will now be placed on engine expected – if not in 2021, then in subsequent supply) currently running at well over $250m
dynamometer testing, with powertrain suppliers seasons as the veritable ills of pre-Liberty per annum excluding marketing and hospitality
and fuel/oil partners agreeing to comply with Formula 1 get washed out of the system. costs, the $175m cap will reduce the delta
FIA regulations as a condition of supply. Setting aside a revised commercial structure, between the haves at the sharp end and the
Thus, although the cars will appear which is yet to be defined but likely to see a have-nots lower down the grid.
swoopier, run on new format wheels and scrapping of the tens of millions paid in bonuses Indeed, it is telling that since the bonus
(hopefully) produce less dirty air to enable to the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull structure was implemented in 2014 not a single
team from outside the top three recipients has
won a grand prix. That can only change.
The cap fits

There are, of course, exclusions from the cap, but
these are aimed primarily at improving the off-
track‘show’, and include the following: directly
attributable marketing, hospitality and heritage
costs; considerations to Formula 1 drivers and
parties connected to them; considerations to
the three highest earning employees other
than drivers; capitalisation of cars, depreciation,
finance costs, taxes and property costs; costs
attributable to non-racing activities such as
administration; flight/accommodation costs
during competition or testing; power unit
development costs, and validation of fuels/oils.
The Financial Regulations (see box out) form
part and parcel of the overall package and these
provide for sanctions ranging from sporting
To help improve the following car aerodynamics the 2021 regulations will include ground effect underbodies and financial penalties (on a case-by-case basis)

The cost cap should give the teams at the back of the grid the chance to compete on a more equal footing with those at the front, while new component classifications will also help
Clearly the Formula 1 teams will face far greater restrictions on

component design than they do under the current regulations
through restrictions on aerodynamic testing to manufacture is carried out by a supplier Crucially, though, the FIA has a number of
major sporting penalties. appointed by the FIA through its tender fall-back options for SSC and PDC components
In addition, a Cost Cap Adjudication process, supplied on an identical technical and ‘in the event that when a tender or design
Panel – comprising a group of independent commercial basis to each team. Currently the process fails to produce a satisfactory result’,
judges – is empowered to impose sanctions list includes wheel rims – Racecar understands while the governing body also undertakes to
on team personnel responsible for breaches. BBS was awarded this tender – brake drums ‘use its best endeavours to secure the prime
The procedure will be fine-tuned during a‘soft’ front and rear, friction materials and hydraulic option for the classification of components’.
implementation period in 2020. systems (Brembo), primer and high-pressure
Once the full implications of the Financial pumps, rear lights, and two new innovations; Crunch time
Regulations have trickled through the system wheel and body LED information panels aimed As things stand the FIA is committed to
the net effect is that teams will be restricted to at providing visual spectator information. publishing the regulations on or before
approximately 550 employees – roughly the size Then there’s Prescribed Design Component October 31, with a number of crucial meetings
of McLaren, Williams and Renault – thus forcing (PDC). Fundamentally a new category, the of all three player groups scheduled ahead of
the two largest teams to down-size their payrolls design of PDCs is specified by the FIA, but these when the final versions of the regulations are
by up to 40 per cent, in turn blunting their may be manufactured by another team, its presented to the FIA World Motor Sport Council
current technical advantages. agent (parent or affiliate), or external suppliers for ratification by e-vote – the next WMSC
on behalf of a team, or may be supplied by one sitting is scheduled for early October, which
Parts classification team to other teams. Under the new regulations would have eaten into vital time.
However, potentially the biggest influence front floor and rear impact structures will be Once published, the players have two last
on the competitive order and one that will PDCs, as will the skid plank and plates, and shots at amending or clarifying any regulatory
ultimately have the biggest impact on the certain fuel system components. provisions: by 30 April 2020 by a 70 per cent
business models of the teams is a revision to Lastly there’s Transferable Component (TRC), majority, or unanimity through to 31 December
parts classifications. Where before parts were effectively the antithesis of LTCs in that one 2021. Thereafter the revised (TBA) governance
categorised as either‘listed’parts – for which Formula 1 team designs the component but is structure applies, although Ferrari’s protection
teams need to hold the exclusive intellectual free to sell it to another. Heat exchangers and right remains the flappy-eared elephant in the
property – and‘non-listed’parts (all others), from gearboxes are examples of TRCs. room. The burning question is whether the
2021 there will be four categories. A list of LTC, SSC, PDC and TRC components Scuderia will veto any changes.
The first of these is called Listed Team will be released at a later date, but clearly the In the final analysis the regulations largely
Component (LTC), these being those Formula 1 teams will face greater restrictions deliver on Liberty’s sweeping vision for post-
components whose design and intellectual on component design than under the current 2020 Formula 1 in that they combine economics
property lies with a single competitor or regulations, with the end game being a less- with spectacle while maintaining F1’s core
its agents on an exclusive basis, with the tilted playing field by eroding the advantages of DNA, namely its ability to constantly adapt
competitor required to retain the exclusive right the major players while delivering cost saving the sport according to the dictates of society.
to use it for as long as it competes in F1. in line with the provisions of the Financial In that regard, the 2021-onwards regulations
Second is Standard Supply Component Regulations by reducing design time and spend are simply a further evolution of a species that
(SSC), namely those whose design and on non-performance differentiators. celebrates its 70th birthday next year.

FORMULA 1 – MCLAREN MCL34
Clockwork
After a run of seasons in the doldrums the once-mighty McLaren
has returned to form this year and at the time of writing was
fourth in the constructors’ standings. Racecar spoke to
new technical director James Key to discover the
secret of the MCL34’s success
By GEMMA HATTON
orange
‘The team has done a great job in stepping back

and thinking about the philosophies in each
area and making the changes accordingly’
The MCL34 has proved to be the best McLaren

for some years and the team has been the
quickest outside of the top three this season

F
ew would argue should McLaren
receive the ‘most improved’ award for
the 2019 season, and that’s because
the papaya team is currently sitting
fourth in the constructors’ championship. Not
only does this make it the best of the rest, but it
is the team’s highest position since 2012.
Since then McLaren has endured some
turbulent times to say the least. Its relationship
with Honda through the 2015 to 2017 seasons
was far from fruitful and the late decision to
switch to Renault for 2018 led to several design
compromises on last year’s car, the MCL33. This,
along with other factors, meant that 2018 was
not the resurrection that McLaren, or its fans,
had hoped for. This year is a different story,
however. With the help of engine upgrades,
cunning suspension design and innovative aero,
along with key personnel changes, the MCL34
has boosted McLaren back up the table.
PU improvements
Unsurprisingly, the development of the power
unit has had a major influence on the MCL34’s
performance, not just because McLaren now
has a year’s worth of data and experience
with the Renault powertrain, but also because
the engineers have had the time to refine
the packaging and integration of the power
unit within the car. Add to this several engine
upgrades from Renault and you can see how
year two of running a new power unit can
transform performance on track.
The layout of the current turbocharged V6s
can follow two different concepts. The turbo
can be split with the compressor at the front of
the engine block, the turbine at the rear and the The nose features distinctive air inlets; partly designed to manage the losses in the area around the front wing pylons
MGU-H mounted in between the cylinder heads.
This is the underlying concept of both the
Mercedes and Honda powerplants. The second
concept, on the other hand, has both the
compressor and turbine mounted at the rear of
the engine block, which is similar to the Renault
and Ferrari approach. Therefore, when McLaren
switched from Honda to Renault power, it also
switched concept, which consequently meant
it had to redesign the rear of the monocoque
as well as develop new bellhousing and
pipework, all within a tight time-frame to be
ready for the start of the 2018 season.
‘Engine installation governs a lot of your
architecture really because it’s now so complex
and covers so much of the car that it very much
links the gearbox design to the cooling layout,
for example, which in previous years wasn’t
the case,’ says James Key, the new technical
director at McLaren, who has previously worked
with the Renault power unit at Toro Rosso in
2017. ‘Having a good handle on that, which
often you can in the second year, leads to some Wishbone placement is aero driven and the suspension geometry has, in many respects, had to play second fiddle to that
‘Engine installation governs a lot of your architecture really because

it is now so very complex and it covers so much of the racecar’
The development of the PU has had a major TECH SPEC: McLaren MCL34
influence on the MCL34’s performance Chassis

Carbon fibre composite.
Safety structures
Cockpit survival cell incorporating impact resistant construction
optimisation and that was well covered for this Even the most efficient powertrain design and anti penetration panels; front impact structure; prescribed side
impact structures; integrated rear impact structure; front and rear roll
year’s car. Having the compressor and turbo on can’t boost track performance if the power
structures, Halo cockpit protection device.
the back is a philosophy that works well at the cannot be effectively transmitted through the
Bodywork
back of the chassis and at the front of the engine tyres. This has been another area where the Carbon fibre composite, including engine cover, sidepods, floor, nose,
in terms of packaging. If you go for the reverse MCL34 has excelled this year. The discussion on front wing and rear wing with driver-operated drag reduction system.
[like Honda and Mercedes] the challenge flips tyre temperatures, grip levels and degradation is Power unit
and it’s easier to manage your gearbox volumes, never ending and that’s because the Pirelli tyre Renault E-tech 19; 1.6-litre V6 ICE; 90-degree bank angle; max
speed 15,000rpm; direct injection, single injector per cylinder,
your lengths and how you set out the rear is notoriously peaky in relation to temperature. 500bar max; single-stage compressor and exhaust turbine,
suspension, which is very local to the back of In other words, there is a very narrow carcass common shaft; MGU-K (max speed 50,000 rpm, max power
the engine. It also makes a difference to your temperature range in which the tyres have 120kW); MGU-H (max speed 10,000rpm).
cooling layout and how that interacts with the good grip and perform well. Some teams this Transmission
chassis. The rear face of your chassis is more year, such as Haas, have struggled to not only Carbon fibre composite main case gearbox, longitudinally-mounted;
8-speed electro-hydraulically operated seamless shift; epicyclic
governed by engines with the compressor on get the tyres within the working window, but differential with multi-plate limited slip clutch; electro-hydraulically
the front. Both concepts have pros and cons.’ actually stay within this range throughout a operated, carbon multi-plate clutch.
race. Furthermore, this narrow range means Front suspension
Positive steps that the tyres can behave unpredictably and Carbon fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating
inboard torsion bar and damper system.
Key is also pleased with the progress Renault has consequently require a lot of conditioning and
made. ‘They have made massive steps in their management. This is why drivers often complete Rear suspension
Carbon fibre wishbone and pullrod suspension elements operating
performance over the winter and the way [the slow out laps and/or a preparation lap before inboard torsion bar and damper system.
power unit] is run is definitely more competitive their qualifying attempt to try and bring all four Brakes
then I can remember in 2017, so that’s been a tyres up to temperature consistently without Akebono brake calipers and master cylinders; Akebono brake by wire
really positive step,’ he says. ‘I think this year the damaging the tyre’s surface. rear brake control system; carbon discs and pads.
team has made some very sensible approaches ‘As you’re not driving through the fronts Electronics
McLaren Applied Technologies, including chassis control, power
on how best to install it. It’s year three next year and they see a lot of airflow, the front tyres only
unit control, data acquisition, sensors, data analysis and telemetry;
where we have another chance to re-optimise, really generate temperature during cornering,’ McLaren Applied Technologies dashboard.
which is what we’re looking at now.’ Key says. ‘So often the problem at the front is Wheels and tyres
Enkei rims and Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Cooling
Calsonic Kansei water and oil cooling.
Weight
743kg (including driver, excluding fuel).
McLaren has optimised its suspension to help with tyre management this season. The front is quite conventional with pushrods operating an inboard torsion bar and damper system

that they are not up to temperature as quickly

as the rears are. Given that all your traction
is going through the rears, it’s the opposite
problem there, and you try to protect the rears
from additional temperature.’
This difference in tyre temperature, and
therefore grip, between the axles leads to
an imbalance which the driver then has to
manage out on track. As a rough rule of thumb,
if the front tyres are too cold, the car will likely
understeer. Whereas, if the rears are too hot, the
car will generally oversteer. So every effort is put
into managing not just the tyre temperatures
themselves, but the balance between the axles.
Rim heating
One tyre temperature tuning trick that all
the teams use is rim heating (see V29N7).
This is where they exploit the thermal energy
generated from the brakes in conjunction with
brake ducts and rim design to either heat or
cool the rims, which in turn either warms or The bargeboard area is extremely complex. The aim here is to condition the airflow towards the underfloor of the racecar
protects the tyres, depending on the axle and
the conditions. Although an old concept, 2019
has seen some very interesting rim designs; all
with the aim of controlling tyre temperature.
‘Tyre management is very much a science
in itself,’ says Key. ‘On the fronts you typically try
and transfer heat from the brakes into the wheel
rim, it’s not the most efficient way of heating
the tyres but it’s the only way you’ve got to
try and maintain front temperature and get
them closer to the rears.’ This is why on the
inside diameter of the rims there are a variety
of strange profiles and bulges. ‘These can work
both ways. On the rears, whilst you’re not trying
to actively channel that cooling exit airflow from
the brake disc onto the rims [as you would on
the fronts to heat the rims], that extra surface
area you get from these various profiles act as a
heat dissipater rather than a conductive device.
But if you had very cold conditions, such as in
winter testing, you would reverse that.’
Another way to influence tyre temperature
is to manipulate the loads that the car’s
suspension transmits through the tyres. The
MCL34 runs pushrod suspension at the front In the early part of the 2019 season the MCL34 featured a winglet on the top of the engine cover towards the rear of the car
and pullrod at the rear, both operating inboard
‘The placement of the wishbones on the

torsion bars and dampers.
‘Suspension geometry is obviously key
MCL34 is entirely aerodynamically led’

to tyre performance and I think the team
have made a very logical approach with the
geometry for this year,’ Key says. ‘The placement
of the wishbones is entirely aerodynamically are more restricted, but there is some quite wider front wings, smaller brake ducts, shorter
led. They are actually quite big aero players, innovative and interesting stuff that we can run bargeboards and wider, higher rear wings.
so some of the strange geometries you see which is in line with what the tyre needs. I think This was all in an effort to not only reduce the
definitely aren’t for suspension design purposes that our tyre management has been one of our turbulent wake that the following car had to
because you’d never do it like that. strengths this year and some of that is definitely drive through, but also move the wake higher
‘There have been some very innovative down to the suspension.’ so that it flows over the car behind.
ideas and a lot of options to try this season ‘A big part of aerodynamics, particularly at
to optimise the suspension behaviour in line Aero approach the front of the car, is to try and manage the
with the aero characteristics that we have, Aerodynamics has been another talking point of front wheel wake, which with these larger tyres
but without damaging mechanical grip,’ Key 2019. Cast your mind back to when the current now has even more implications on the rest of
continues. ‘The internals of the suspension are crop of cars were first revealed this season. the car,’ Key says.‘So you’ve got a lot of lossy,
reasonably standard because the regulations The new regulations resulted in simplified, turbulent flow coming off this bluff rotating

‘It’s a very different aero concept this year compared to last year
and I don’t think any team has 100 per cent cracked it at this stage’
body which effects everything behind it. The simplified substantially, with more constrained ‘It’s a very different aero concept compared
front wing developments being done prior endplates,’ says Key. ‘That led to a critical area to last year and I don’t think anyone has 100
to 2019 was all about trying to get that wheel of aerodynamics being quite significantly per cent cracked it at this stage,’ reveals Key.
wake further outboard of the racecar. This was different. So there was a long learning curve of ‘There are discrepancies across the grid so
identified by some quick work by the FIA when understanding how these front wings should there is still a fair bit to do. Often, when you
they were looking at the ease of overtaking in work and how they should interact with the rest get something more restrictive you end up
2018, and they came up with some proposals of the car. It’s really a case of using the reduced with more complex solutions which are quite
that reduced that effect. The more the teams number of tools you have to try and regain that noticeable and the philosophies of the cars can
try to manage those wakes, the more difficult performance back again, this is always difficult suddenly become different too. So it’s always a
it is for the following car to close up and race. when you get changes of that magnitude which nice engineering challenge. Although a lot of
We’re now generating so much downforce with probably look smaller than they actually are.’ us have now regained our performance back it
a particular kind of wake structure that it has Further downstream on the car, the did act well as a containment measure, so you
made racing more difficult and so I think there bargeboards are now 100mm further forwards have to hand it to the FIA.’
was a desire to simplify the front wings in an compared to last year and 125mm shorter. The
attempt to allow closer racing.’ bargeboards play a crucial role in conditioning On the nose
the airflow towards the underfloor which is One characteristic trait of the McLaren is the
Wing work why this area has become a complex array front nose concept, which was introduced on
The front wing is now 200mm wider than it was of winglets and elements, with each team’s last year’s car and has been further refined on
last year, matching the full two metre width approach differing greatly. The rear wing has the MCL34. The tip of the nose features a rather
of the racecar. Meanwhile, its length has also also seen changes for 2019 and is now 100mm large inlet, with further inlets either side. Key
increased by 25mm, and all the furniture on the wider, 100mm deeper and 50mm higher with explains: ‘It’s really about managing the losses
outboard section of the wing has gone. Only the DRS opening also increased. Although a in that area and around the wing pylons as they
five closed main elements are allowed, along very visible area of the racecar, the rear wing is can end up growing as they travel downstream.
with two strakes on the underside of the wing. often much simpler to develop when compared The outboard sections of the front wings were
‘There was quite a fresh approach to to the front wing and bargeboards and was the biggest change for 2019, but inboard there
the regulations and the front wings were therefore less of a concern for the teams. is a lot of sensitivity that needs to be managed
The rear wing is now 100mm wider, 100mm deeper and 50mm higher with a larger DRS opening, in line with the 2019 regulations. But most aero development has been at the front

‘There are a lot of very good guys and girls here at the McLaren
team and they are all concentrating very hard on the detail’
as well. With all these things on the front of
the car, they’re not there to generate front end
downforce, they’re actually conditioning the
flow to generate performance downstream, in
some cases that is their main task. The reason
the area in front of the sidepods and under
the chassis is so complex is because you’ve got
a set of flow conditions that you’re trying to
encourage to act on the underfloor in the best
way possible. Anything that hits the air first,
like the nose tip, will always be used to try and
manage that flow to get the best conditions,
and those inlets play a role in that.’
Ducting air
A common way to mitigate the losses
surrounding the front wing is to use an S-duct.
This is where inlets, in the shape of NACA ducts
on the side of the nose, ingest this turbulent
air through an S-shaped duct within the nose
and release it towards the cockpit. The cockpit
is an area of turbulence, so routing the dirty air
to this area has less of an overall impact on the
aero than if this flow was allowed to continue Akebono supplies brake calipers, master cylinders, carbon discs and pads plus the brake by wire rear brake control system
downstream towards the main turning vane.
Furthermore, as the outlet is located on the
bridge of the nose, this is a low pressure region,
which therefore helps to suck those losses up
through the S-duct and away from the nose.
Interestingly the McLaren MCL34 does
not feature an obvious S-duct. However, as
Key reveals, that doesn’t mean the team is not
exploiting this concept.‘We’re not running one
at the moment,’ he says.‘It could be that some
of our more pronounced inlets at the beginning
of the nose in conjunction with our particular
nose shape does some of that work for us.
Essentially, you’re trying to make sure that
anything that is shed from the underside of the
nose or the front of the car doesn’t continue
downstream, interacting with the front
suspension or the front of the floor.’
New approach
However, the biggest secret to the MCL34’s
success so far this year lies in the overall
approach of the engineers.‘There was quite Rear rims feature profiles which can be used to conduct or dissipate heat from the brakes and therefore warm or cool tyres
a big step back for this year’s car, the team
thought very laterally about what worked and It is this attention to detail which is the all add up and I think that’s really what has
what didn’t in 2018,’ Key says.‘There were a few legacy of McLaren’s glory years and an attribute happened this year; paying close attention to all
unique solutions on the 2018 car which were that Key feels has contributed greatly to the the performance aspects and trying to develop
maybe not quite as mainstream as the other MCL34’s impressive performance this year. all of them at the same time.
teams. Lots of the features were carried over ‘What strikes me coming to McLaren is the ‘There is still a long way to go and there
that the team were happy with, but they had huge amount of attention to detail,’ Key says. is quite a variation in performance from track
a pragmatic approach to the areas which were ‘There are a lot of very good guys and girls to track, and the development of other teams
questionable, which has seemed to reset and here and they are all concentrating hard on never stops,’ Key adds. ‘So whilst we have got
simplify the situation and then take it forward. the detail. I think that always helps the car’s a little bit of a gap in our current position,
The team did a great job of stepping back and performance and development because you’re that can be eaten up very quickly. So we will
thinking about the philosophies in each area accounting for all those little bits and pieces continue to fight and we have got some
and making the changes accordingly.’ which can easily be missed. They of course developments for the car to come.’

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INTERVIEW – ANDREAS SEIDL
Living the
dream
There’s been a change at the top at McLaren’s
F1 operation this year, with Andreas Seidl
taking on the team principal role. Racecar
caught up with the former Porsche LMP
boss to find out how he’s settling in to what
he has described as his ‘dream job’
By ANDREW COTTON
T
he news came in November 2018 of writing it lay fourth in the constructors’ title
that Andreas Seidl, the man who chase with its MCL43 (see page 16), comfortably
had led Porsche to its three most ahead of Renault’s own factory team. But the
recent Le Mans victories, had abruptly gap to Red Bull in third, racing with the Honda
left the company, handing in his keys, laptop engine that McLaren found so difficult, is huge,
and fob at the Weissach office. But for what and no doubt that will rankle.
other role was he walking away from the offered
post of head of motorsport at Porsche for? It Real racer
surely had to be something special. Seidl has developed a reputation for delving Andreas Seidl’s arrival at McLaren has coincided
Indeed, that was the case. Seidl was, he deep into the details of a team, and once with an upturn in fortunes for the once-mighty team
said, off to his dream job. This turned out to be described himself as a‘nerd’when it came to
heading up McLaren’s Formula 1 operation as its his involvement.‘I’m a racing guy, a competitive
team principal, with carte blanche to implement guy, I want to measure myself and my team
the changes he felt were necessary, with the full [against] the best in the sport,’ says the German.
support of the McLaren board. ‘I found that with Porsche in endurance racing.
When he arrived, the team had been in the But it is also clear, when it comes to sprint racing
doldrums for a few years. It had blamed the [this] is Formula 1. And I was always keen to
Honda engine (which it had run from 2015 to get back [he worked in Formula 1 with BMW/
2017) to start with, but then it hadn’t covered Sauber between 2000 and 2009], keen to lead
itself in glory with the Renault engine in 2018 bigger motorsport operations.
either. McLaren had become something of a ‘This opportunity came up and then I
laughing stock in the Formula 1 paddock. saw straight away it was appealing to lead a
But the appointment of Seidl coupled with team like McLaren,’ Seidl adds.‘It is a dream Zak Brown (left) is looking to race elsewhere but Seidl is cautious
its choice of drivers, Lando Norris and Carlos job, but at the same time it was important to
Sainz, stopped people short of writing the team understand from the owners also what is the a team, and Seidl admits that he has yet to
off. James Key also came in as technical director ambition they have for McLaren. So, after having find his feet, and fully draw up his strategy for
in March 2019, and that was also generally seen further meetings and seeing how committed implementation. ‘We have the infrastructure,
in the paddock as a positive move. they all were to further invest, then it was a a lot of talented, motivated people. But at the
And it all seems to be paying off. McLaren’s straightforward decision to be made.’ same time it’s also clear that there is a huge
form this season has been far closer to what What he found when he arrived were good gap to the front,’ he says. ‘And I think with the
used to be expected from the team, at the time people, in need of being bound together as resources at McLaren, there are clearly things
‘We have the infrastructure and a lot of talented, motivated people, but
at the same time it’s also clear that there is a huge gap to the front’
‘I want to measure
myself and my
team against the
best in the sport’
we do not do right, because we are under- seems to be coming on so strongly and is more ‘Plus, it is the second year now together with
performing and I’m still in the period of really efficient. Yet Seidl sees a long-term future in Renault, and we straight away see the results. I
going into each detail. It is a big complex his new tunnel. ‘For the next 10 years, I think, think next year’s car, with James now being fully
organisation in a Formula 1 team. I do that aerodynamics will happen in parallel between engaged as technical director, we are back to
together with James [Key]. Some things you CFD and the wind tunnel,’ he says. ‘It’s important let’s say a normal timing of when to start with
see straight away as deficits. And that’s also the you have that and that it’s in your own hands. the initial concept work. It’s just important to
task I have from Zak [Brown, McLaren Racing’s There is still so much happening on the wind keep this positive trend up, and then I think we
chief executive officer] and the shareholders; to tunnel side and I think simulation gets better should make, the next step next year.’
bring those up straight away.’ and better, but to prove final concepts and At the British Grand Prix, McLaren
One of those decisions was to speed up also in terms of safety I can’t see [wind tunnels] announced that it was sticking with its driving
the process of aerodynamic development by going away for the next decade at least.’ line up, with Norris alongside Sainz, for a further
commissioning a new, state-of-the-art wind year. This was an early decision, and one that
tunnel. Although it has its own wind tunnel in Finding form was surprising; Seidl has fired drivers who
the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking in The gap to the front of the field has narrowed won him a world championship as head of the
the UK, the team had been using TMG’s facility considerably this year for McLaren, although Porsche LMP1 team as he considered them too
in Cologne, Germany. ‘It’s a great tunnel there Seidl says this had very little to do with him. slow, and right now the results seem to be less
and we have a great partnership, but with the The decision to switch to Renault last year important than the outright speed. He clearly
logistical constraints and everything it is just not came late, and there were compromises that sees raw pace in his two young chargers. They
as efficient as it has to be,’ says Seidl. had to be made which put the team on the drive each other on, says Seidl: ‘Hopefully the
With the FIA looking closely at reducing the back foot. ‘If you feel [you’re starting] too late at close battle that we have between these two
size of teams, and their expenditure, it seems the beginning of the season, you simply don’t guys [will continue], that they lift each other day
strange for a team to be investing in a new recover during a season,’ he says. ‘This year’s car by day with each run they are doing,’ he says.
wind tunnel. Also, CFD and computing power started already a lot earlier than last year’s car. ‘And now it’s down to me and the team, to make

INTERVIEW – ANDREAS SEIDL
‘We have to see

sure we do the same and hopefully deliver them ‘At the same time, it’s important to
a car that they can battle for positions higher up.’ mention that we first have to sort ourselves
where the cost cap

But McLaren, as with all Formula 1 teams, out, independent of budget cap regulations,’
is waiting for the final technical and sporting Seidl continues. ‘We have a lot more potential
regulations that will guide the sport through the inside the McLaren team [within] the current
next five years, and that is holding up his ability really ends to find boundaries. And that’s my focus.’
to finalise his plans (see page 8). It will be interesting to see how the
First priority
out how big teams McLaren F1 operation develops with its new
management team firmly in place, especially as
As for other motorsport endeavours, no
one knows whether or not a hypercar at Le
are in the future’ they clearly have a remit to do what it takes to
deliver a more competitive racecar.
Mans would help or hinder a Formula 1 team,
but Seidl is clear; Formula 1 is his first and only
priority. Any resource that could take away from
his target will be opposed, even though Zak
Brown is known to be looking at both IndyCar
and Le Mans for the company.
‘First of all, we have to see where the cost
cap really ends to see how big the teams
are in the future,’ says Seidl. ‘Zak is looking at
additional racing programmes, but it is too
early to make any announcements or talk
about other directions. It is no secret that he is
looking into Indy and the WEC, but again there
are no decisions. I think for us the budget cap
is essential, to have again a level playing field
with the big teams, so we are fully supportive.
In general [the cap] is still too high, the figure
that is being discussed, but at the same time we
accept it needs to be a compromise. Seidl says that one of McLaren’s strong points is the amount of talented people working throughout the team
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SINGLE SEATERS – RODIN FZED
The Lotus T125 track car project has resurfaced in New Zealand
with a different name and owner and a whole new approach
Rodin track
When a car’s been named after a sculptor graceful lines are perhaps a given,
but the Rodin FZed needs to thrill as much as it pleases the eye if it’s to fulfil
its role as the ultimate track day toy. We visited the company’s impressive
New Zealand base to check out this intriguing Lotus T125-based project
By DR CHARLES CLARKE

‘This is just a more
practical way to get the
same kind of driving
experience you would
from owning an F1 car’
I
n Waiau, about 125km north of Christchurch hardware and software, SLA 3D printers, car and even drove like one. Rodin then shipped
in New Zealand, there is now a stunning large titanium 3D printers, CNC machinery, all the components and designs out to New
1450-acre motorsport development set in automated robots, industrial autoclaves, PVD Zealand to form the basis of the FZed.
typical Lord of the Rings scenery. The facility Ion plating systems, a full electrical department, The Lotus T125 was designed to offer mere
features a state-of-the-art factory and a unique a large assembly shop, plus everything else mortals something that was as close as possible
test venue with is six kilometres of custom- needed to build racecars in-house. to an F1 driving experience. Lotus Cars’ then
built tracks, large workshops, a pit garage with CEO Dany Bahar formulated the plan and,
hospitality and a driver training centre. Kinetic art amid considerable razzmatazz in the Louvre
This is all the brainchild of Australian David The first car all this kit is actually there for is Museum’s basement on the eve of the 2010 Paris
Dicker, who, with the help of funding from called the Rodin FZed; named after French Motor Show, he unveiled a private racing league
his successful IT business, has created this sculptor Auguste Rodin – the brand imaging is called Exos Club, membership of which would
impressive development as a manufacturing from his famous work, The Thinker. set you back somewhere in the region of $1m.
and test base for his Rodin Cars concern. The real breakthrough for the company But the departure of Bahar sounded the death
The factory and design studio has a range came when Rodin acquired the Lotus T125 knell for the project and so it was sold on.
of state-of-the-art equipment and technology, design in 2016. This single seater was conceived Because this project was abandoned so
including industry leading CAD modelling by Lotus as a customer car that looked like an F1 quickly by Lotus there were only very few

The FZed boasts an F1-style aerodynamic package. Rodin fitted wider front
tyres to the car on Avon’s advice and this has transformed its handling
prototypes ever assembled. Most of these and

the contents of the parts bins were sent to New
Zealand.‘There were lots of carbon components,
all the suspensions and the engines came with
the project,’ says Dicker.‘It all came disassembled
and it was put together and painted here.
‘It basically took about two years to develop
the car properly, to get the infrastructure
working and to get all the guys understanding
the objectives of the project,’ Dicker adds.‘Most
of the aerodynamic parts are the same or very
similar to the T125. Most of our development
work concerned refining the build quality,
replacing some fairly average aluminium parts
with titanium, and just basically finishing it off.
It’s still more or less the same car but we’ve done
a lot of detailed work on it, because the car we
received hadn’t been very well developed at
all. There were all manner of things that had to
be refined and improved and there were lots of Brembo supplies the stopping power with carbon-carbon brakes. All the bolts on the FZed are titanium
detailed things that had to be done to make it a
viable proposition as a customer car.’
‘There were all manner of things on the Lotus
HP source
The Lotus was originally designed and built in T125 that had to be refined and improved’
Italy by HP Composites and Lotus didn’t really
have a great deal to do with it at that stage. It On the advice of Avon, Rodin opted for some box.‘I’m obsessive about things like pedals, you
packs a 675bhp 3.8-litre Cosworth V8, while the wider front tyres, which improved the handling can have moulded parts for where your feet are
suspension has now been modified.‘There were immeasurably, while it also switched from Alcon going and heel rests so that you can brace your
some strange things on the car we received, to Brembo brake callipers. feet and pivot [the pedals] properly,’ says Dicker.
like an obscure motocross damper, which didn’t But it’s with the driver interface that Rodin’s ‘We use ball bearings in the pivot and there are
really work, so we took the opportunity to attention to detail starts to shine through, rollers on the pedals that are on ball bearings,
refresh the suspension,’ says Dicker. especially in areas such as the titanium pedal so when the pedal moves your foot just rolls on
Lord of the Rings. The Rodin facility in New Zealand includes 6km of test track plus a design studio and hi-tech factory boasting the very best in state-of-the-art equipment

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the roller and there is no interference or friction

between the bottom of your shoe or the surface
of the pedal. This is important, otherwise it just
doesn’t work very well. The reason a lot of these
little details are only just coming to the surface
is, generally speaking, engineers don’t drive
racecars. If they did then these kinds of custom
issues would have been introduced long ago.
‘We built the new pedal box in New Zealand
and the exhaust system, which included a mild
silencer too, because you couldn’t really run it
anywhere with an open pipe, which was more of
a stub, than a pipe,’ says Dicker. ‘It was noisy and
very raspy, so it wasn’t even a nice note.
‘We 3D printed a titanium collector and
muffler, which is hollow inside,’ Dicker adds. ‘We
then PVD’d [physical vapour deposition] with
titanium nitride, just to make it look a bit nicer.’
The mufflers are hollow inside so that they
don’t need to be packed with any acoustic
material; just the shape is enough to attenuate The Rodin FZed is propelled by a 675bhp 3.8-litre Cosworth GPV8; the air is fed to this through a suitably dramatic airbox
the raspy exhaust. It’s basically just a chamber
with lots of internal holes between the skins really comfortable. I’ve spent years working that
made by the 3D printer, which is just enough to system out, to get to something I really like.’
take the edge off the exhaust note. This means The seat now comes up high under the
they are completely maintenance free in terms ribcage, so that the driver is completely
of repacking while the exhaust note will not supported in the car and their upper body
change over time. This also doesn’t have any can be free in the turns.‘When you pitch the
impact on the engine’s power. car into the turns, you can feel it, you are not
Rodin also developed a non-combustible subconsciously holding on with your hands or
engine cover.‘Everyone thinks this is a joke, your arms, to resist the forces,’ says Dicker.‘All
but on the original car after about three laps, this is important for driver comfort.’
the engine cover would catch fire, because the The seat shell is 3D printed in plastic.‘We
exhaust pipes were just too close,’ says Dicker. have it in various sizes almost like shoe sizes
and it is moulded into a carbon fibre universal
Safe seat bucket, which fits snugly inside the tub,’ says
Another area that’s seen a lot of work is the seat. Dicker.‘The plastic insert is then spaced out from Ohlins 4-way dampers are part of Rodin’s suspension upgrade
‘We changed the seat system and the seat belts,’ the carbon fibre bucket with fins, which helps
says Dicker.‘Those things are really important, stiffen it. This works really well, except the plastic
TECH SPEC: Rodin FZed
the seat especially, as it’s the interface with the straight from the printer isn’t very rigid, but
car and if you don’t get that right you never feel we solve that problem by laying carbon on the Engine
Cosworth GPV8; 3.8-litre; 32 valves; naturally-aspirated; 135kg;
longitudinal mid-mounted; 90-degree vee; cast aluminium alloy
‘On the original car after about three laps cylinder block and heads; forged aluminium pistons; steel
crankshaft; Pectel SQ6 ECU, dry sump.
the engine cover would catch fire, because Chassis

Carbon composite; Nomex core and aluminium core
construction; autoclave cure; carbon composite Nomex
the exhaust pipes were just too close’ core construction body panels.
Transmission
Ricardo gearbox; longitudinal layout; dog engagement
semi-automatic paddle shift, pneumatic actuation; auto
throttle blip/ignition cut; triple-plate carbon clutch.
Suspension
Double wishbone; springs actuated via pushrod and rocker
arrangements; adjustable ride height and camber; Ohlins 4-way
dampers; front and rear anti-roll bars with blade type adjustment.
Safety Systems
Cockpit and engine bay nozzle fire system (FIA approved);
6-point FIA F1 spec harness, quick release turn buckle; headrest
to comply with FIA regulations; front/rear crash structures and
roll hoop designed and tested to FIA guidelines.
Brakes
Brembo carbon-carbon, split front/rear system; twin master cylinders
with front/rear bias adjustment; 6-piston calipers front and rear.
Dimensions
Length, 4904mm; width, 1900mm; height, 960mm.
Weight
Rodin has designed its own exhaust collector and muffler to mildly silence the car and also improve its sound 609kg.

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Faster than Formula 1?
T
he FZero is Rodin’s own design and the stated intention is to make a the lightest and most compact 4-litre V10 we could,’ says Dicker. ‘It’s not
car that is quicker than the current Formula 1, and Rodin feels it has a capable of any more capacity, but it suits our purposes. It should weigh about
realistic chance of achieving this kind of performance. 125kg, which is [similar to the] Cosworth engine [in the FZed]. It’s pretty much
‘The target weight is 605kg, like the older Formula 1 cars, and we should be the same length as the Cosworth, but because of the bank angle, it’s much
able to get 1000bhp from our engine without too much trouble,’ says Dicker. narrower, and a lot smoother than the V8s. It’s designed by Graham Dale Jones,
‘The CFD on the aerodynamics gives us about 4000kg at 300km/h [186mph], formerly of Cosworth. He used to have his own engineering consultancy in the
so all the elements are in place to make that work and all the indications are UK, but he’s now basically retired. Neil Brown Engineering, also in the UK, is
pointing to it performing better than a Formula 1 car. doing all the machining and assembly. It’s pretty close to being finished now.’
‘It’s basically a single seater with a canopy and closed in wheels,’ Dicker
adds. ‘So the aerodynamics should be quite good. There are no regulations to Box of tricks
work to, so it’s got massive front and rear wings to generate the downforce. It Ricardo is doing the transmission for the FZero, Dicker tells us. ‘It’s an eight-
incorporates all the current thinking with regard to aerodynamics. Initially this speed sequential gearbox, which fits inside a carbon case, which takes all the
will be sold as a track car and we are planning to build a road going version as suspension loads and the aero, it is basically a self-contained unit. The carbon
well. You should also be able to modify the aero to suit [some] racing series.’ doesn’t touch any oil so the whole configuration is fairly stable. Because the
The engine for the FZero is a 4-litre V10, it’s been designed from scratch structural loads are shared between the gear case and the carbon case the
and isn’t really based on any existing unit. ‘The design objective was to make whole thing can be optimised for packaging and weight.’
Rodin’s FZero will be available in road going as well as track spec
inside of it and now it’s completely rigid. Using than having to rely on one of the pit crew to ‘We’ve done some work on carbon wheels
this technique we can accommodate all sizes of do it,’ says Dicker.‘This is especially true with for our FZero project [see box out], and we
driver and driving position to ensure they are in the crotch strap, which is really hard to tighten are currently developing a relationship with a
the optimum position in the car. This is a kind of with a pull down strap, even with help. These manufacturer,’ says Dicker.‘We’ve elected to use
hybrid 3D printing approach and it is working are small details, but they make a tremendous a resin infusion process rather than prepreg. The
really well. We would never get it rigid enough difference to the overall driving experience.’ centre has eight spokes and we’ve worked out
with plastic alone and it would be a nightmare All the steel bolts have been replaced with a way to create them with unidirectional fibres,
to produce if it was made entirely of carbon, so titanium items which are made in house. They so that each fibre is orientated optimally with
this is the best compromise.’ have been PVD’d like the muffler and have even regard to the direction of the load. The problem
been laser etched with their part number. with using prepreg is that there are wasted
Belt up Rodin has also been experimenting with fibres running at 90-degree to the load path.’
As part of this attention to detail in the seating carbon wheels, where the rim is carbon
area the belts have also been the subject of a connected to a hollow spoke 3D printed Target market
great deal of thought.‘We got OMP to make titanium centre. The centre is bonded and To a certain extent the parts of the FZed are
the seatbelts with the crotch and lap belts riveted to the rim. The fabrication and assembly ‘lifed’, but not in the same sense as they are in
tightening by pulling up instead of down, so of this particular approach is quite tricky, so the F1, because the FZed is much more durable than
that the driver could belt himself in, rather current thinking is to go to an all carbon wheel. an F1 car. A lot of components are also bigger
‘Engineers don’t drive racecars. If they did then the kind of custom
modifications we have made would have been introduced long ago’
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‘The FZed has quite a lot of power, but the real difference between
this and other racecars is the precision with which you can drive it’
and stronger than their F1 counterparts. Which as you do that the authenticity of the racecar
brings us to the reason Dicker’s doing this. goes out the window. You could still send the
The FZed is aimed at the kind of person who engine back to Judd, but it would be much more
would like to buy an old F1 car but doesn’t really difficult to refurb the gearbox, and so it goes on.
want to suffer the consequences of having to ‘The other issue is that you’ve got all sorts of
maintain it. Formula 1 cars by their very nature brackets and components all over the car that
are quite fragile and they were never meant to are custom-made, some are done in titanium,
last more than one season. Also, they change some are done in aluminium,’ Dicker adds. ‘As
from year to year, so there isn’t a bottomless soon as you break one, or heaven forbid you
parts bin for these kind of machines. crash and break several, you have a serious
‘What we’ve done with the FZed is to sourcing issue. It had 6mm rod ends on the
produce a car which is maintainable over the suspension that they would replace after each
medium to long term,’ says Dicker.‘There will be race, but now they are impossible to get.’
changes over time to various parts, but we will In short, the Leyton House was a racing
ensure that every development is backwards car built for a single season, so consequently
compatible to the original vehicle.’ longevity was not designed into it. ‘The FZed is
exactly the opposite, it’s much more durable,
March of time it weighs a bit more, but its performance is far
Dicker knows what he’s talking about here, for in better,’ Dicker says. ‘This is just a more practical
many respects he’s just the sort of person Rodin way to get the same kind of driving experience.
is looking to sell its cars too.‘I used to have a The only thing you’re giving up is that you
1989 Leyton House, but it’s not very practical don’t have the association between the car, the
for me because [I’m quite big] and it was never period or its original driver. From every other
designed to do a lot of miles,’ Dicker says.‘If you standpoint you’re in much better shape.’
buy a car from Ferrari, they will maintain it for Which includes the availability of spare parts
you, but it is astronomically expensive. They for the car.‘We can supply all the parts should
really want to keep the cars in Maranello and anything break or get damaged,’ says Dicker.‘We Rodin’s founder is proud of the FZed’s unique race seat design
control the whole thing, which doesn’t always can also supply engineering support. There’s
suit customers outside Europe.’ a guy in Bahrain who has got a Lotus T125 ‘I’ve done thousands of laps in my Ferrari
His Leyton House had a Judd engine with which he bought from Lotus, but he gets all his Challenge car in New Zealand and the FZed is a
Zytek engine management.‘We rang up Zytek parts from us. He’s also had a few incidents and much more enjoyable car to drive,’ says Dicker.
for support for the ECU and the guy on the other obviously Lotus can’t support it any longer, so ‘GT cars are nice, but this is much more of a
end just laughed at the prospect of supporting we were the obvious choice.’ precision instrument. It does all the things that a
a product that was so old and was never used Currently the Rodin FZed costs US$650,000 racing car should do and it just does them a lot
again,’ says Dicker.‘He basically said“we built and another $30,000 or $40,000 will get you better. It has quite a lot more power, but the real
that thing so long ago we can’t do anything for enough spares and bits and pieces and all the pit difference between this and other racecars is
you at all”. He didn’t even have any old design gear and the other things that you need to go the precision with which you can drive it.’
documentation for the ECU, so you would be racing. In comparison the Ferrari Challenge car
better going to a TV repair shop for support. costs about US$275,000, it costs US$220,000 to Back on track
So for the Leyton House if you wanted to have enter for the season, maintenance and extra bits But, of course, you still need to find somewhere
any control over the engine you would have to and pieces probably adds another US$130,000, to run it.‘We’re going to race the FZed in
change the ECU to something else. And as soon so it’s a similar sort of outlay, Dicker tells us. Formula Libre in New Zealand next year and we
are thinking about running it in the BOSS Series
in Europe if possible, too,’ Dicker says.
In a recent test Greg Murphy, the ex-V8
Supercar driver, gave the FZed a good
shakedown and turned in some very
respectable lap times, even though the engine
was restricted to 9000rpm. But while that was
with a seasoned professional at the wheel the
car is actually quite easy to drive, Dicker insists,
saying it is very predictable with very few vices.
Dicker also claims that there are no issues with
the aero not working properly if you’re not flat
out.‘You can drive it at 80 or 90 per cent of its
potential and it still feels good,’ he says.
‘A lot of people said we were crazy and the
whole project was a stupid idea, but we finally
crossed the line and produced something we’re
While the car clearly has the tools to produce high downforce Rodin says its handling on track is quite benign really proud of,’ Dicker concludes.

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RETROSPECTIVE – ACTIVE SUSPENSION
I don’t know what Chapman

thought, but he was heard to
mutter as he left: ‘The only
difference between men and
boys is the cost of their toys!’

Getting
active
Racecar’s technical consultant, a pioneer of active suspension

systems during his time at Team Lotus, recalls the trials and
tribulations of developing the technology for Formula 1 – and
the pivotal role that Colin Chapman played in the saga
By PETER WRIGHT
C
olin Chapman was a brilliant car
designer in the last decades of the
era when traditional mechanical
engineering ruled. Post-World
War II, there was a deep understanding about
how much we depended on mechanical
engineering: piston engines, airframes, chassis,
suspension, aerodynamics and control. The
ultimate arrangement for cars, whether for
racing or for the road, was pretty well agreed.
Only the benefits of an all-independent
suspension and the position of the engine for
ultimate handling were still to be resolved.
Chapman was trained as a structural
engineer and worked for British Aluminium on
coach and building structures. However, his
spare time was spent racing, designing and
developing cars, which led to the founding
of Lotus. There followed a line of iconic and
successful racecars: the Lotus 25, 49, 72 and
79, and standard-setting road cars: the Lotus 7,
Elite, Elan, Europa and Esprit. Their structures led
the way, and their suspensions minimised the
compromise between ride and handling.
Pre-cursor
The secret to Chapman’s success was his
understanding of aluminium and, later,
composite structural materials; his feel as a
driver for what the wheels were doing and the
tyres demanding; plus the aerodynamics from
aircraft companies de Havilland and Miles,
under the guidance of Frank Costin. Computers
had not yet entered this world.
The extraordinary talent this generation
of designers displayed was in their ability
to understand cars to the extent that they Colin Chapman inspects the rear of the Lotus 88. The banning of its twin-chassis tech led to him falling out of love with F1
were able to conceive and design the next
one without numerical data about what the
current machine was doing. Feedback came
Chapman suspected the
from stopwatch and driver comment. Engine
designers did have dynos and could measure
importance of computers,
temperatures and pressures on a static, running
engine. Wind tunnels had begun to yield force
but I don’t really believe
and moment measurements on models. As well
as his own skills as a racing driver, Chapman also he was personally
relied on the relationships with his drivers for
more detailed feedback. enthusiastic about them
Hard drive
In the 1970s, the need to measure the effects Colin Chapman’s design genius was epitomised in
of downforce on the track became urgent. F1 cars such as the ground-breaking Lotus 25
Data acquisition was pioneered by Chevrolet
Research working with Chaparral in the aerobatic aircraft, and the results were analysed
1960s; we at Team Lotus first attempted to in their mainframe computer, which led to the
measure car and air speeds, accelerations, and inevitable use of computers at Team Lotus.
suspension deflections on the 78, to give us a Desktop computers became available at
better understanding of ground effect and the around the same time, but there was little useful
performance of the skirts in particular. (or entertaining) software available to begin
It was this programme, in collaboration with; you had to write your own. Chapman
with the Flight Instrumentation department suspected the importance of computers, but
at the Cranfield Institute of Technology, that I don’t believe he was personally enthusiastic
eventually led to active suspension. We started about them. They represented a totally different
the programme with a data system developed approach to engineering from the one he was
from one that was used on the Cranfield A1 familiar with and that had served him so well The Lotus Esprit Turbo active suspension test hack at Brands Hatch

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We discovered that both General Motors and Mercedes were

researching active suspension after we launched the Lotus 92
up until then. His reaction to their use was not that by connecting it to a computer controlled, Full active suspension was not new. The
discouraging, but rather cautious and slightly electro-hydraulic system, it was possible to Moog valve provided a high response interface
suspicious that they could waste a lot of young synthesise a spring-mass-damper system and between electronics and hydraulics, and
engineers’ time. The expression ‘garbage in, give it various characteristics over a wide range. computers were getting smaller and faster.
garbage out’ had already come into common The most remarkable of these to experience Calspan, where Bill Moog developed his servo-
use. He was, of course, aware of the work I was were very high mass, and negative stiffness. In valve, built an active suspension car, but little
doing on data from the 78 with David Williams particular, when applied to a racecar suspension, information survives about it. At Team Lotus,
at Cranfield, but only became really interested it would be possible to configure a soft we discovered that both General Motors and
when results led to a lap time decrease – that suspension that offset the inertia (longitudinal Mercedes were researching their own active
ultimate racing car measurement. and lateral acceleration) and aerodynamic suspension systems, after we launched the
Following the successes of the Lotus loads, such that the chassis’ road attitude was active suspension-equipped Lotus 92 in 1983.
78 and 79, when the 80 developed severe independent of them. After the Type 88, this I took the idea and a rough proposal to
porpoising characteristics we set about trying to became my potential plan B. Chapman in 1981. No PowerPoint presentation,
understand this phenomenon using the data
we had gathered. I had written a series of
equations resolving the individual wheel
displacements and loads (derived from
suspension spring deflections) into the four
modes: heave, pitch, roll, and warp, to better
describe the chassis’ dynamics. David Williams,
using his depth of knowledge of aircraft
dynamics and structural characteristics, came
to the conclusion that the motion of the 80 was
analogous to flutter in an aircraft wing. Flutter
is a combined bending and torsion deflection
of the wing structure, driven by aerodynamic
forces. At certain speeds, the frequency of the
motion coincides with the natural frequency
of the structure and, if insufficiently damped
can lead to structural failure. In the Lotus
80’s case, heave on the suspension was the
equivalent of bending, and pitch the equivalent
of torsion. We needed a solution.
Twin chassis
Plan A was the Lotus 88, a concept that involved
separating chassis and body, supporting each
on its own suspension system such that they
could have the different characteristics that
suited them. After the prototype for the 88,
the Type 86, had run, Ferrari influenced the
governing body, FISA, to ban skirts and cars
with no suspension, and we realised we had
the potential ideal car. But in the midst of the
FISA-FOCA war, the two sides displayed unusual
cooperation and, with the other teams, ganged
up on Team Lotus to have the 88 banned.
Resolving the war was more important.
Chapman was dismayed that his fellow
competitors had agreed to prevent him
innovating in grand prix racing and his love
of the business/sport took a big hit. He told
me he only continued because he had made a
commitment to sponsor John Player. His interest
turned to other things, mainly aviation; we were
left to pick up the pieces at Team Lotus.
During this period, however, David Williams
demonstrated to me an artificial-feel control
column (joystick) he was developing for a
variable-stability aircraft. He demonstrated Nigel Mansell contested the 1983 Long Beach Grand Prix in an active suspension Lotus 92, powered by a Cosworth engine

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That 20 minutes in
his office showed
me Chapman’s
greatness, more
than all of the cars
he had designed
just words. Twenty minutes later he said he
would find me a Turbo Esprit to try it out on.
For me, that 20 minutes in his office showed
me his greatness, more than all of the cars he
had designed. His vision that computers would
control key systems on cars went beyond his
detail understanding of how they might do
this. It also demonstrated to me the value
of an engineer being right at the top, in sole Bulky electronics were a necessary evil in the 1980s while the hydraulics also took up plenty of space within the racecar
command of a small organisation.
As promised, the Turbo Esprit duly arrived
at Ketteringham Hall, and the active suspension
system was designed, sourced and installed.
This consisted of off-the-shelf hydraulic
cylinders and Dowty servo valves to replace the
spring-damper units, sensors including a very
neat load-cell that David Williams designed,
engine driven gear pump, hydraulic system
and a bespoke analogue computer, again
designed by Williams. The prime suspension
parameters were assigned to a series of linear
potentiometers, mounted like a sound mixing
desk on the dashboard in front of the passenger.
Any other changes to control laws and loop
gains had to be adjusted using a soldering iron.
Teething issues
A plug-in external hydraulic power supply
was used to allow the system to be developed
without the Turbo Esprit engine being run. We
fired it up, just six months after Chapman had
initiated the project, well out of his sight at Sensors were on the chunky side back in the day. Producing an active Formula 1 car would be relatively easy now
Cranfield. The car disappeared into a blur as
the whole structure became unstable and Finally, Williams stabilised the system and Chapman thought, but he was heard to mutter
vibrated violently, fed with energy from the we judged it was safe to show it to Chapman, as he left:‘The only difference between men
hydraulic system. Fortunately, the hydraulic and to give him a static demonstration of how and boys is the cost of their toys!’
system couldn’t keep up the pressure and it died we could change the ride heights and modal It took us six months from first powering
away before too much of the Esprit’s fatigue life stiffness’s by adjusting the linear pots on the up to the point where we felt we could
was used up! There followed several months dash. I moved one to raise the whole car. The demonstrate the system and its potential to
of long days and nights as Williams tuned the car rose very suddenly, but my hand stayed Chapman on the Hethel track. The car often had
control system with sophisticated electronic still and so raised it even more. The same thing to be recovered to Ketteringham Hall following
filters to take out the various modes in the happened in reverse as I tried to correct it. failures. The main weakness was a hydraulic
structure and system. Team Lotus mechanics Observers said the car rose to full height then pump, which didn’t appreciate the lack of
looked on with a mixture of intrigue and horror retracted all four wheels with daylight being lubricity in the MIL-H-5606 military specification
that we might do something similar to the seen under each of them before the car then aircraft hydraulic fluid, or being driven by a fast,
racecars in their care. crashed to the ground. I don’t know what speed-changing Lotus turbo engine.
Team Lotus mechanics looked on with a mixture of intrigue and horror

that we might do something similar to the racecars in their care
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Once we learned to set up the inertia- real, but I don’t think he really liked the idea of be the crunch meeting, at racing speeds, that
compensation such that the car neither pitched a Formula 1 racecar based on the system. determined the future of the project. Chapman
under acceleration or braking, nor rolled with Elio de Angelis drove it more extensively would decide on the next step based on
the cornering loads, and we could balance at Snetterton and I accompanied him in the feedback from his race driver.
the car in corners by varying the roll stiffness passenger seat. We formed a ‘control loop’ where We finally received the go-ahead to add
distribution, we started to see the true potential. he told me what he wanted for each corner, and active suspension to an F1 car for potential
The car revealed an extraordinary feel through the corner, and I attempted to give it racing in 1983. It was June 1982 and we had six
of control from a stable platform, and the to him by adjusting the potentiometer sliders. months to develop a car and demonstrate that
passenger could tune the balance in the Most of the time it worked, but even if I got it it would be race ready for Brazil in March. That
different stages of a corner. It was a car that was wrong, I couldn’t actually catch Elio out. meant it needed to run in December.
‘easy’ to drive at the limit. We could even use For the new season Chapman had acquired
the ability to change ride heights while running Moment of truth Renault turbocharged engines, but initially only
to exploit the aerodynamics on the Esprit, That afternoon Colin Chapman came down for one car; this would be the 93T. As an interim,
though this would be a much more powerful to Snetterton and he drove the Esprit with the 92 was Cosworth powered, and this was
tool when used on an Formula 1 car. We put myself as the passenger/system controller. That the car for which the active suspension was
Nigel Mansell in the car at Brands Hatch during went well enough for de Angelis to drive him designed. Dowty manufactured four servo-
a test and he showed us that the potential was for a number of high speed laps. This would actuators to operate the suspension, and the
Never a dull moment
O
ne thing about working for Colin Chapman, it was never dull. basis of a device that could be strapped on by a commuter, and which would
Apart from the job in-hand with the race team at any particular then allow him or her to rise vertically from their back garden and travel to
time, Chapman always had plenty of other ideas that he wanted work, landing in the yard or car park when they got there.
investigating and/or working on. Two stand out from my time at Hethel. The flying saucer consisted of a large polystyrene disc, about one metre
The first was during my initial tenure at Technocraft, developing the across, with a hole in the centre in which a small model aircraft engine drove
composite processes for building the road cars and the 30-plus foot a propeller, and the large disc allegedly augmented the lift. The disc was free
powerboats that were occupying much of Chapman’s time and thoughts to rotate, driven by the downwash of the propeller, and the motor torque
in the mid-1970s. Chapman approached us when he decided that his son resisted by additional downwash vanes. Weights in the rim increased the
Clive needed some help with his junior powerboat racing hobby. The boats inertia such that the disc acted as a gyroscope. Fins on the motor mounting
were small mono-hulls, powered by a 15bhp Yamaha outboard, races taking were radio controlled, along with the throttle, and enabled the whole
place in the evenings on Oulton Broad. contraption to be tilted about its horizontal axes.
Cosworth was consulted on the engine, but it had to remain standard, so It was a demonstration flown by a world champion model aircraft flyer who,
not much could be gained there. The GRP hull, however, was not constrained. being used to compensating for the gyroscopic procession moments, appeared
Chapman gathered us together to decide what to do. A new-designed hull to be able to fly it with ease. Chapman bought one.
was beyond the hobby status, but When one of Chapman’s loyal boat
we decided that the existing hull was builders was tasked with attempting to learn
Burt Rutan designed this ultra-
too big and heavy. Around 100mm to operate and fly this model, he discovered
light aircraft for Chapman
was quickly taken out of the width by it was not intuitive and required great skill
two longitudinal cuts either side of to compensate for the gyroscopic effects. It
the centreline, and it was shortened was very stable, but pitching it nose down to
by around 600mm, all cut off the rear. make it move forward caused it to roll. Flights
The two halves were laminated back around Ketteringham Hall almost always
into a narrow hull and a new transom ended up in the trees or wires.
laminated in place, all ready for the
following week’s races. Manned flight
The might of Lotus turned up at Meanwhile, Chapman wanted a man-sized
Oulton Broad, and the tiny new craft version designed and it became clear that it
was launched. But when Clive stepped would not be Chapman himself who would do
into it it soon became apparent that the test flights, which meant it would be one
the diminished buoyancy was only just keeping him afloat. His father said it of us. We diligently set about analysing its fundamental features, especially its
would be okay once he was on the plane … It was, just, and he was quicker, lifting efficiency and the principles of its control system.
but I don’t think Clive enjoyed himself in the boat that evening and he lost his The reference point was the helicopter. I co-opted David Williams and
enthusiasm for powerboat racing shortly afterwards. Cranfield to build a test rig in which we could mount an electric motor-powered
After the banning of the 88 twin-chassis car, Chapman lost his enthusiasm version and measure the power input and the lift force generated. This quickly
for motor racing, too, and he began to put most of his creative energy into provided the numbers to show that the disc did not increase the lift from the
trying to develop ultra-light aviation, to provide private individuals with the propeller any more than increasing the diameter of the propeller to the same
means to avoid road congestion. He commissioned Burt Rutan to design a as that of the disc, i.e. making it into a helicopter rotor.
canard ultra-light, and I accompanied Chapman to Mojave a number of times. We also soon decided that the collective and cyclic controls of a helicopter
Tony Rudd was tasked with developing the powerplants for these aircraft, and rotor offered fewer issues to the prospective pilot than dealing with the
a flat twin and a flat four were the result. gyroscopics. Whether this would be true today, with the tiny computer-
Then, one day Chapman came into my office and announced that we were controlled stabilisation systems available for model helicopters and drones, is
off to Austria to see a flying saucer. I was in the middle of the active suspension a moot point. Once again Chapman’s vision was correct, but it was also ahead
project, but this was too good to miss, and anyway, I had no choice! The flying of its time. Indeed, vertical take-off drones now look set to become a part of
saucer turned out to be a flying model that Chapman thought might be the whatever personal transport systems society eventually permits.

The Lotus 99 marked a return to active suspension for the team in 1987 and Ayrton Senna won two grands prix with it, but the programme was cancelled at the end of that season
Without the ability to adjust ride heights for aero reasons, designers
have resorted to more complex and expensive mechanical solutions
sensor package, computer, and hydraulic system stunned silence he then recommended that we research project for active suspension, also
were installed. Cranfield’s new computer was should continue with the test, as much to help involving Goodyear. Three years later, General
a hybrid, analogue-digital design: the control us deal with this tragic event as anything else. Motors bought Group Lotus.
loops were analogue and a digital IC controlled The Lotus 92 ran, no doubt with various In 1987 Lotus resurrected active suspension
the gains. An Epson laptop with integral printer issues, but frankly I don’t remember much about for the Lotus 99, the Honda-powered car that
could be connected to check sensors, and to set the rest of that day. In the following weeks, as Ayrton Senna drove to victory at the Monaco
up all the system parameters, some 30 in all. A Warr took over the reins of Team Lotus, the Grand Prix and at Detroit. Warr then cancelled
new, portable hydraulic power pack was made decision to race the 92 was made. The main the programme again for the following year,
for set-up and development and it was hoped it efforts were directed towards getting the 93T and it did not re-appear until 1993. At the end of
would go racing. The Lotus 92 was scheduled to ready and learning about the Pirelli tyres Lotus that year, it was finally banned by the FIA.
be first run at Snetterton on December 16 1982. had contracted to use that year. Since then, without the ability to adjust
Dave Scott, a Team Lotus young driver and I took ride heights for aerodynamic reasons, the
the active Turbo Esprit to the circuit for him to GM crops up Formula 1 designers have resorted to more
acclimatise himself with the system. The Lotus 92 raced at just a couple of grands and more complex and expensive mechanical
We did a few laps in the Esprit, myself in the prix with active suspension before Warr solutions, to avoid using what would now be
passenger seat explaining the characteristics cancelled the programme. Unknown to us at the simple computer control.
and demonstrating how they could be changed time, General Motors had sent a delegation of Colin Chapman’s vision, based on his
while moving. Whether it was this or not, Dave GM Research engineers to Rio, to observe how instincts rather than hard facts, had been
lost the rear in Coram, and the car left the track on earth some small car company called Lotus proved right. Computers were going to change
and hit the barrier head-on. Result: two shaken had come up with a running/racing, full active engineering, from the design, development,
but uninjured occupants and a bent Esprit. suspension car when they hadn’t. and manufacturing processes to controlling
Tony Rudd, Group Lotus engineering all of the key functions of a car.
Body blow director rescued me from Team Lotus and They will also one day take over the driver
Mid-morning, before the 92 was ready to run, set me up in Lotus Engineering to take the function as well, and he would have been
Peter Warr, Lotus’team manager, arrived and active project forward. General Motors fascinated by that, although would have had
called everyone together. He then announced approached us and I went out to GM Research in strong views. But, above all else, he would
that Colin Chapman had died suddenly, Warren, Michigan. The head of GM Research have encouraged his engineers at Lotus to
following a heart attack during the night. To a was Bob Eaton, and he eventually signed a work flat-out on such a project.

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TECHNOLOGY – THE CONSULTANT
Suspension of disbelief
Might it be possible to move the wishbones on Formula 1 cars very
close together and what would be the implications of such a move?
By MARK ORTIZ
I share many of your thoughts

on the front suspension of
current F1 cars [see October’s
edition, V29N10]. As a machine
designer I’m concerned about the ball joint
loads, but I agree that it just takes stronger
components and more weight.
But what about even higher loads if
we move the control arms [wishbones]
even closer together? I’ve not thought this
through, but it seems that there might be
a camber gain benefit if the control arms
were even closer. That is, the camber gain
could be enormous if the control arms were
only one inch (25mm) apart and only a little
different in length. Maybe we would take
material strengths to the limit with this?
THE CONSULTANT
This question illustrates why it is
XPB
useful to speak in terms of
camber velocity and camber The wishbones on current Formula 1 cars are already quite close together, but could they be positioned a mere 25mm apart?
acceleration. I have mentioned
For any design of upright, the camber velocity

this terminology in past issues. It’s sort of my
own invention, in that it’s not in the SAE or ISO
chassis engineering lexicons, but really it’s not
much of an invention. I’m just applying to depends entirely on front view swing arm length
suspension what’s traditionally done in cam
design: expressing the rate of change of one gain) as a function of vertical contact patch small control arm length differences produce
displacement in a mechanical system with displacement with respect to the sprung mass, relatively big camber accelerations.
respect to another displacement in the system, and we can then consider the rate of change It will still be true that if we want serious
rather than with respect to time. of that (camber acceleration). camber recovery in roll, without excessive
In cam design, we commonly express jacking coefficients, the lower arms will need
velocity in inches or millimetres per crank In arm’s way to slope downward pretty steeply toward the
degree, and acceleration in inches or For any design of upright, camber velocity tub. When that’s the case, any shortening or
millimetres per crank degree squared. Of depends entirely on front view swing arm lengthening of the FVSA also raises or lowers
course, it’s inches or millimetres per second (FVSA) length. Camber acceleration then the front view instant centre (FVIC).
squared that determine the forces in the depends on the rate of change of that. And So it would be possible to get large camber
valve train. We can find the accelerations with that, in turn, depends on the lengths and the velocities and accelerations very easily, but
respect to time at a known crank RPM from length ratio of the front view projected control other problems would come with that.
the acceleration with respect to crank rotation. arms. I have said this much in previous issues.
We just multiply the length units per degree But the questioner here is pondering what CONTACT
squared by ((360 degrees per revolution * crank will happen when, for whatever reason, we Mark Ortiz Automotive is a chassis
revolutions per second) squared). That’s the have the lower arm really high and also the consultancy service primarily serving oval
value we need to calculate forces at the valve, upper arm really close to it. What does that do track and road racers. Here Mark answers
but acceleration in length units per degree to the influence of the control arm length ratio your chassis set-up and handling queries.
squared is useful as a measure of the properties on the camber properties? If you have a question for him, please don’t
that the cam itself possesses, irrespective of The instantaneous camber velocity still hesitate to get in touch:
RPM. To get velocity in length units per second, depends on the FVSA length, but this becomes E: markortizauto@windstream.net
we multiply length units per degree by the very sensitive to small changes in the control T: +1 704-933-8876
first power of (360 degrees per revolution * arm angles. When two lines are close to A: Mark Ortiz
crank revolutions per second). parallel, and close to each other, small changes 155 Wankel Drive, Kannapolis
Similarly, with a suspension system, we can in their angles produce a big migration of NC 28083-8200, USA
express camber velocity (or rate of change, or their intersection point. This also means that

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TECHNOLOGY – SLIP ANGLE
The coast is clear

Why analysing the data when a race driver is neither on the throttle
nor the brakes is an excellent way of honing outright performance
By CLAUDE ROUELLE
I
n the last few articles we have
covered how to analyse the
aspects of the braking part of
a corner by looking at braking
aggression, brake application point,
and braking stability.
However, braking is only one
small fraction of what can be
analysed in a corner. Corner apex
and exit speed can prove to be just
as important, as it will define how
much quicker a driver is through the
corner and along the next straight.
To determine how well a driver
NASCAR
can accelerate out of a corner we
can analyse how much time they
are spending with no throttle or NASCAR Truck in action at Pocono Raceway. Evaluating how long a driver coasts throughout a lap is a useful performance indicator
braking input through a given turn.
The time, or the percentage of the For this analysis we will compare
lap time spent neither on brake or on two NASCAR Truck drivers on
throttle, known as coast factor, can their qualifying lap at the Pocono
in turn be used to determine how Raceway tri-oval. Given that the
well a driver is performing relative two drivers were driving for peak
to their competitors, and thus how a performance, the variation in coast
different driving style can be used to factor can be correlated to the lap
help them beat the competition. time each driver achieved. This can
For most corners, one of the in turn provide feedback to the
fastest ways to take them is to driver on how to approach the track.
minimise the time with no throttle The coast factor can also be used
or brake input. Table 1 shows the in combination with other KPIs to
equations that can be used in MoTeC help provide information that can be
i2 Pro to calculate coast factor. The utilised to determine set-up changes
coast factor can be calculated as to make to a vehicle to minimise the
a Boolean function, meaning that coast factor magnitude. Figure 1: Coast factors for two NASCAR Truck drivers on their qualifying laps at Pocono
when there is only a residual braking We will start by looking at the
or throttle signal, the function will coast factor on a map to gauge were coasting, while the plot is loop) was coasting a significantly
return a value of 1. The residual value where and how much the driver green when they were not. In the larger amount in the first and third
of coasting should be determined is coasting. Each loop shown is a example shown in Figure 1, we can corners when compared to the red
when calibrating the throttle different driver’s best lap. Red on see that the black driver (denoted driver. However, without additional
position sensor and the brake the plot denotes where the drivers by the red surfaces on the inner knowledge of the driving style and
pressure sensor. We will integrate
the time that the car is in the state Table 1: Motec i2 coast factor math channels
of no inputs for each corner of the
Name Equation
course to generate the coast KPI (key
performance indicator) in a corner. Coast factor choose(‘Throttle’ [%]<0.5 and ‘Brake’ [%]<0.5, 1, 0)
We can additionally track the total Coast factor corner KPI integrate(‘Coast Factor’,’Corr Speed’ [km/h]>0,range_change(“Outings:Laps:Track
time coasting each lap by adding Sections:Default:Straights”))
the corner times together. Coast factor lap KPI integrate(‘Coast Factor’,’Corr Speed’ [km/h]>0,range_change(“Outings:Laps”))
For most corners, one of the fastest ways for a driver to take
them is to minimise the time with no throttle or brake input
without lap time comparison, we

cannot yet come to a conclusion It is also
important
over which driver was slower.
To make a more informed
conclusion, we can look at the
minimum speed of the drivers using to consider
a second track plot. The minimum
speed is defined as the lowest speed the outside
that the vehicle reaches during a
corner. This can have a significant
effect on which driver is quicker,
context when
especially on a track with a high
concentration of straights, which is
predicting
the case at Pocono Raceway.
In Figure 2 a higher
the driver
concentration of red denotes
a higher speed while a higher Figure 2: Track map showing the speed of the black and red drivers on their best lap
performance
concentration of blue correlates to
a lower speed. The inner loop with
the black dot refers to the black
driver, while the outer loop with
the red dot refers to the red driver.
In this plot, we can see that the
black driver reduced speed much
more significantly than the red
driver in turn three, which in turn
led to a lower end speed on the
longest straight of the track. This gap
becomes clearer in a speed trace
and lap time variance comparison,
which is shown in Figure 3.
When the variance increases
it means that the red driver is
increasing the gap to the black
driver, and a negative slope means
that the black driver is gaining on Figure 3: Speed traces of our drivers, also showing the difference. Note the speed that the red driver carries on to the main straight
the red driver. Looking at the speed
trace, we see that the biggest gains manner, which allows for a driver to
made by the red driver came as a reach low fuel consumption goals.
result of a better performance in the By lifting and coasting the driver can
third turn, as seen on the speed map. save fuel allowing for a longer stint,
This can be seen in the combination which could make a difference to
of the gap at the start of the lap the number of pit stops required.
from 0m to 600m and at the end While there will still be circumstances
of the lap from 3600m to 4000m. in the driver performance that
This shows that while coasting could inherently induce a greater
through Turn 1 did not make a amount of coasting through a
significant difference between the session, by lifting entirely the driver
two drivers, in the third turn coasting will be saving fuel, which can have a
made a significant difference in direct effect on how far that driver is
driver performance. Based on the Figure 4: This shows the lap times relative to the time each driver spends coasting able to run into a stint.
comparison of the two data traces To visualise how the drivers
of the laps, the driver with the black strong understanding of the time same coast factor. This is occurring as compared during the final fuel run
trace now has the knowledge to help delta between the two drivers as we are not considering other aspects of a race, we will compare the coast
gain ground during the race and be the race progresses. Figure 4 shows of the course such as traffic, tyre factor KPI during the complete lap
more competitive. Alternatively, the the lap time of the two drivers wear, or driver error. While the coast to the level of fuel being saved. We
black driver’s team can also use the relative to the amount of time that factor can provide an indication can approximate the fuel saving by
information learned from the session each driver spent coasting. of the level of performance of the measuring the time in which the fuel
to modify the set-up of the vehicle to In this plot, we can see that there driver during the race, it is important flow of the vehicle is at its minimum.
better suit the driver’s style. is a very gradual black driver lap time to consider the outside context Note that in some racing series fuel
The analysis of performance can increase as the result of a higher when predicting driver performance. flow sensors are forbidden during
be extended to the full session as amount of coasting. However, we In addition to its use as a single race weekends, but not necessarily
well. By looking at the percentage can also see that there is a range of lap analysis tool, coasting can also during private practices. In contrast,
of time that each driver was as much as two seconds between be an effective technique for driving some racing series require a car
spending coasting we can have a the fastest and slowest laps at the fast but doing so in an efficient to have a fuel flow sensor so as to

be able to hold the racecars to a

Table 2: MoTeC i2 fuel flow math channels
maximum energy consumption.
Therefore, it is important to Name Equation
check the regulations and have Fuel flow derivative(‘Fuel Level’ [l])
predictions ready depending on the Fuel saving choose(‘Fuel Flow’>-0.01,1,0)
circumstances of the event. Fuel saving KPI integrate(‘Fuel Saving’,1,range_change(“Outings:Laps”))
To begin with, we will look at
the amount of fuel that the two Figure 7 shows the lap time that
drivers were using per lap during would be required for the driver
the event. When considering the to save a given amount of fuel. In
fuel consumption, it is important to this case, we see that the driver
watch how the fuel consumption could save about 0.05-litre for every
of two drivers could impact their second slower they drive. This can in
final gap at the end of a race. If a turn be used by a race strategist to
driver can make one fewer pit stop, plan when a driver starts to save fuel
then they will have a significant or whether the gains from coasting
advantage over their competitor, are actually worth it. This will vary
which could be the difference for different conditions and for
between winning or losing a race. different courses, but it can be a
In Figure 5 we can see the strong asset to gauge when to pit
amount of fuel that was consumed and how aggressive a race driver
by the black driver was regularly Figure 5: The fuel consumption for each lap. The black driver is usually using less fuel can drive during a given fuel run.
lower than the amount of fuel that All of this can be learned from how
was consumed by the red driver much the driver is coasting.
during the 37-lap stint. This will In conclusion, coasting is a
mean that the red driver, despite the non-trivial technique that can be a
greater pace that can be seen in their balance between high performance
fastest laps in Figure 4, will have to and efficient driving. It can be a
pit earlier than the black driver. In tool used by the race engineer to
the case that this was intended to describe the intermediate area of
be the final stint, this would mean a corner and show the causation
that the red driver would be pulled of a higher corner exit speed. On
out of contention due to over- the driver’s side, it can be used as a
consumption. Therefore, it can be strategy tool to gain an advantage
imperative to track the fuel saving on a competitor either in the pits or
measures like coast factor to make in overtaking. By having the driver
sure that the driver is doing all that practice coasting, the race strategist
they can to maintain pace without can then predict time targets that
sacrificing lap time excessively. Figure 6: The correlation of coast factor to the fuel savings for each lap during a stint the driver should be hitting in order
To determine the correlation to conserve fuel during an event.
between the coast factor and the When looking at the coast factor, the
amount of fuel saved, we will plot complexities of a vehicle become
the amount of time with minimal ever apparent, and the gains from
fuel flow, the fuel savings on the even the smallest of areas can
y-axis and the coast factor on the become ever more present.
x-axis, to determine the correlation
the two variables have to each other. Slip Angle is a summary
The goal with this plot is to track of Claude Rouelle’s
how much fuel is being saved just by OptimumG seminars.
coasting during the lap versus the OptimumG offers a complete
amount being saved when off the solution for testing, simulating,
throttle during braking. and improving the dynamic
Figure 6 plots the black and red performance of your vehicle.
drivers coast factors and fuel savings All consulting services can be
for each lap in a stint. Note that Figure 7: Comparison of lap time vs fuel used. This is very useful for devising strategies sub-contracted or we can simply
there is a strong correlation between guide your race team through
the amount of time that is spent the worst-case fuel economy for a be especially useful when working our methodology.
coasting and the amount of fuel lap, which can in turn be used for on a racecar without telemetry as it CONTACT
saved, with the black driver saving determining fuel cell sizing for a can allow a race strategist to predict Claude Rouelle
more than the red. We can also see weekend (if this is allowed). the lap time required in order to Phone: + 1 303 752 1562
that there is about six seconds of The last element of fuel saving achieve a given stint length. While Enquiries: engineering@
constant fuel savings as a result of that can be tracked using coast there will be noise in the data, this optimumg.com
just braking during a corner. This factor is the lap time the driver was can still be the best estimate and will Website: www.optimumg.com
can be correlated back to the fuel able to perform versus the amount allow a strategist to advise the lap
flow and can be used to determine of fuel that was consumed. This can time goals for a driver to hit.

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TECHNOLOGY – AEROBYTES
Blast from the past

Our Reynard SF79 FF2000 aero study continues with wing and splitter
tweaks plus some very interesting transplants from another racecar
By SIMON MCBEATH
T
he Reynard SF79 was one of the best
FF2000 cars ever made and Paul Allen,
the owner of our test example, has
been making regular podium visits in historic
races with his. We saw in the previous issue
that the car arrived at the MIRA full-scale
wind tunnel with a fairly well-balanced aero
set-up, supporting the owner’s seat-of-the-
pants assessment. Having crunched some of
the numbers from our session we speculated
Illustrations: Simon McBeath

that drag might actually be a more important
performance parameter than downforce, and
this tallied with Allen’s desire to improve end-
of-straight speed with drag reduction. A wide
range of adjustments was made to gain a better
understanding of the aero. For reference the
baseline data are shown in Table 1. This Reynard SF79 currently competes in Historic Formula Ford 2000; nose modifications were among this month’s tests
Flap changes (-L/D) was slightly worse. It would seem that

Additional rear wing flap angles above and the loss of wing chord, and hence area, by
below the mid-range baseline setting were increasing the element overlap dominated over
evaluated, as was a set of three similar flap the slot gap shape in this case. Was this just an
angles with a slightly more forwards flap exception to the rule or another reminder about
location suggested by your writer to offer the dangers of over-generalising?
improved slot gap geometry and hoped
for performance improvements. The results Splitter length
are shown in Figure 1. Clearly most of the Adjustment of splitter length was available
responses were essentially linear over this flap in 25mm increments, so alternative positions
angle range, so interpolating with confidence 25mm longer and shorter than the baseline
we can say that an improved balance of around The wing flap angle and overlap gave us some food for thought length were tested, with the results in Table 2
37 per cent front would have been achieved
with 12 degrees flap angle instead of the Table 1: Aerodynamic coefficients on the Reynard SF79 in baseline configuration
baseline’s 14 degrees, with a corresponding
CD -CL -CLfront -CLrear %front -L/D
drag reduction of about 1.5 per cent.
Following experience of optimising Baseline 0.509 0.407 0.140 0.268 34.3% 0.800
wing slot gaps on his own and others’wing
designs, in the first surprise of the session Figure 1: Flap position with original splitter length
your writer was disappointed by the lack of
benefit in this instance of providing a little bit
more overlap between the flap and the main
element, there being little element overlap in
baseline configuration. Indeed, the wing was
less powerful with the flap in its more forward
location, and although drag was slightly lower
in this guise, overall aerodynamic efficiency
The wing was less

powerful with the
flap in its more
forward location
TECHNOLOGY – AEROBYTES
as ‘delta values’, that is, changes relative to the

previous configuration. As with most types of
splitter, front downforce changed with little or
no change in drag. The response wasn’t quite
linear, with front downforce and %front gains
slightly levelling off at the longest length.
These splitter trials were done with
the lowest flap angle from the previous
configuration, and yielded balance values
between 46 per cent and 56 per cent front.
So a flap angle reduction was applied to head
towards an equable balance, and by good
fortune the first attempt at eight degrees
flap produced such a condition, the data in
Table 3 in Configuration 11. Drag had now The SF79’s baseline splitter length is on the left; adjusted to 25mm shorter on the right. It was also tested at 25mm longer
been reduced by 3.3 per cent, and although
downforce had reduced by some 15.5 per cent, Table 2: The effects of changing splitter length, as delta values in
as discussed last month the actual difference counts, where one count is a coefficient change of 0.001
that this change makes to the vertical forces
∆CD ∆-CL ∆-CLfront ∆-CLrear ∆%front* ∆-L/D
on the tyres is not huge, and is possibly less
significant than the drag reductions on overall -25mm -1 -15 -26 +11 -5.7% -30
performance, as determined not just by lap +25mm +1 +16 +21 -5 +3.8% +32
time but in the ability to race the car too. * Changes in %front are absolute, not relative.
Alternative body top Table 3: Mid-session balanced set-up, compared to baseline

Team mate Jason Redding’s SF79 featured an CD -CL -CLfront -CLrear %front -L/D
earlier more streamlined engine cover design Baseline 0.509 0.407 0.140 0.268 34.3% 0.800
with faired in mirrors. Table 4 shows that the Configuration 11 0.492 0.344 0.131 0.214 37.9% 0.699
dominant effect was to shift the aero balance
rearwards with a small drag reduction but not Table 4: The effects in counts of an earlier bodywork/engine cover design
overall change in downforce. And whereas this ∆CD ∆-CL ∆-CLfront ∆-CLrear ∆%front* ∆-L/D
type of engine cover might be expected to Earlier body top -2 n/c -13 +12 -3.2% +2
create some rear lift, if it did it was presumably * Changes in %front are absolute, not relative.
compensated for by an increase in rear wing
downforce. The net effect of 12 counts more Table 5: The effects in counts of Gurneys on the nose
rear downforce was a 4.4 per cent increase. The
∆CD ∆-CL ∆-CLfront ∆-CLrear ∆%front* ∆-L/D
corollary of this is that if the wing flap angle
was reduced to get back to the previous %front Horizontal Gurneys -8 +31 +20 +11 +2.8% +74
value, drag would be reduced by around 1.5 per Vertical Gurneys -8 +24 +11 +13 +1.0% +63
cent, so the earlier body top is more efficient. * Changes in %front are absolute, not relative.
Nose tweaks this produced the data in the bottom row of

Two common additions are applied to the type Table 5, another win. Drag reduced by the same
of nose used on the SF79; horizontal Gurneys again, while downforce gains were slightly
are often added to the outboard fairings ahead more modest and more evenly spread front
of the front tyres; and if there’s room within and rear, yielding a smaller %front increase.
regulation maximum width, vertical Gurneys These were surprisingly good results, clearly
are often applied to the outer, rear edges of the achieved through interesting mechanisms,
nose moulding. We geared up to try both, and some obvious, others not so obvious.
were surprised once again by the results.
The quickest way to apply the Gurney tabs CONTACT
in front of the tyres was to fit the identical nose A more streamlined looking body top was fitted to the racecar Simon McBeath offers aerodynamic
from Redding’s car, which had them fitted. advisory services under his own brand of
The splitter was untouched. The effects on the SM Aerotechniques –
data are shown in the top row of Table 5, and www.sm-aerotechniques.co.uk.
In these pages he uses data from MIRA
constitute what might be termed a ‘win-win-
to discuss common aerodynamic issues
win’, with less drag, more front downforce faced by racecar engineers
and more rear downforce. The drag reduction
was worth 1.6 per cent, and the front and
Produced in association with MIRA Ltd
rear downforce gains 20.0 and 3.8 per cent
respectively, hence the forwards balance shift,
which was also useful at this point.
Vertical Gurney tabs were then taped to Tel: +44 (0) 24-7635 5000
the outer rear edges, checked to ensure they Email: enquiries@horiba-mira.com
remained within the permitted max width, and Gurneys attached to the replacement nose proved to be effective Website: www.horiba-mira.com

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TECHNOLOGY – FORMULA 1 EXHAUSTS
Pipe dreams
all the energy from the exhaust to use it in the turbo

Pre-2014 exhaust design was all about using the plume to energise aero devices. Today teams want to extract

Modern Formula 1 exhaust systems are about so much more than simply
expelling gases, but to achieve the complex geometries required for them to
work at their very best the F1 teams need to use a fair bit of compromise and
a great deal of red-hot technology. Racecar investigates
By GEMMA HATTON
T
he primary function of any exhaust the car. There is also a wastegate, which controls
system is to release the exhaust the speed of the turbo and consists of either
gases from the engine out into the one or two wastegate pipes that come off the
atmosphere. However, in modern secondaries and bypass the turbine housing,
Formula 1 they also have a whole host of exiting at the rear of the racecar.
other functions, including optimising engine,
aerodynamic and turbocharger performance. Test tubes
The journey of the exhaust gases begins Despite the concept of an exhaust system
once the fuel and air mixture has combusted appearing relatively simple, there is an entire
during the power stroke of the combustion science behind parameters such as pipe length,
cycle. After this the piston moves back up the diameter and layout which can be manipulated
cylinder completing the exhaust stroke, where to tune the torque and power band of the
the exhaust valve opens and the burnt gases engine. Then there is the packaging, the tighter
are expelled from an area of high pressure in you can get your exhaust system, the tighter
the cylinder to low pressure in the exhaust pipe. you can also make your bodywork, which
At the same time, the inlet valve is also open, is good for aerodynamics. But with exhaust
allowing fresh charge into the cylinder. This gases reaching temperatures of 1000degC
point in the cycle is called ‘valve overlap’. and the pipes less than a millimetre away from
As the exhaust gases move through the surrounding bodywork and other components,
exhaust pipes they create pressure waves and developing insulation and thermal coatings that
when these pressure waves reach a change in can survive this brutal environment has led to
geometry a negative pressure wave is created. some fascinating innovations.
The timing of these negative pressure waves can Overall, an effective exhaust design
actually help to draw the exhaust gases out of is one which strikes the perfect balance
the cylinder more effectively. In turn, this lowers between exploiting engine and turbocharger
the pressure in the cylinder, which then helps to performance within the smallest package
draw more fresh charge through the inlet valve; possible, without damaging the surrounding
helping to increase volumetric efficiency. components. But F1 exhaust designers have
even more factors to consider.
Hi-tech plumbing ‘When you are laying out the car the [first
Once the gases leave the combustion chamber, requirement is the] compressor output position
they travel into a set of primaries, or headers, [which] is defined by the power unit so there
which are usually of equal length, to ensure is a discussion there on engine architecture,’
that no cylinder is overworking. There is one says Jody Egginton, technical director at Toro
primary for each cylinder which is connected via Rosso. ‘Then there is the S-bend which goes
a specialised flange to suit the specific geometry from the compressor to the tailpipe and you
of the cylinder head. The three primaries coming need to make sure that you’ve got a geometry
from each bank of the engine then join together that optimises performance so there’s a chunk
in a three-to-one primary collector. After of CFD work involved there. The geometry is
which, two secondary pipes then go into the never perfect, because the perfect geometry is
turbo. Depending on the engine manufacturer, straight, which is impossible. Then you need to
the primaries, collector and secondaries can consider the tailpipe diameter which needs to
either be all one-piece and integrated into the be within the legality box as well as how that
turbocharger, or separate pieces. [flow] interacts with the rear wing pylon. Again
A tailpipe from the turbocharger then carries you want a nice clear path but the aero guys
the exhaust gases from the turbo out the rear of want minimum blockage through the engine
An effective exhaust design is one which

strikes the perfect balance between
exploiting engine and turbo performance
within the smallest package possible
cover so you don’t want to have to move the

flow around wishbones because aero is king, so
you’re trying to find the best tailpipe position
and how to best orientate the wastegates.
‘It’s a mixture of suspension design,
packaging and power unit performance but
the overall view is aero and the best overall
package,’ Egginton adds. ‘If you had a straight
tailpipe which is good from a power unit
performance perspective, but you have a
ridiculous hole in the back of the engine cover
and the flow around the rear wing pylons is
horrible with flow separation, then you wouldn’t
do that. It’s all about the global car performance.’
The short answer

The ideal design for an exhaust system is to
have the straightest and shortest pipe possible
from the engine to the rear of the car. Straighter
pipes minimise flow losses, as the flow does not
need to be turned around bends or complex
geometries. Shorter pipes can also help to Honda RA618H. The primaries route into a three-to-one collector; the system then goes around the back and into the turbo
scavenge the gases out of the cylinder more
effectively and as engine RPMs have increased,
Formula 1 teams have continued to shorten
The ideal design for an exhaust system is to
their exhaust pipes. This is because the faster
the engine, the shorter the time between the
have the straightest and shortest pipe possible
opening of the valves and so the quicker you
want the pressure waves to get back from the
from the engine to the rear of the racecar
end of the exhaust to the cylinder to draw
out the exhaust gases. However, to achieve packaged into the rear of the sidepods. electrical motor to reduce turbo lag, can reduce
maximum torque at low RPM, and with modern Consequently, the exits stuck out of the the overall power losses in the engine because
power units now incorporating turbochargers, bodywork on either side of the engine cover, the turbo effectively acts as a pump, helping to
longer pipes are required. The key, as ever in rearwards of the driver, but before the rear tyres. draw out the exhaust gases from the cylinder.
Formula 1, is finding the best compromise. For naturally aspirated engines it is more critical
Back in the early 2000s during the V8 and for the primary pipes to be of equal length Exhaust blowing
even the V10 era, the exhaust system was because as the piston pumps out the exhaust The next major development in F1 exhaust
completely different to what is raced today. gases during the exhaust stroke, effectively the systems came in 2010 with the famous exhaust
Not only were the exhausts much shorter, as other cylinders have to use some of their power blowing tactics, initially seen on the Red Bull
they did not need to route to a turbocharger, to help drive this piston. But a turbocharged Racing RB6. This was in response to the FIA
but they were more compact and therefore engine, particularly one which is assisted by an banning the exhaust exits out of the top of
the sidepods to prevent teams from using
the exhaust flows to energise the rear wing.
To comply with the regulations, whilst still
exploiting the exhaust flows for aerodynamic
benefit, Red Bull routed its exhaust to point
directly at the diffuser. This effectively injected
the high speed gas from the exhaust into the
During the NA V8 era exhaust systems were shorter, more compact and packaged into the rear of the sidepods. The Renault R26 from 2006 and its powerplant are shown above

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‘In the early turbocharger days some of the Formula 1 teams

opted for log manifolds and a much more compact package’
flow of the diffuser; re-energising the boundary
layer and reducing separation. However, this
effect varies with engine RPM and throttle
opening, with maximum gain at full throttle.
Some drivers became adept at left foot braking
while still on the throttle, so the flow of the
exhaust gas to the diffuser was uninterrupted;
exploiting exhaust blowing even during
braking and cornering. Engine maps were also
manipulated to produce some exhaust flow
during off-throttle conditions.
Coanda effect
In 2012 the FIA tried to prohibit the benefits
of exhaust blowing by mandating that the
exhaust tailpipe could no longer be positioned
along the racecar’s floor. In response, the
F1 teams developed Coanda exhausts
which exploited the Coanda effect. This is a Exhaust blowing was where the gases were directed towards the diffuser for aero gain, as seen here on the Red Bull RB6
thermodynamic principle where a jet of fluid
essentially attaches itself to a nearby surface
and remains attached even if that surface curves
away from the original direction of the fluid
jet. Teams used this effect to direct the exhaust
plume towards the diffuser, even though the
exhaust outlet did not point at the diffuser, and
was located at the rear of the sidepod.
The exhaust blowing era ended in 2014,
however, with the introduction of twin stage
turbochargers and hybrid powertrains. To
maximise packaging, teams positioned the
compressor at the front of the engine block and
the turbo at the rear. This meant that not only
did the exhaust have to reach around the rear
of the engine, but also the regulations specified
the exit had to be further rearwards so that the
diffusers could no longer be blown. Initially,
some manufacturers opted for a compact
manifold and short primaries, with a longer
secondary pipe going from the collector to the
turbo. However, others went for long primary On the 2011 Lotus R31 the exhaust outlet was located ahead of the sidepod; it was also thought to be blowing the floor
pipes which consequently not only decreased
the size of the sidepods, but also meant that the tailpipe as a consequence of the regulations, rear wing, or monkey seat, positioned rearwards
coke bottle shape of the rear of the car could be which were changed for 2016. Initially, to of the exhaust tailpipe, which helped to direct
emphasised; improving aerodynamics. stop teams from manipulating the exhaust the exhaust flow to the underside of the rear
‘In the early turbocharger days some teams gases from the wastegate for aero gains, the wing. This had two main benefits. Firstly, by
opted for log manifolds and a much more regulations specified that the wastegate gases increasing the speed of the flow in this region
compact package,’ says Nick Henry, engineering had to be routed into the tailpipe. However, the pressure decreases leading to a larger
director at SST Technology, which manufactures this caused a silencing effect, which is why the pressure differential between the upper (high
exhausts for Formula 1. ‘In recent years, teams regulations changed to allow a ‘single turbine pressure) and lower (low pressure) surfaces of
have moved towards more conventional tailpipe exit and either one or two wastegate the racecar’s rear wing; improving downforce.
equal length primaries, but still achieve tight tailpipe exits’ with the former carrying only Secondly, the high energy flow is less likely to
packaging due to the capabilities of modern the turbine exit exhaust gases and the latter separate so blowing it underneath the rear
manufacturing methods.’ carrying only the wastegate exhaust gases. wing allowed teams to run a more cambered
The impressive engineering and improved wing that would otherwise stall.
efficiencies of these new hybrid powertrains Monkey seats ‘A few years ago we had various winglets
were overshadowed by complaints about how Despite the regulations continuing to get ever appearing adjacent to the exhaust outlet but
the V6s sounded compared to the previous V8s. more restrictive, teams still utilised the energy with the FIA restrictions on flow rates and
Some analysis conducted by the FIA found that of the exhaust flows for aerodynamic gain. In throttle positions this has largely declined,’ says
this was partly down to the acoustics within the some cases this took the form of a miniature Rob Taylor, chief designer at Haas F1 Team. ‘So

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‘If there’s a way that we can make the tailpipe and wastegate flows
useful then we do it, but the amount of usefulness is reducing’
on this year’s car there is very little benefit in
it because the FIA have closed every corner of
development. In the past it was about making
more of a cascade between the diffuser, the
intermediate wing and the main wing to make
them all act together. The more you can do
that, the more tolerant the wings are to onset
flow, detachment and therefore stalling. If you
look at the size of that little wing and the stalks
they’re on they’re not producing a great deal
of downforce in themselves, but they had a
beneficial effect on the bigger elements because
it meant you could put more camber into the
wing above it as it wouldn’t detach as early.’
Piping up
Last year the regulations changed the position
of the exhaust tailpipe, as well as the monkey
seat, to prevent teams from utilising this device.
To get around this some teams pointed the Using monkey seats and tailpipe position to direct the exhaust flow allowed teams to run with a more cambered rear wing
exhaust tailpipe towards the rear wing by the
maximum allowable angle of five degrees make the tailpipe and wastegate flows useful thermally because you have got a structural
as specified by the regulations. This can be then we do it, but the amount of usefulness is component holding a wing on that is being
seen on the Renault RS18 from 2018, where a reducing compared to years ago and everyone subjected to exhaust gas temperature,’ Egginton
thermal barrier coating was also applied to the has probably found all the big gains now. says.‘That’s a pretty extreme packaging
underside of the rear wing to protect the carbon ‘The exhaust primaries and secondaries solution, but at the time there was a benefit.’
fibre from the heat of the exhaust plume. are Honda driven and our input there is on
The regulations are now so restrictive and packaging,’ Egginton adds.‘Together with Red Perfect package
packaging is so constraining that teams only Bull we’re pushing [Honda] very hard to achieve Packaging is without doubt the most difficult
have a small window of freedom where they our aero surfaces and they normally do it. It’s element of modern Formula 1 exhaust design.
can modify the position of the tailpipe and an iterative process and we’re trying to get ‘Our part of the problem is packaging the set of
wastegate exits.‘The exhaust development itself everything as tight as we can. We wouldn’t primaries and the entry to the turbine on the
is fully under the control of Honda, apart from confess to being exhaust experts, but we think side of the engine and adjacent to the front of
the tailpipe which in the case for most teams is we’re experts on knowing how tight everything the gearbox. Then trying to get the exit air
a development item,’ says Egginton.‘At the end needs to be packaged.’ from the radiators upstream,’ says Taylor.‘We
of the day a tailpipe in a racecar sticks out the This push for packaging resulted in the have lots of radiators and we are constantly
back, so it is a wetted surface and subject to aero Toro Rosso team pioneering a neat solution trying to find creative spaces to put them.
flows so we are constantly trying to optimise it where the rear wing pylon actually went Sometimes you wonder“why am I putting
and minimise any deficit we get from its effect through the tailpipe, whereas now the pylon something that is meant to be cooling adjacent
on the flow coming out of the back of the car or goes round the outside of the tailpipe like to something that is really hot?”Because that’s
off the rear tyre jet. If there’s a way that we can a tuning fork.‘That was quite challenging the only space you’ve got. One of our central
coolers is adjacent to the tailpipe. Why would
you do that? Because you have to.’
These intricate packaging solutions
have only been made possible thanks to
the capabilities of modern manufacturing
processes. One of these is hydroforming,
where pressurised water is used to effectively
expand metal tubes into complex shapes. This
minimises the need for welding as fewer joints
are required, and the finished parts are more
lightweight and far more accurate than those
made with conventional methods of fabrication.
‘SST have developed a rapid prototyping
version of hydroforming termed HydroLite,
allowing the use of the hydroforming process
within the tight lead times required of our
customers,’ Henry says.‘We use a relatively rough
preform and then achieve the final accuracy
Coanda exhausts, seen here on the Red Bull RB8, were a response to the banning of blown systems in 2012 by dropping it in a tool and hydroforming

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it to the final shape. This means we can

integrate additional features like tapers in the
primaries that are very complex to fabricate
conventionally. This process allows us to achieve
profile accuracies to within half a millimetre
across the whole length of the pipe.’
Printing pipes
Additive manufacturing is another tool that
has contributed to the impressive packaging
of modern F1 cars because it has allowed for
the integration of complex geometries that
otherwise could not have been manufactured.
One example of this is the cylinder head flanges
which are now bespoke to each cylinder. This
allows the primaries to come off the engine
immediately in different directions (allowing Packaging is the most critical element of exhaust design because it can result in tighter bodywork and therefore aero gains
tighter packaging) and it also allows the
geometry of the inner tube to transform from a exiting the turbine, with the remainder of the exits the exhaust port, you want to get to the
rectangle off the cylinder head, to a circle and tailpipe titanium. This, however, requires a joint, turbine which is why the engineering behind
then to an oval to manoeuvre the flow of the so we’re currently developing some additive the management of the exhaust flow is so
exhaust gases around bends to minimise losses. manufactured transition technology. This would incredible. Once that flow is in the turbine
‘The collectors are now also additive allow us to start with an Inconel part and, by you want to extract all the energy out of it
manufactured, which means that the graduating in the titanium powder, we could so that the flow can just about make it to the
geometries are rather extreme,’ says Taylor. effectively switch to titanium. So we could tailpipe and then fall out of the end, completely
‘Sadly, you can’t see some of them under the directly print one part that is made from two silently – that would be ideal.’
heat shielding, which is disappointing as a materials, and avoid any welding, so that’s some
stripped-down exhaust is a work of art.’ R&D that we’re working on at the moment.’ Cooler tubes
The use of additive manufactured parts Developments in insulation and thermal The use of a turbocharger means that the
also helps to save weight, not just because of barrier coatings have also contributed to temperatures exiting the exhaust tailpipe
the complex geometries that can be created, modern Formula 1 packaging solutions because are now much lower than with the previous
but also because of the types of material that they have allowed components to be located naturally aspirated engines. Therefore, there is
can be printed.‘The teams would use titanium closer together. However, the role of the less radiant heat coming from the tailpipe itself
for the entire exhaust system if they could, insulation is not to dissipate the heat from the and its position also means that there is nothing
just for the weight saving,’ says Henry.‘But the exhaust, but actually retain it. structural in the way of the exhaust plume.
temperatures are too high in the primaries so ‘Up until the turbine, you’re trying to keep ‘The problem used to be that you had
that’s where Inconel or other nickel based alloys all the energy in the exhaust flow so that you suspension load components in harm’s way of
are used. Inconels are also used to deal with can extract the maximum performance out the exhaust system, whereas now you don’t,’
the exhaust gas temperatures immediately of the turbine,’ Taylor says.‘So everything that says Taylor.‘The worst thing we are getting
now is some scorching of the heat shield on
the rear impact structure, which of course
we want to minimise. You always get a few
surprises, but these are usually due to heat soak.
Years ago, particularly with the V10 engines,
managing the heat of the exhaust and making
sure you could complete a long pit stop at high
revs without setting the bodywork on fire was
very scary for the engineers.’
Despite these‘lower’temperatures we are
still talking about exhaust gases at 1000degC
and radiant heat of several hundred. Therefore,
insulation is a major consideration when
designing a Formula 1 exhaust system.
‘Depending on the packaging sometimes
the pipes will be individually wrapped in lagging
prior to final assembly into a manifold, or in
other cases there will be insulation material that
is like a large clam shell that encases the entire
manifold,’ Henry says.‘It depends on factors such
The 2017 Toro Rosso, the STR12, featured a rear wing pylon that actually went through the exhaust tailpipe as the clearance between the primaries and
Additive manufacturing has allowed for the integration of complex

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There are different approaches to the tailpipe in Formula 1. Ferrari top left, Mercedes top right, Renault (McLaren) bottom left and Honda (Toro Rosso) bottom right
‘The key part of your powertrain efficiency is down to insulating

the exhaust effectively and ensuring it is thermally efficient’
the access to the nuts of the cylinder head. But 0.3mm thick which gives teams the flexibility only reaches a temperature of 100degC.
right at the early stage of development we are to utilise conventional lagging where they ‘Whether it’s a component or a business card,
considering the insulation design together with have space and then use coatings in the more if it can withstand 100degC then we can apply
the base manifold to achieve the best solution.’ difficult areas, such as on the primaries.’ a coating to it,’ Barette says.
Interestingly, the capabilities of additive Insulation is now the most important
manufacturing could allow the integration of Layered up development item as far as F1 exhausts are
the insulation within the exhaust design, so in Despite these coatings being only as thick concerned. ‘The key part of your powertrain
the future, theoretically, both could be printed as two strands of hair, fascinatingly, they still efficiency is down to insulating the exhaust
at the same time – although the build volumes consist of two or three layers. ‘The first is a effectively and ensuring it is thermally efficient,’
of existing 3D printers is currently a restriction. metallic bond layer that is a sticky and dense says Egginton. ‘As the regulations have
These thermal barrier coatings, lagging and metallic which we apply to the material converged there has been less scope to do
insulation can be combined and tuned to suit to ensure adhesion of the ceramic to the clever things with tailpipes and wastegates, so
the specific requirements of each area of the base layer,’ says Barette. ‘We then apply a everyone is now focussing on the importance
exhaust. The lagging and shroud is made from 150-250micron layer of ceramic, depending on of insulation. We’re also smarter at managing
varying grades of glass fibre or ceramic type the specific application. Both are applied by the challenges now, we are probably finding
fibres, whereas the coatings are ceramic and a plasma torch using an engineered powder better solutions and modelling techniques are
their wide temperature range allows them to which has a set particle size. This powder is allowing teams to get a better understanding
be applied to the exhaust primaries as well as heated up to 14,000degC so that it is soft, before the car is even switched on. It’s the usual
carbon fibre bodywork. but not molten, and then it is fired through a thing in F1; you’re faced with a challenge and as
‘Our proprietary coatings effectively reduce plasma torch at twice the speed of sound. As the quickly as you can you find a solution, and then
the transfer of heat by using millions of ceramic particles hit the substrate material, they spread you just keep evolving that technology.’
particles to build up layers, which then elongate out and set. The layers are built up slowly with However, despite this increasing capability
the heat path,’ says Graeme Barette, sales multiple passes of the plasma torch and the to deal with temperature, the drive for better
director at Zircotec, which supplies coatings and thermal barrier coating is created.’ efficiency and performance will continue to
insulation to Formula 1 teams. ‘Ceramic is a very You might be concerned about subjecting downsize engines and boost temperatures.
poor conductor so it takes a long time for the your carefully manufactured exhaust pipe or Luckily the brains in Formula 1 relish nothing
heat to soak through, and by that point the flow carbon fibre bodywork to 14,000degC, but you more than a technical challenge like this, and
of the exhaust gases has taken the heat away. need not worry, as because the particles are so they will no doubt develop new innovations
These coatings can be engineered to 0.2mm to tiny, this heat is localised, so the component to fit the ever-changing regulations.

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TECHNOLOGY – ERGONOMICS
The comfort
zone
In the latest in our racecar design 101 series
we take a detailed look at the sometimes
neglected field of cockpit ergonomics
By RICARDO DIVILA
M
otor racing design for the to achieve with other means and considerably
engineer means work in cheaper. It just demands some time.
aerodynamics, mechanics, There are two pitfalls for designers, one is
physics, and chemistry. Often, designing the car around themselves, so it can
one of the items that usually goes by without feel okay to them him but be unusable for a
much comment is entirely dependent on different sized driver. But there are standards
biomechanics and biology; the driver. But for all movements and forces used by the driver
the person behind the wheel is not entirely to control the car, derived from operating
forgotten when it comes to designing a racecar, machinery, which will cover most of the sizes
for we also have ergonomics, or the study of of driver that could conceivably drive it and be
human-machine interfacing, to think about. used for design. The other pitfall is forgetting
Ergonomics is actually a multidisciplinary the problems brought in by the forces a driver is
field in its own right, in that it encompasses subjected to under high g loads.
and amalgamates physiology, anatomy and
medicine on one side; as well as psychology, Tailor made
physics and engineering, plus anthropometry. If you are designing for a particular driver you
But for too long racecar design seemed to can dimension it to them, but there are still
follow the Procrustean school rather than the several parameters that you must observe,
ergonomic school. According to Greek legend governed by their particular dimensions,
Procrustes was an inn-keeper who either to ensure best performance. If designing a
stretched his customers if the bed was too big Formula Student or solar powered car, the
for them, or chopped off pieces of their legs to usual university projects, then find the smallest,
make them fit. If you have ever driven vintage lightest member of your team and conscript
racing cars this will not be news to you. her or him as a driver so as to make a smaller
But the vehicle cockpit should serve the vehicle. Even companies making LMPs can use and the seating position should be improved,
driver, not the other way around. The more this approach, but a word of warning here; I have view is already limited by the helmet opening.
driver-friendly the ergonomics are, the more been involved in a couple of projects that fell When designing a car’s seat position, the
comfortable the driver will be and the better foul of driver changes, when the newcomer was ideal place would be where it enabled the driver
they can focus on driving. Considering the driver taller than the driver the car was designed for. to see clearly ahead and beside themselves
is already working in a difficult environment, The most important part of a car for through standard and peripheral vision, and
hot, noisy and vibrating, plus being subjected operating it is its seating position. It will affect to adequately see the side mirrors in their
to g forces the body was not designed to the driver’s field of view, both forwards and peripheral vision, not needing to continuously
cope with, anything that interferes with their vertically. The field of view should include take their eyes off the road ahead to gauge an
performance will mean slower lap times. visibility ahead and to the sides of the vehicle opponent’s position behind them.
Even in the best-designed racecars, with and visibility of the road surface. Forward and Open cars have an advantage here,
an ideal layout, power and aero, having a bad lateral should cover at least a 180-degree arc. If while enclosed cockpits can bring additional
fit can cost consistent lap time. A better driver the drivers must twist their neck to see enough problems. For example, the push for
fit sometimes gives a one second gain, hard to feel confident, their field of view is inadequate competitiveness can take driving positions to
extremes, to such a point that the combination
If you find that the drivers must twist of regulations for LMP cars drove the design
and layout, pushing the driver forwards.
their neck to see enough to feel confident,

Having small rear wings and a limited rear
diffuser size and angle led to the LMP teams
then their field of vision is inadequate

shifting the CoG forward by moving the engine
forwards, resulting in nearly equal weight

LMP cockpits need to be designed so that they
will accommodate a wide range of driver sizes
distribution front and rear and allowing more

aggressive front splitters to generate more
downforce at the front and claw back total
CL. The resulting increase of front tyre sizes
(width and diameter) to cope with the added
loads ended up in LMPs having a limited view
forwards, nearly akin to looking through a letter-
box slot due to the increased size of the front
fenders. It got so critical that the FIA/ACO ended
up issuing regulations to fix the driver eye
position by giving visibility templates and seat
position templates to avoid the problem.
These FIA dimensions can be a good guide
for the design of any racing car, as they are
based on the experience of the organisation and
its goal of making racing as safe as possible.
The use of mock-ups is a hallowed tradition,
from plywood boxes that can be tried out by
the driver to fitting the him or her to the base
spaceframe, monocoque or body shell to define
The spaceframe of Divila’s Formula Vee project. The ergonomics of a design must be considered at quite an early stage the control positions. Always remember to think

If you have a GT or a touring car with a roll cage I recommend that

you pad all the tubes within striking distance of head and limbs
about the lateral and longitudinal g forces that The geometry of the suspension actually or a race and immediately drive a road car you
will be acting on the driver at the track. makes the driver lift the car when putting lock experience a sense that the car has very slow
The seat should be firmly fixed and capable on as it pivots around the kingpin and caster steering, as your short term muscle memory
of handling the g loads in the case of a crash. axis, so forces can be quite high, especially when has been reset to the direct ratio, so the road car
Remember that the driver’s feel of the car is you add aero forces. Before we had PAS (power yaw rate response will feel very slow.
through the seat of the pants and the torso, assisted steering) as downforce went up, caster Senna felt very strongly about this and
when they are correctly supported in the seat. was gradually reduced to help reduce steering eventually prevailed over the design team to get
Regulations usually give head clearances forces, and when ground effects came in we it to fit a bigger diameter steering wheel on his
from the roof or a line across the roll-over ended up running zero caster and zero kingpin car when time came for a new design, despite
structures, so make sure the driver is in the angle, using trail axles – the axle centreline objections about the difficulty of maintaining
correct place. I have seen too many drivers was behind the line between top and bottom structural stiffness. This particular racecar
scrunch down to fit in a cramped closed car and balljoints to give the castoring effect. reversed the paradigm of small wheels, where
even single seaters. It is a stupid thing to do One of my drivers, a world champion, stated the design was decidedly Procrustean.
and the engineer should make this clear to the that the limit in the corner was probably higher,
driver, as seatbelt straps stretch under the loads but he was not confident enough that he had Subjective preferences
that can be encountered, so does the body. It the strength to catch it if the car stepped out, The above shows that drivers can learn to drive
is in the driver’s own interest to conform. If you due to the steering effort needed. Indeed, Nigel very difficult cars with bad ergonomics just
have a GT or touring car with a roll cage, it is Mansell was probably as successful as he was by getting used to their habits, but they could
recommended to pad all tubes within striking because of his sheer physical strength. be improved by using proper parameters.
distance of head and limbs to protect on impact. But too high a steering effort makes it But I must emphasise here that all this has a
fatiguing and also difficult to feel the limit of the subjective element. Different drivers will have
Control freaks car. There was a period when steering wheels different requests, either because they are used
Having defined seating position and visibility were getting very small, tucked under the to something as they have previous experience
the next items to investigate are the controls cockpit rim to allow a small cockpit opening and from other cars, or because of the way they
and instruments, starting with the steering thus increase chassis torsional stiffness. developed their driving style.
wheel. For best car-positioning control the My own views on steering wheel sizes come The yaw rate response needed for different
steering wheel should be placed at a height from a discussion with Ayrton Senna about racing cars depends on what track conditions
that clears the thighs when moving and does driving techniques and design parameters. He they operate in. A Formula 1 car generally uses
not interfere with forward vision. The angle to maintained that delicacy of driving depended a ratio of between 8:1 and 11:1, IndyCars on
vertical should not give too much extension on lightness of effort, allowing him to feel the ovals use ratios of 20:1, with a larger diameter
of the arm with lock. Having the arm fully self-aligning torque; so not too light and dead steering wheel for more precise steering for
extended should leave the wrist sitting on top of feeling, but with a steering wheel size that high speed banked ovals; it reduces clearance
the wheel. The ideal position should ensure the would give more movement for the same angle. for hands in the cockpit, but this is not a
driver uses the biceps to turn, not the forearm, If you have driven a kart, which has a very problem as the drivers don’t need it. For the
as these are stronger. But single seaters with direct steering ratio, close to one to one, you road and street circuits IndyCars will go back to
power assistance can just use forearm force. will know that if you come out of a kart session a smaller diameter for a quicker response.
The muscular effort needed to steer a traditional Formula 3 car, which has no power steering, is surprising You need to give the driver enough space to turn the steering wheel

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Controls that are awkward to reach or difficult to operate will

distract the driver and this can result in mistakes out on track
GT cars and modified production cars incidentally, you should ensure that it does not Brake pedal travel is constrained by the force
sometimes have to use the original suspension cut circulation under the thighs, as this can lead that needs to be applied to give the braking
points as homologated, so you can make a car to cramps in long driving stints. required, the leg travel available and the need
more responsive by having a smaller diameter Foam seats are cast by using expanding to modulate braking. A long travel will be softer
steering wheel, within reason, and PAS can polyurethane foam. But today you can laser- and easy to modulate, but can be fatiguing
iron out any extra effort needed by the driver. scan the driver’s back to have a fitted CNC over a long race. Also, as the brake pedal goes
Alternate pinions on rack can also be changed. machined seat shell. In the old days meticulous down due to wear and heating, the movement
To give an idea of the forces involved drivers who knew what they wanted could needed can go over travel available. This can be
consider the muscular effort in a lower single make several seats during fitting, until satisfied, embarrassing and even expensive.
seater formula without PAS, like a F3 or F4. only to then spend hours fettling and rasping A short travel will demand extra effort
When measuring these for a Formula 3 car I away with a file at the foam for a better fit. and is difficult to modulate. Both cases can be
saw peaks of 18Nm, with a standard 250mm The minimal leg well space is recommended calculated by working backwards from your
diameter steering wheel measured with strain by the FIA. One of my habits when designing a wheel braking limit, through caliper and disc
gauges in the turn-in phase, dropping off as racecar is to ensure the leg can swivel around size, via master cylinder diameters and balance
the racecar goes through the following phases. the hip joint and clear the bottom of the dash bar position. Fundamentally, juggling with
Calculating the torque produced into tangential bulkhead in case of an accident and a major leverage and master cylinder sizes will be fine-
force on the steering wheel gives a 15.3kgf at shortening of the foot well. Some regulations tuning, following the basic mechanics of levers.
the steering wheel. I suggest you spend 30 actually now require this. Only power assistance with or without ABS
minutes practically lying down and lifting 15kg From the seat, while strapped in, you need can alter that substantially.
every 30 seconds to give you an appreciation to make sure all the controls are in comfortable Each individual car design will have to
that motor racing is indeed a sport. reach of the driver and are easy to operate. take into account mechanical and hydraulic
Even power steering can bring issues, if the Controls that are awkward to reach or difficult installation losses. Mountings deflect (this is
system fails, most notably in front-wheel drive to operate will distract the driver and can result quite common with pedal and master cylinders),
cars, where it also has to contend with torque in driving mistakes; 100 per cent of the driver’s hoses expand (that’s why hard lines in certain
steer. We had a PAS pump failure on the Nissan attention should be on the driving. parts of the run are advisable, for minimal
Primera BTCC Super Touring car at Snetterton expansion under pressure, unlike flexible hoses)
which resulted in our driver, David Leslie, doing Brake time and calipers also expand and hubs deflect under
an impromptu rallycross over ploughed fields as Driving, of course, also includes pushing the load, not only increasing travel, but also making
it was impossible to turn the car. pedals. Like the steering wheel, these involve it non-linear, so harder to modulate.
Some of the limitations on design to cater leverage within a limited space. Important
for a driver’s preferences also surfaced on the factors affecting the pedals include the distance Clutch and throttle
Primera. When Laurent Aiello came to drive with from the driver – given the limited motion of There are smaller forces needed for the clutch
us he wanted more assistance on steering, as the legs, pedals should be located at a correct and throttle pedals, but they are subject to the
he was on the small side. In this case we could distance to ensure they can be used without same sensitivity needs, in order to avoid the
only give him 30 per cent of what he wanted, as stretching or applying from a cramped initial ‘mousetrap clutch’ or a too sensitive throttle,
the seals in the rack would not take more than a position. The driver judges the comfort of the which is subject to being upset over bumps
100psi pressure, limiting the assistance. position, but in general the resting angle for when not against its stops.
Other items not to neglect are the elbow the legs should be around 90 degrees, to give A ‘fourth’ pedal or foot brace for the clutch
room needed when on lock, more critical enough leverage for long pedal travels. For foot helps steady the driver too; of course not
in single seaters, the steering wheel angle shorter travels, or laid-back seating positions, required if you use a two pedal car and left foot
to vertical (too much angle will make arms angles of 120 degrees can be acceptable. braking, with hand clutches on the wheel.
extend and retract with lock, possibly giving
unfavourable lever ratios to joints and
increasing muscular effort and hitting the
ribcage or seat) and even the rim thickness, as
the hands need to clasp it to put the effort in.
Sitting comfortably
But to steer a car a driver will need somewhere
to sit, which brings us back to seats. These must
provide maximum support for normal driving
situations, and maximum protection and energy
absorption in crash situations, using lateral head
support, a headrest, and good lower and upper
body lateral support. Bespoke racing seats are
designed for this and usually FIA certified.
Monocoques allow bespoke foam seats to
fit in the tub as well, shaped to the individual
driver in the case of endurance cars; each driver
has his shell that goes over the base seat – Classic pedal set-up with brake and throttle optimised for heel and toeing. Note foot rest to the left of the clutch

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As for the shift lever or paddles, there

are many possible layouts. But they need to
be able to be operated without the hand or
arm snagging or hitting the surroundings;
and always remembering that joints and
connections stretch and develop play, so cater
for degradation of mechanical efficiency. Here
are two points to ponder from Lotus design
office survival rules. ‘1. Gearchange linkages
wear, bend and stretch. Provide 100 per cent
over-travel clearances in all directions. 2.
Remember, a frantic driver can put 250lbs
[113kg] on a pedal or a gear lever.’
As for paddles, in my experience they have Braking can be a huge
only given me electrical problems, but that, physical effort in some
again, is another multi-volume encyclopaedia. racecars so it’s vital
Not to be a Luddite, but there is a lot to be said there is enough room for
to the magneto ‘one active wire’ systems, if only the leg to bend to get the
on the grounds of reliability. leverage that’s required
Switch craft
Toggles and switches also have a multitude of NASA’s ergonomic
possible layouts. Modern single seaters tend data for a typical
to have most instruments and switches on H-pattern gearstick
the steering wheel, but other classes are more
varied. Researching existing layouts on the net
will inform well, just respect ergonomic practice.
The driver receives information through
the seat, steering feedback and sound, and
additional information that helps optimise
the driving comes through instruments. The
visibility part of a design will also determine
the placing of the gauges, digital readouts or
lights. We will not go into the different types
of placement; that would take another article.
Suffice to say that different classes have steering
wheels with dashes, separate dashes, projection
on windshield or HUDs, even sonic warnings.
As a rule, looking at this information should
not demand that the driver take his eyes off
the road, so all visual input should be within a
10-degree arc from line of sight.
Also, driver to pit communication is usually
catered for by radios, and basically all leads and
volume controls should not interfere with the
movements of your race driver.
cooling. Our best result in Formula 1 at Fittipaldi
Handling the heat was second at Rio (Brazil) in 1978, achieved in
The cockpit also needs to be a comfortable ambient conditions of 42degC. The car had big
environment. Yet heat, noise and vibration are scoops on the nose, over the top of the front
a part of racing. The fire retardant race suits wing leading directly to driver, plus assorted
plus fireproof underwear hold in body heat, extra vents and inlets on windshield and flanks.
and the exertion of driving produces a lot of Japanese Super GT had additional problems,
extra heat. Keeping the driver cool means with a front engine car with side exhaust and, at
having fresh air ducted in to the cockpit. the time, a steel shell, cockpit temperatures was
As I started out racing in South America, an issue. It was bad enough in Japan in summer,
in tropical conditions, this made me routinely but rounds at Sepang (Malaysia) and Buriram
engineer cooling into the car, we often raced (Thailand) took it to new heights with added
in ambient temperatures of 40 to 45degC. humidity to cope with. Using the same concepts
Engine cooling is important, but so is driver from South America, improved with further Switches and toggles need to be within easy reach of the driver
I started racing in tropical conditions which made me routinely engineer

cooling into the car; we often competed in temperatures of 40 to 45degC
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As well as making the race drivers as comfortable as you can you

must also take into account their safety in the event of an accident
knowledge, led to a kit applied to the helmet, a Spec sheet for toggle
transparent shell with sockets to ducting, being switches. Getting these
blown through openings in helmets developed details right can mean
for open car and motorcycle racing. Further the difference between
evolutions also ducted air to the seat back. They winning and losing
are now common in Super GT.
Many cars in the higher classes run air
conditioning now, but careful and detailed
design could achieve the ultimate tweak of
lightening: not having it at all.
Safety measures
But now for some more serious matters. Cars are
expendable, drivers are not. Apart from making
the drivers comfortable you must also take into
account their safety in the event of an accident.
Envisaging worse case scenarios is essential in
design; not thinking about it can lead to obvious
faults in hindsight. To coin a cliche ‘an ounce of
prevention is worth a ton of cure’.
Some major accidents such as the loss of
Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San
Marino Grand Prix in Imola in 1994, brought
in major changes in safety regulations, but
we all know that there will always be dangers
which are extremely difficult to foresee, and
sometimes the forces involved end up being
too strong to survive. Nevertheless, you can
never do too much to mitigate accident effects.
You are ultimately responsible.
There are some points that really need to
be stressed here. Seat mounts in the case of
GTs or touring cars need to have mountings
engineered to maintain integrity and position at
100g impacts at least, when an 80kg driver will
have an eight-tonne load on mountings. The
same goes for belt mountings, the standards
for these are defined under: Standard 8853/98,
FIA Safety Harnesses Standard. On modern high-level racecars most of the readouts and many of the switches will now be on the steering wheel
The harness must also have two separate
labels sewn on stating the standard the harness Villeneuve was thrown out of his car during his the violent bucking motion running over
complies to and the manufacturing date (a fatal accident at Zolder in 1982 his belts held, the furrows made the driver’s legs flail inside
harness has a maximum five-year life before it but pulled out the complete seat bulkhead. the footwell, luckily causing no fractures, but
has to be replaced). The standards define the I mentioned earlier the incident from making it questionable as to whether he would
permissible belt widths and load capacity. having a PAS failure at Snetterton. Another race the following week because of shin injuries.
You also need to make sure the belts are lesson learned there was that despite having From that point onwards we had the leg area
attached to a solid structure. When Gilles side support and padding beside the legs, fully shielded with additional panels to protect
Emerson Fittipaldi finished second at the ’78 Brazilian GP with the help of some Divila-inspired cooling mods This approach to keeping the driver cool was used in Super GT

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Above and right: The FIA’s recommended angles for the belts for reclining (single seater and sports prototype) and upright (touring car) seating positions
In single seaters you need to ensure there’s

no intrusion from suspension components
This survival cell fitted in to the DTM spaceframe
The padding in the footwell of the Nissan Super Touring car was to protect the driver’s legs during accidents
legs in all directions. Team Rosberg, which ran Treluyer had one of the biggest accidents in
Nissan’s Super Tourers in the German Touring any car that I have run, a major shunt that broke
Car Championship, went a step further in DTM, the engine/gearbox/rear suspension unit off
designing and producing a survival cell to be when hitting the Armco, with the tub tumbling
fitted to its DTM spaceframe chassis used at the down the road before stopping. Roll hoops,
time. It was a carbon monocoque protecting deformable structures, padding and HANS Cockpit padding is a simple yet highly effective safety measure
the driver from any intrusion of rollcage, protected him correctly, but the battery, even
components etc, a true survival cell. well strapped down and restrained, allowed acid regulated. Regulations nowadays tend to cover
to spill in the gyrations and gave him electrolyte the basics well, and it is very informative to read
Intrusion protection acid burns. Chalk another one up to experience; all the different sanctioning organisations’ rules,
In single seaters part of the safety drive is to despite decades of racing behind me, that was a usually easily accessible online.
ensure that there will not be intrusion from factor I had never thought about before. If this helps your design avoid one injury
suspension components, the lower legs of front I will be happy. My proudest boast from my
wishbones being especially at fault here, several Class conscious racing career is that in the course of over 2000
incidents having been recorded over the years. We will finish with the usual caveat of all these races over 60 years and uncountable accidents,
Some categories now specify anti-intrusion racecar design 101 features: not all of these the only injury of note for any of my race drivers
measures in the regulations. actions are required in the various formulae, was a broken thumb – when he caught it in the
Usually forgotten and innocuous each class or type of racing generates its own mesh of the catch fencing. A lot of luck, yes,
components can cause trouble, too. Benoit demands, excepting the safety ones, mostly but also a lot of forethought.

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TECHNOLOGY – MOTORSPORT’S FUTURE
Where do we go from here?

In a departure from the usual format our simulation expert addresses
the existential crisis that he believes motor racing is now facing
By DANNY NOWLAN
The cost of competing in Formula 2 seems to

prove that spec formulae are not necessarily
cheaper to race in than open categories
I
t was with great interest that I read Peter stop to watch events like the Bathurst 1000, the cars. Meanwhile, countries no longer stop to
Wright’s article in the August 2019 (V29N8) Daytona and Indy 500s and Le Mans. And who watch events like the Bathurst 1000, the Indy
edition about what would be required to can forget the global outpouring of grief at the and Daytona 500s or the Le Mans 24 hours.
reboot F1. I very much enjoyed it and I death of Ayrton Senna in 1994? The response of the motorsport regulatory
believe it was important, because it’s time for But if we fast forward to now, the situation bodies to this has done nothing to stem this
us to start an informed conversation about is not pretty. As Peter Wright correctly tide. Their answer has been to have more
where motorsport needs to go. observed, now we have a fair proportion of the spec formulae and the dreaded balance of
One of the things I am noticing is that population concerned about climate change performance. But all this approach really
every major category that I’m either directly achieves is to makes it less expensive to lose.
involved in or have customers who are involved
in – whether it’s Supercars here in Australia,
DTM, sportscars, GT3 and others – is doing
We in motorsport False economy
The first consequence of all this is rather than
some hard thinking about its future. This is not
motivated by expanding the brand, though.
need to embrace controlling costs it’s actually made things
more expensive. I remember spending some
This is more about long term survival. The
time for talk is over. Action needs to be taken,
what we are good at, time with Dave Williams on the Multimatic
rig in Thetford in the UK in mid 2008. For the
otherwise motor racing will degenerate into
just club and rich guy racing, with a handful of
and that is going fast uninitiated Williams was the father of the Lotus
F1 active suspension (see page 42). He is also
elite formulae on very shaky ground. one of the sharpest minds you’ll deal with in
First things first, what exactly is the situation and they see the internal combustion engine this business. He made the point that when you
right now? If we wind the clocks back quite a as one of the key culprits. At the same time tighten the regulations you will always spend
few years, motorsport commanded attention. we also have a good deal of the population more money. The bottom line is, you need to
As a teenager I remember the huge media exhibiting some blindly optimistic views on spend a lot more money and more engineering
interest on Adelaide in 1985 for Australia’s first electric vehicles, while Silicon Valley is getting effort to figure out how to make a front wing
real F1 grand prix. Whole countries used to incredibly hot and bothered about self driving flex by say 4mm instead of 2mm and pass a

Another thing that motorsport is brilliant
at is that we are the ultimate research and
development environment for the automotive
industry. Disc brakes, the use of aero aids in
road cars and many other features first used
in racing cars have found their way on to road
cars. The reason for this is that we need to push
our equipment to the edge and it’s amazing
what you learn in the process. This gives road
car manufacturers a vested interest and hence
a reason for being involved in motorsport, and
not just when it suits them.
Technophobia
So if motor racing is to survive we as an
industry have to get over the technophobia
that has always been present in the sport.
When people write about what is wrong with
Does the Le Mans 24 hours endurance classic still capture the interest of an entire nation every summer? motor racing they often scream that there is
too much technology and we have to get rid of
ridiculous load test that will gain you half a
tenth of a second than you would spending
The real nature of all electronics and aerodynamics and go back
to the 1950s era of thin tyres and carburetted
a week or two brainstorming a hydraulic
actuated third spring that is worth 0.5s per lap.
motor racing is motors. This is just not confined to motorsport
writers, it has also infected the fan base as well.
If you don’t believe me, cost it out.
Also, consider this. In 1995, the last season
that sometimes Yet the argument that technology spoils
the show has absolutely no basis in reality. Let’s
of the technical free era of Formula 3000,
the operating budget per car was about you will be behind take aviation as an example, because there are
two exceptional stand-out cases in this field,
£600,000. Now, the category having evolved
through single-spec F3000, GP2 and now F2, and other times I believe. It we take a look at modern radio-
controlled aerobatic helicopter competition
the operating budget of a typical team is in
the order of £2m to £4m. So, it’s clear that the you will be in front flying, for example, if it wasn’t for advanced
three-axis gyros and stability augmentation
assertion that single spec or tight technical the amazing flying of the likes of Kyle Stacey,
regulations save costs is simply untenable. need to embrace what we are good at, and Allan Szabo Jr and Tareq Alsaadi just wouldn’t
that is going fast. One of the things that be possible. Don’t believe me? Check them out
Passing thoughts infuriates me about this business is when I hear on YouTube. Yet the most extreme example
On top of this, the oft stated argument that people talk about improving the show. Make has to be Sergey Bogdan’s demonstration of
if the cars have similar performance it will no mistake folks, the show is a consequence the Su-35S at the Paris Air Show in 2013. In my
improve the show is a fallacy. They say that if and not your primary goal. humble opinion it has to be the greatest single
we make the cars perform the same the drivers Thousands don’t turn up to the Isle of Man flying display I’ve ever seen at the show, and
can compete on level terms, we get passing to see a bunch of mopeds going through without the electronic flight control software it
and everyone is happy. This is an assertion that Ballagarey at 80km/h. Nor do they go to would not have been possible.
has zero basis in fact. One of my regulatory Bathurst to see a bunch of sedans cruising the Now many people in motor racing will
body customers asked me to develop an mountain at a leisurely 60km/h. If you let the counter this with the argument this doesn’t
overtaking simulation feature and this process engineers and drivers go fast the results and apply to motorsport, but you only have
was an eye-opener. For the development I was the show will take care of themselves. to review categories of World Time Attack
modelling an F3 car and to keep things simple
I did not include wake and I gave the pursuing
car 50bhp more. Even giving the cars a 100m
separation it still took 1000m to make the pass.
I was gobsmacked. It also confirmed what one
of my other customers involved in another
spec formula said; that due to the combination
of poor tyres and equal performance most of
their races where processions.
But the real nature of motor racing is that
sometimes you’ll be behind and other times
you’ll be in front. To quote a mentor of mine
when he was working for Toyota Formula 1
back in the early 2000s: ‘It is our job to catch
up to Ferrari not for the FIA to peg Ferrari’s
performance back to us.’ These words are as
Bresmedia
relevant today as they where 16 years ago.

So how do we get ourselves out of this
mess? The first thing is that we in motorsport Are people who call for a return to the skinny tyres and no downforce of yesteryear simply missing the point?

TECHNOLOGY – MOTORSPORT’S FUTURE
Should Formula E, pictured in Hong Kong, abandon its single-spec battery philosophy? Such a move might bolster its claim to be a leader in the development of renewable technologies
Challenge to see this is not the case. Let’s with engine class and provided you are dealing
Table 1: Costings of NA AutoEng tweaks for the Evo 6
look at the costings of one of my Time Attack with a derivation of the road car starting point
Item Cost
customers, Nick Ashwin, when his team went you go off and race. One key thing that has
from P17 to P3 at the 2016 event. This is shown been lost in motor racing is, I have an Audi, you AMB aero package $15,000
in Table 1 and is quoted in Australian dollars. have a Mercedes, now let’s go to the race track ChassisSim set-up service $1500
The all up price is $17,000 (I actually and we’ll sort out who is fastest. Front dive plane $500
corrected this from my earlier article on this For the senior formulae, though, more US by boat, you need to hit back with a big bat.
matter as this time I’m showing the full price drastic action is required. Firstly, Formula E The other perception about motor racing and
of the aero package). This enabled an amateur needs to abandon the single spec battery F1 in particular is that it has lost touch with not
driver like Ashwin to keep a pro driver, who supplier mentality it’s had since day one. only mainstream motoring but the public in
would eventually win, awfully honest. So, I FE has always had some rather peculiar general. So bold steps are required.
have a simple question to any motorsport regulations and a lot of this is driven by some One thing I’m going to put out there is that
regulator reading this: how exactly does poor understanding of what counts in an if F1 and sportscar racing are to survive then
technical freedom spoil the show or not allow electric powertrain. Anyone involved in high they must consider embracing non-fossil fuel
low budget small teams to compete with their performance electric applications, whether it based sustainable fuels. I realise this is much
more resourced counterparts? is racing radio-controlled cars, electric pylon easier said than done. The E85 adventure in
racers or extreme 3D aerobatics, knows that V8 Supercars was short-lived and to ignore
Ground effects the difficulties faced in producing biofuel
Before we move on to more specific measures
about how to fix things we need to get one The argument that like ethanol and the associate drop in energy
density would be naive. However, just like in
technology spoils the

thing straight about aero aids for cars. One 1961 when the Americans where drastically
reason we got into the mess we’re in now is behind the Soviet Union in the space race, and
because the FIA decided to ban ground effect President Kennedy realised a big goal needed
tunnels in the early 1980s. Since the genie was show has absolutely to be set and didn’t blink about the moon
out of the bottle the race teams figured out announcement, we in motor racing are facing
real quick that all they had to do was run flat no basis in reality a similar situation. If we were to go down
bottoms as close to the deck as they could. The this road in one fell swoop not only would F1
problem was all this downforce was dictated by everything flows from the cells you choose. So, and sportscars render themselves valuable
the front wings and once that flow is disturbed rather than saying you must use these cells, commodities to mainstream automotive,
it was game over for the car behind and the the regulations should be your powertrain but any PR company worth its salt would be
racing went to hell in a waste paper basket. At mass is, say, 400kg, and it is priced capped. rushing to the door to publicise this. This is the
least the new Formula 1 regulations for 2021 The net effect is that you have just given a very oxygen we desperately need.
address this long oversight and I am very much big carrot for companies such as Tesla to get
looking forward to that season. involved in the game and for Formula E to go Action stations
Some other good news is that there are beyond just a marketing platform to a platform In closing, motorsport faces some very
some very specific measures that we in motor that can make it a genuine leader in the challenging headwinds but the problems
racing can put in place right now to turn development of renewable technologies. are solvable. Firstly, as an industry we need
things around. Firstly, we need to abandon the However, for Formula 1 and sportscars to rediscover what we are good at, and that
fallacies of the spec formula and balance of some hard thinking is needed, because we is going fast. Secondly, we have to grow up
performance. For sportscar/open wheelers the face significant headwinds. When you hear and get over our resident technophobia.
attitude needs to be: here is the tub and your talk about environmentalist protesting at the Finally, there are some bold measures that
regulations, here is the sandbox that you play Frankfurt Motor Show and Greta Thunberg’s can be taken to get us back in the fight. But if
in with well defined regulations and fixed price 1.4 million twitter followers getting all hot and motorsport is to survive and thrive, the time
parts. For GT racing you rate minimum weight bothered about her going from Europe to the for talking is now over. Action is required.

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BUSINESS – PEOPLE
Interview – Stephane Ratel
The numbers game

The SRO supremo talks us through his all-new take on GT1 and explains
how GT3 is going global in a new sense in 2020
By ANDREW COTTON
N
ot so long ago the single seater ladder was a bit pool of cars and it is well organised with Clienti Corse. The
rickety, when it came to logic; with GP2, F3, GP3, [manufacturers] usually produce 30 to 70 cars and half the
FR 3.5 and various junior formulae. Recent changes guys are collectors, investors who buy the car and you never
have seen it simplified, and what could be more see them. The other half could use them, but they are very
sensible than Formula 1, 2, 3 and then 4? In GT racing, as busy, usually they have very little time, so they come to one or
epitomised in the categories promoted and organised by SRO, two events. The idea is to start slow, at Paul Ricard at the end
there will next year also be categories ranging through one to of the year so we have all year to work [on it]. [The Blancpain
four, with the addition of GT1 to the existing classes. So, it will be series schedule] is too busy, so we will do it with the French
in the order of GT1, 2, 3 and then 4, right? GT Championship, which is a lovely championship, and we
Not quite. Things aren’t that simple in the world of customer propose the second round in Kyalami, which is appealing for the
sport, and it’s really all about different markets rather than gentlemen drivers. We will see if it works.’
different levels of performance, skill or budget. But, in a nutshell,
it’s fair to say that GT3 is the shop window, and the most Customer driven
professional and successful class, while GT4 is a sort of GT3-lite But all this begs the question, with the WEC’s top class also
for different cars, and GT2 is a newer concept which sees more embracing hypercars in 2020, isn’t this just more of the same?
power and less aero, so as to appeal to the enthusiastic amateur ‘They are not the same cars,’ Ratel says.‘If they wanted to race
with cars that are easier to drive fast. these cars, they could because they exist, they are there! You
The new for 2020 GT1, on the other hand, while having a can take a Senna and go racing. It is possible, but they had
similar philosophy to GT2, is a little different again, embracing other objectives which is factory racing, prototype, and that
as it does a whole new type of machine; the hypercar. Stephane is different. I am talking about the owners of the cars. It is a
Ratel, the SR in SRO (the O is organisation) and its founder and gentleman driver’s trophy, with hypercars. I like the name GT1
CEO explains:‘We have GT4, we have GT3, and now we have because it is clear. GT3 is the pro class, and GT2 and GT1 are
GT2. Logically GT1 is the next step,’ he says.‘We have a whole am classes, and it is good like this.’
bunch of cars that are being produced, in a crazy world where While SRO will not then be in competition with the WEC
‘We have a whole there must be too much money, which can’t race anywhere and with its hypercars it could perhaps give it some guidance,
bunch of cars being can’t go on the road. They are called extreme track day cars. It
is not a question of regulations, it is a question of exclusivity.
produced which Porsche did the 935, McLaren the Senna GTR and P1 GTR, and
Aston Martin the Valkyrie, Brabham the BT62, and there are
can’t be raced other projects that I know about.
anywhere and can’t ‘Manufacturers produce these crazy cars because there are
people that go out and buy them, and our view is that if you
go on the road’ buy this car, what are you going to do with it?’Ratel adds.‘I was
very blessed to acquire a 935 and I thought, what am I going to
do with this car? How many people bought these with a racing
package, with extra wheels, spare parts and so on, so they want
to race them? It is half the people. Half the guys want to do
something with these cars. If [someone] wants a Senna GTR,
Porsche 935 and Valkyrie, they want to enjoy it.’
Hyper active
To fill this perceived gap in the market SRO has already initiated
the ‘Sport Club’ concept for pure amateur drivers, and the
new GT1 category will now mean a mini race series. While just
two events are planned for 2020 – Paul Ricard in October and
Kyalami in November – there is a real possibility of expansion
for 2021, if it proves a success. ‘In the SRO we have the Sports
Club division, which is the club for people who will take it
easy and just want to enjoy their cars,’ Ratel says. ‘You want to
have fun, own beautiful cars and enjoy them. I spoke with the
manufacturers and they said they would be happy to help. They
would prefer that the cars are used than not used, because it is
a business of spare parts consumption, and promotion. Ferrari
[for example] have their own FXX programme, and because
they had the Enzo, the 599 and the LaFerrari they have a big

particularly when it comes to the thorny old issue of Balance
of Performance, something which has been integral to the
ongoing success of GT3. So, has Ratel been offering it his advice,
RACE MOVES
and what’s his view of the new top level WEC hypercar class?
‘We have conversations about our experiences, but not DAMS team founder and owner
really on the categories themselves,’ he says. ‘I saw [the FIA Jean-Paul Driot, who died in early
and ACO] at Le Mans and it seemed all rosy with the Valkyrie August, is to be replaced by his sons
announcement, and I congratulated them. I had the feeling that Gregory and Olivier at the head of
the hypercar seemed to be okay then, and we would have a the multi-championship winning
transition year which is not easy, but the championship is strong single seater operation. Both have
enough, but it suddenly seems to be a bit difficult again. They experience working in motorsport;
are asking themselves some questions.‘ Gregory has been involved with a team
in the French GT championship while
Ratel and role Olivier has worked with DAMS in the
One thing is for sure, Ratel knows what suits SRO. ‘What we are past in F3000 and also when it raced at
doing here, I take my customer racing approach,’ he says. ‘I have Le Mans in the early 2000s.
had the same religion for 27 years and I don’t change.’
Yet while the basic concept doesn’t change, there is always Well-known fluid transfer systems
evolution and progression at SRO, and next year sees a new manufacturer Goodridge has appointed
XPB
Blancpain GT World Challenge for manufacturers, which is the Thinh Pho as its CEO across its three
three GT World Challenge championships (US, Asia and Europe) Joie Chitwood III has resigned from his post as North American businesses. Pho was
taken together, making up a calendar of 26 non-clashing events executive vice president and chief operating officer formerly the executive vice president
that manufacturer points will be awarded for. at International Speedway Corporation (ISC), the of Dynacast, a leading global
‘This is what I presented to the manufacturers, and their US track operating company which owns 13 venues manufacturing company specialising in
response has been very positive,’ Ratel says.‘I said you have two including Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, and die cast and metal injection moulding
products, an Intercontinental GT [an eight round endurance Watkins Glen. Chitwood, who helped to steer the technologies. Pho will work closely with
series], which is factory-supported racing. On the other hand, Daytona Rising project and the rebuilding of ISM Goodridge’s global CEO, Charles Bolton,
you have the GT World Challenge, which is customer sport Raceway during his time at the organisation, will who came to the post in 2018.
competition. You all have customer racing departments, and step down at the end of November.
the best of those has to be rewarded. You need to sell many cars Matt Stone was not on duty with
around the world, and find good teams, and have good drivers. Jeff Horton is no longer director of his eponymous Supercars squad for
The best customer racing department should therefore have a engineering at IndyCar. Horton has the Auckland, New Zealand round of
big trophy because it is important. This is big business, so there overseen a number of high-profile Australia’s premier motorsport series
should be a title. It makes sense, it is clear and it is global.’ projects since joining the series in as he awaited the birth of his second
You can also be sure that Ratel has done the maths on this 2002, including many safety advances – child. Matt Stone Racing’s crew chief
one, too, for while the numbers might not always seem logical among them the recent aeroscreen Jason McDermott and its head of
at first glance in SRO’s wonderful world of GT racing, nine times and the Advanced Frontal Protection engineering Wes McDougall led the
out of ten they will add up. device – while he has also worked on single-car operation throughout the
the kinetic energy recovery system weekend at the Pukekohe circuit.
that’s to be introduced in 2022.
The new GT1 class will give owners Matt Borland, crew chief of the No.13
of exotic cars like the McLaren Senna David Clarke has joined the Mahindra Germain Racing Chevrolet driven by
GTR an arena in which to race them Racing Formula E operation as its team Ty Dillon in the NASCAR Cup Series,
manager in the run-up to season six has been indefinitely suspended for
of the electric racing series. Clarke has a violation of the sanctioning body’s
worked in single seater and sportscar strict substance abuse policy. Borland
racing for over two decades. He joins and his team owner Bob Germain Jr
the team after fulfilling the same role at explained that the transgression was
the DS TeCheetah squad. unintentional and that a derivative of a
banned substance was an ingredient in a
Also at the Mahindra Formula E team diet coffee that Borland had been using
(see above), Paul Willett has joined as regularly for the last six months. Justin
chief mechanic. A pit lane veteran, Willett Alexander has stepped in as crew chief
brings more than 20 years of motorsport during Borland’s suspension.
industry experience to Mahindra. He
has most recently worked with teams Advanced engineering and motorsport
involved in the World Endurance concern JRM has promoted Andrew
Championship, Blancpain GT and the Miller to chief designer at its Daventry,
Asian Le Mans series. UK headquarters. Miller has a background
in both automotive and motorsport,
Mike King has been selected to serve and has specialist skills in suspension
as the SCCA’s director of solo and rally. and engine design, we’re told. He has
King, a long-time club member and a solo previously worked at both Renault and
competitor himself, took up the post at Caterham in Formula 1 and also at Jaguar
the start of October. His work involves Land Rover. Miller has been at JRM for
planning and coordinating the activities two years and was senior design engineer
of the rally and solo departments. before his recent promotion.

BUSINESS – PEOPLE
Ex-Mercedes Formula 1 tech RACE MOVES – continued

boss Costa to move to Dallara Patrick Marinoff is now the
managing director of Renault
Former Mercedes F1 engineering some of what I have learned to performance brand Alpine. The
director Aldo Costa is to join other racing series and to high- German comes to Alpine from
racecar manufacturer Dallara performance automotive projects AMG, where he had been head
as its chief technical outside racing. of sales and a member of the
officer next year. ‘I remember writing executive board since 2014. Before
Costa quit his to Giampaolo [Dallara] that he worked at various Daimler
most recent role as a at the very beginning brands, including Maybach, where
technical advisor at of my career for a job – he was global brand manager.
the Mercedes team at the time, there was
in mid-September – a nothing available, but Nigel Beresford, who is perhaps
consultancy position he was able to open best known for his time at Penske
he took on after some doors for me in in the States as race engineer and
stepping back from the the industry. then technical director, and also
XPB
engineering director ‘Now, many years for engineering Jean Alesi at

role for this season. Aldo Costa will join Dallara later, it feels like the Experienced motor racing PR man Liam Tyrrell in F1, has joined Formula E
The Italian joined at the start of next year wheel has come full Clogger has joined Influence Associates, squad DS TeCheetah as its team
Mercedes from Ferrari, circle and I am proud which represents clients in the motorsport, manager. Beresford had been
where he had worked for 16 years, in to be joining this iconic company automotive and technology sectors. Clogger, technical director at the Dragon FE
2011, while he started his Formula 1 of Italian motorsport.’ who is now a director at the firm, has team since it was set up in 2014,
career with Minardi in 1988. Mercedes team principal Toto represented a host of leading motorsport but he left the post last year.
Costa is set to start work as Wolff said: ‘Aldo has been one of the companies during his career including Prodrive,
CTO at Dallara at the beginning pillars of our team since he joined in the Mercedes F1 operation and Williams, Five NASCAR crew chiefs were
of 2020. The Italian manufacturer 2011 and he now leaves us with the with which he spent a decade as head of fined at the Darlington Raceway
is responsible for the spec single same dignity and professionalism communications, operating across both its rounds of the Cup and Xfinity
seaters that race in IndyCar, F2 and that have characterised his years racing and advanced engineering businesses. series. Four of these were from the
F3 and is also a technical partner of with us. He wanted to return to Cup: Chad Johnston (No.42), Greg
the Haas Formula 1 team. Italy to spend more time with his Also at JRM, Graham Prew has Ives (No.88), Chad Knaus (No.24),
Costa said: ‘After many years family and he still has much energy rejoined the company as senior and Mike Wheeler (No. 11). Each
working at the pinnacle of our sport, and expertise to contribute to the commercial manager. Prew has was fined $10,000 after the cars
I am excited to be able to contribute motorsport community.’ wide experience in the motorsport they tend were found to have
business sector, which includes one lug nut that was not properly
OBITUARY – Ferdinand Piech working at Prodrive – where he
was involved in the Subaru and
secured. In the Xfinity Series Jeff
Meendering, the crew chief on
Ferdinand Piech, who will soon after, and he is often Mini rally and Aston Martin racing the No.19 car, was fined $5000 for
always be remembered credited with transforming programmes – and at Radical. the same infringement.
in motorsport circles the company from what
as the man behind the was once seen as a niche Brian Till, the former IndyCar Improperly secured lug nuts
legendary Porsche 917, brand into the automotive driver who for some time has been were also an issue at the Bristol
has died at the age of 82. giant it is today. a motorsport broadcaster – as Motor Speedway round of the
Piech passed away While at Audi he well as working as a race steward NASCAR Cup, with crew chiefs
four years after he inspired the Quattro, a and track driving instructor – Paul Wolfe (No.2 car), Alan
stepped down from his car which went on to be missed the end of the US racing Gustafson (No.9) and Mike
post as chairman of the extremely successful in season because he was receiving Bugarewicz (No.14) all being fined
Volkswagen Group and, the World Rally treatment for throat cancer. He $10,000 dollars for the infraction.
according to a statement released Championship in the early 1980s. plans to return to duty in time for
by his wife, Ursula, he died‘suddenly Piech then took over at the helm at the Daytona 24 hours in January. Lotus has hired David McIntyre
and unexpectedly’. VW when it was in financial peril in 1993 as its regional director, Asia Pacific
The grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, and turned the company around so that It’s been reported that Niki and China. McIntyre, who races
Piech worked at the family concern until now it’s eclipsed GM and is challenging Lauda’s family is to sell his share of in GTs in China and won the GT4
1972, when he was forced out of the Toyota as the world’s biggest car maker. the Mercedes GP team. Mercedes amateur championship there in
company amid some acrimony. In the VW also now owns a raft of other F1 non-executive chairman Lauda, 2017, has previously worked for
1960s, in his role as head of development famous marques, including Porsche who died in May, was thought to brands such as Porsche, Aston
at Porsche – which included motorsport itself, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, own 10 per cent of the Brackley- Martin, Bentley and McLaren. He
– he came up with the 917 concept to which is largely down to Piech’s vision based operation, a stake which has been based in the Asia Pacific
exploit a loophole in the regulations at and ambition for the company. He never he had acquired in 2013. region for the last 15 years.
that time. The car went on to win Le Mans forgot motorsport, though, and he signed
in 1970 and 1971 and then achieved great off Bentley’s successful return to Le Mans
success in Can-Am guise in the States. in the early 2000s, which culminated in u Moving to a great new job in motorsport and want the world to
After leaving Porsche Piech went its one-two finish in 2003. He was also know about it? Or has your motorsport company recently taken
to work at Audi in 1973, gaining a seat behind the concept of the Bugatti Veyron. on an exciting new prospect? Then email with your information to
on the board as head of engineering Ferdinand Piech 1937-2019 Mike Breslin at mike@bresmedia.co.uk

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BUSINESS TALK – CHRIS AYLETT
It’s time to talk about Brexit

The MIA’s CEO utters the ’B’ word, congratulates F1 and ponders the future of EVs
P
lenty is happening in the world of motorsport It’s a simple political solution to electrify considering exciting changes to its technical
right now, but I’m afraid we simply can’t everything and to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to regulations, looking to reduce costs and provide
ignore Brexit, as deadlines are close and the negative effects of such an action on a vast scale. close racing, sharing the aims of Formula 1.
we can expect imminent changes. At the time of Compared to manufacturing millions of batteries Change is certainly close and could be good
writing there’s still no clear outcome so we must to meet demand fast, there are billions of ICE users for business, but to make the most of it you really
hope that the politicians and bureaucrats in Brussels who simply cannot afford to change. Showing the need current market intelligence. The MIA uses our
and London can reach a sensible agreement which increasing efficiency of the ICE is a very important very active, global network to keep a very close
allows businesses to continue to create wealth and role which motorsport can play. Please get behind eye on technical and consumer changes across all
jobs in both the EU and UK. F1, share its news and press governments to listen motorsport markets, which we then share with our
I encourage all MIA members and the UK too. We need a wider appreciation of the value of members, so they stay ahead of their competitors.
industry to take some basic precautions, no matter motorsport and how we can help the environment. This is considered to be a major benefit of
the outcome. Check carefully all your contracts, membership in fast changing times.
whether for sale or supply with or from the EU, as Spread the word With the Chinese and Eurozone economies
some terms could cause difficulties and should be I feel sure, as time passes, the politically driven slowing down, many enthusiastic growth plans for
changed before they do so. Ensure you understand expedience of electrification on transport will motorsport will slow down too. China has a national
your contractual responsibilities and liabilities become better understood and the knowledge commitment to electric powertrains so you can
and clarify your insurance position. Check your gained from motorsport adopting increasingly imagine that it will focus on this for its motorsport.
employment contracts too. A good This may give it technical leadership
commercial solicitor will help you carry as the European Union and the United
out these checks. If you can afford to States are unable to adopt this solution
do so then stock pile essential supplies as quickly. Whilst governments in the
needed to meet immediate contracts, EU and USA are spending millions on
but move fast, as your suppliers’ accelerating knowledge of electric
products will be in great demand. power, the Chinese are spending
Make an extra effort to keep in close billions and are a real threat.
contact with your EU customers and The Chinese also start from a low
friends across the continent; share news base as it’s only a few years since the
on Brexit and find ways to help each general public were even allowed to
other. Collaboration is vital to overcome buy cars. Conversely, Europe and the
the machinations of our politicians. USA have a deeply committed public
The motorsport industry prides itself using internal combustion engines
on its agility, fast-reactions and speed who face the cost of both switching to
of response to overcome challenges. electrification and overcoming the loss
In general, it runs lean operations on their investment in current internal
which can adapt quickly and react to As well as providing some good racing this year Formula 1 has also finally started combustion cars. This inevitably slow
regulation changes. All these assets to promote the amazing improvements in the efficiency of its hybrid power units changeover is likely to see hybridisation
are going to be fully tested over the take hold over the next few years,
coming months, so be ready. efficient sources of energy will be of increasing social which could be good for motorsport fans.
value – if we all get the message out there.
Shout it out The FIA and their ASNs should be pro-active and New business
It’s great to read, at last, that Formula 1 is promoting use their funds to build on the huge impact of this The MIA has been promoting Energy-Efficient
the exceptional improvements in efficiency of its F1 story by encouraging, and publicising, energy Motorsport (EEMS) for nearly 20 years now and
powertrains. This welcome, if long overdue, action efficient improvements in their domestic race series. our annual international showcase and conference
will capture the imagination of governments, All their national race series should develop plans to in January at the NEC in Birmingham gets larger
corporation and sponsors, as well as consumers. secure energy efficient improvements which don’t every year. In 2020 we will embrace many other
The performance of Formula 1 powertrains must destroy the ICE powertrains nor the entertainment sectors and open new markets for motorsport-
be made widely public. It will demonstrate what has of the audience. This will be a great period where based energy-efficient solutions. We will include
been achieved by our technically innovative industry collaboration and well-considered strategies could the marine sector, which has recently announced
simply to win races; hopefully, key influencers will move motorsport high in the consumers’ minds. plans to go emission-free within the decade, and the
see the impact their combined efforts could have It’s good to hear plans from the USA which electric aerospace world which needs lightweight,
in overcoming some of the environmental address the slip in popularity of motorsport over aerodynamic energy-efficient innovations. For
challenges facing automotive. there and re-engage with the public. NASCAR’s more on all this visit www.the-mia.com.
Formula 1’s welcome if long overdue action will capture the imagination
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BUSINESS – AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL
Show information
Opening times
Autosport International opening times:
9am- 6pm across both trade
(Thursday and Friday) and public
days (Saturday and Sunday).
Trade tickets
The trade tickets (Thursday and Friday) cost
£27 (per day) with a two-day ticket costing
£45. MSA members will be able to purchase
a ticket for £22.50 while BRSCC members can
attend the trade days for free.
Public tickets
• Advance public tickets (Saturday
and Sunday) £19 for children (5-16)
and £31 for adults.
• Standard tickets provide entry to
The fast show

Autosport International and the
Performance & Tuning Car Show, plus a
seat in the Live Action Arena.
• Family (two adult tickets and two child
tickets) £84 valid for the Sunday and the
Live Action Arena at 10am.
• Paddock tickets adults £41, children £29
January’s ASI looks set to be one of the best yet with including Live Action Arena, access to the
exciting new themes and around 600 brands exhibiting backstage paddock area in the Live Action
T
Arena and a Paddock guide.
he Autosport International show, opinions on this matter before challenging • VIP tickets £113 (advance price) include
incorporating Autosport Engineering students to think big and present their all the perks of the paddock ticket as well
which is held in association with Autosport2090 concepts at the Forum. as access to VIP Club Lounge, the VIP
Racecar Engineering, has become Meanwhile, the Product Showcase Awards enclosure in the Live Action Arena, with
a central hub for engineering professionals will give exhibitors an exceptional opportunity
complimentary refreshments, access to
exclusive driver signing sessions in the
and companies with over 30,500 industry to introduce their latest innovations to
VIP Lounge, plus a gift bag.
professionals, representing 600 motorsport industry buyers and media, with awards for
and automotive brands from more than 60 technological advancements across nine To purchase your tickets and take
countries, expected throughout the two trade different categories, all presented at the show. advantage of Autosport International’s
days at the beginning of next year. Continuing the 70-year celebration of 10 per cent ticket offer visit the website:
The 2020 show will be held from 9 to 12 Formula 1 theme, RetroFuture will celebrate www.autosportinternational.com/tickets/
January 2020 at Birmingham’s NEC. It will motorsport’s most significant technological
showcase the latest engineering products developments during the Formula 1 period,
from top level industry leaders. which includes disc brakes, carbon fibre and, battling on stages covering every type of
Within the show, the dedicated Autosport more recently, hybrid power. terrain and climate from ice to desert, will kick
Engineering section will be celebrating its Another main theme of Autosport off in Birmingham before heading out to round
30th anniversary with fresh new additions to International will be the official 2020 season one at Monte Carlo just a week later.
the format. Engineering will take place on the launch of the FIA World Rally Championship. The first public day of the show, Saturday
Thursday and Friday of the ASI show. A marathon 13-round season, with top drivers 11 January, will be themed as ‘WRC Super
New for 2020, the Engineering Business Saturday’ and the stars of teams such as
Forum will spark debate on the future of M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, Hyundai
This will challenge

motorsport through panel discussions with Motorsport, Toyota Gazoo Racing and Citroen
industry leaders and experts, who will be World Rally Team will unveil their 2020
students to think big

discussing what has happened to shape the challengers on Saturday morning in front of
motorsport of today while also giving an tens of thousands of motorsport fans.
insight into the motorsport of tomorrow.
Looking towards the more distant future,
universities have been set a challenge,
called Autosport2090. Celebrating the 70th
anniversary of Formula 1, this challenge poses
the question: what will the industry and sport
be like in 70 years’ time. To give a flavour, the
intersection of robot cars, real drivers and
eSports will be one of the topics that will be
debated, as will the nature of the power units
that will propel future racecars.
Over the coming months, Autosport2090
will be asking ASI exhibitors, star drivers
and industry thought-leaders to share their Once again the World Rally Championship will use the Saturday of the Autosport Show to launch its season

BUSINESS – AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITOR NEWS
VP Racing
VP Racing Fuels returns once again to the Autosport Show with its UK
distribution partners, Old Hall Performance and Race Fuel Logistics, in
close attendance. At the 2020 show they will be showcasing VP’s Stay
Frosty coolant products as well as its latest rally fuel, R5.1, developed in a
technical partnership with M-Sport. (Below: VP drift car)
Ozparts
Distribution specialist Ozparts, with its brands Disc Brakes Australia
(DBA) and Xtreme Clutch (pictured), will be unveiling its latest innovative
products at Autosport International 2020. DBA has over 40 years’
experience of servicing Australia and the world and it will highlight
its range of street and performance oriented brake discs and its new,
improved, range of performance brake pads. Meanwhile, Xtreme Clutch
will be launching several new kits for the European market. These include
a 230mm sprung organic twin plate upgrade for the Ford Focus RS MK3
and a range of 230mm twin plate upgrades to suit the BMW E90 M3.
ITG
Air filtration expert ITG (Induction Technology Group) is based in
Coventry, just down the road from the NEC. At 2020’s Autosport show
it will reveal a new bespoke filter manufacturing service, which takes
a motorsport-derived approach to the wider tuning and automotive
engineering world. Previously known as RaceAir and popular with
professional motorsport teams around the world, ITG has now renamed
it CustomFit. This new service gives any individual access to a unique
product to suit their fast road, track, race or rally car.
CGTech
A world leader in CNC simulation, CGtech, is launching its latest version
of its Vericut at Autosport International. The new Vericut will render faster,
with more realistic and crisper views of cutting processes and machines
(see above). As well as improving the graphics display and generating
faster review times, the latest Vericut will provide an easier way to section
and measure the part and the machine, while quickly and easily removing
obstructions to gain clear viewing of the cutting process.
Eibach
Eibach will reveal the latest evolution of its proven Pro-Street suspension
system to market at ASI (left). Targeted at road cars that are used on track
days, this is the ideal set-up for drivers who appreciate a tuneable system
and are looking for greater adjustability on both the road and race track.
The Pro-Street-Multi chassis kit consists of ZF Race Engineering mono-
tube gas pressure dampers in combination with Eibach Performance
springs. It provides, among other things, a single adjustment point,
controlling both compression and rebound damping even once installed.

THE RACING CAR SHOW
NE C ,BI RM I NG H A M , U K
REG IST ER N OW
9 – 12 JANUARY 2020 A UTO S P ORT IN TER NATI ON AL. CO M
9 – 10 STRICTLY TRADE-ONLY DAYS
AUTOSPORT PERFORMANCE & TUNING

INTERNATIONAL
IS PART OF:
INCORPORATING
CAR SHOW
BUMP STOP
Family fortunes
PIT CREW
I
Editor interviewed FIA President Jean Todt at the opening round on the Tulip Rally, in 1964 and 1965, once finishing second in
Andrew Cotton
@RacecarEd of the WTCC season in Marrakech in 2014, also the launch their class. Quick had bought the car after his wife-to-be stood
Deputy editor of the TC1 era. Those cars were impossibly expensive, with him up at the altar, and instead of placing a ring on her finger
Gemma Hatton
@RacecarEngineer carbon bodywork and new engines. As the BTCC became he instead finished up on a golf course with his best man, my
Chief sub and news editor too expensive in the late 1990s it suffered as a result, so to father. He then elected to purchase the Jaguar and the two of
Mike Breslin
Art editor start the new era of WTCC with a costly concept seemed at them headed to Holland three weeks later. The car was pretty
Barbara Stanley best ill-advised. Yet, Todt declared that if you want modern standard other than adding a pair of spotlights, and so they
Technical consultant
Peter Wright racing, it’s with the highest technology, and if you want quickly ran out of brakes, but finished fourth in their class.
Contributors tradition, go historic. ‘All the manufacturers are talking about In 1965, after some serious upgrades, they drove the car
Mike Blanchet, Dr Charles Clarke, Ricardo
Divila, Simon McBeath, Danny Nowlan, hybrid, electric, hydrogen, downsized engines, so if you want back to Holland, now fitted with Koni shocks, Dunlop tyres, a
Mark Ortiz, Dieter Rencken, Peter Wright to have a sense about racing, there must be a link,’ he told me. rebuilt engine and improved brakes. This was their trophy-
Photography
James Moy, LAT ‘I have a passion for racing, I have a passion for old cars, but winning rally. They also entered the Alpine Rally in August,
Managing Director you have historic circuit racing and rallying. If you speak of 1965. Other than driving straight into a pea field when they
Steve Ross Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3730
Email steve.ross@chelseamagazines.com motor racing it must be modern technology.’ again ran out of brakes, the event was relatively trouble free.
Sales Director That sentiment has been followed through with gusto, Driving at night with the D-Type exhaust system that exited
Cameron Hay Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3700
Email cameron.hay@ driving teams and manufacturers to the brink of what by the passenger door, they realised that their car produced
chelseamagazines.com
is affordable, while also somehow limiting technology long licks of flame on overrun. This proved useful when
Advertisement Manager
Lauren Mills Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3796 development. This is true from F1 to F3, and from Le Mans to avoiding a large bill for a sumptuous lunch, for as a getaway
Email lauren.mills@
chelseamagazines.com
rallying. So, this summer, I took a slightly different approach car a flame spitting E-Type was perfect. They cleared five
Circulation Manager Daniel Webb to my usual fare. The Goodwood Festival of Speed in July pavement tables in two blips of the throttle.
Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3710
Email daniel.webb@
was relaxed, well attended and, interestingly, featured huge These stories were all well-known to me, but I had never
chelseamagazines.com car showrooms built for the purpose. Was this a new way before seen the car. I had looked occasionally, and had seen
Publisher Simon Temlett
of car manufacturers connecting with the public, replacing the number plate for sale which meant that the car itself was
Chief Operating Officer Kevin Petley
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the traditional motor show? At Chris Evans’ Carfest South, probably dead. At the Revival it appeared that the car was
Editorial and advertising my 10-year-old daughter declared the best bit of the day very much alive. It sat in the paddock, with a more traditional
Racecar Engineering, Chelsea Magazine
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my 16-year-old son fell in love
with Caterhams. Again, car The racing at holes cut in the bodywork to
cool the brakes replaced with an
Goodwood was hard

Subscriptions showrooms were de rigueur. altogether more elegant system
Tel: +44 (0)1858 438443
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was packed full of

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their latest offerings. I liked it. by its new owner, Nikolaus
Subscription rates On to Goodwood’s Revival, Ditting, who shared it with
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modern prototypes and historic sight, not only for me but also
News distribution cars could not have been more stark. The modern cars were Quick’s daughters who also happened upon the car.
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impressive, but the racing was hardly inspirational. As usual, it This was a reminder that while Todt is pushing technology
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of dressing up in period costume. This is nothing new, and the that same worth, or McLaren’s MCL34, or any other modern
Revival has become a popular weekend, but people of all ages racecar, we will have to wait and see. These are tools designed
were connecting with the cars. It was a fascinating event, one to do the job at the moment, made more famous by the
that I thoroughly enjoyed, but for a very unexpected reason. people who drove them than by their design. It’s a shift from
My father, Michael Cotton, rallied an E-Type Jaguar in the more than 50 years ago, when the car really was the star.
1960s with his good friend John Quick and between them
www.racecar-engineering.com
they took part in events around Europe. Twice they competed ANDREW COTTON Editor
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• Racecar Engineering, incorporating Cars & Car Conversions and Rallysport, is published 12 times per annum and is available on subscription. Although due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this publication is accurate and up-to-date, the
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