pimrusis
02-01-2004, 11:08 PM
Modern Formula 1 racing is the king of all automotive sports. Modern F1 cars are the most advanced land-based vehicles. The technology used in F1 is at the cutting edge of engineering knowledge, and the cars are completely uncompromised in their design. Each of these cars cost $1,000,000 to construct alone. Ferrari has an annual budget that is approaching $500,000,000 for the research, designing, construction, and personnel that they employ during a single racing season. All of today’s super-exotic sports cars base their designs heavily on that of Formula 1 cars. Even some of the technology in generic road cars can trace its roots back to the innovations brought about by Formula 1 teams.
F1 cars possess some of the most impressive specifications and statistics of any vehicle. They accelerate from 0-60 in under two and a half seconds, and 0-100 in under four. This speed is easily shed by the cars brakes, which can stop the car from over 170 mph in less than four seconds. The pistons in an F1 engine can travel through a cycle over 19,000 times in a minute – a normal road car’s engine would explode at anything over 7-8,000 revs. What makes these cars so capable on the road is what makes them so difficult to design and so amazing in their principles.
The hearts of these amazing machines are their engines. As per F1 rules, engines cannot be supercharged, exceed 3000 cc in displacement (which is roughly the same as a new Mercury Sable), or have more than five valves per cylinder. With these strict rules placed on engine design you would expect that these cars wouldn’t have a lot of horsepower, but you would be wrong. A typical F1 engine can produce over 900 naturally aspirated horsepower. These incredible engines take three days each to be hand-built, and last only about 400 hours on the track. Engineers are constantly pushing the envelope in terms of what the engine can handle. These engines must be able to withstand the thousands of G’s – a G is equal to the force of gravity – that is produced when the engine reaches it’s massive redline. Along with absorbing the strain of the piston’s motion, an F1 car’s engine is an integral part of the chassis and therefore must absorb the forces placed on it by the suspension.
The engines of Formula 1 cars are designed to provide a very consistent rev-range, or rev-band. A rev range is a correlation between the revolutions of the engine and the power output. The goal is to have a rev-band that is very smooth, without any drastic spikes. When racing, a driver will be able to utilize more of the engines power if he does not have to worry about letting off the throttle to avoid having a power spike throw the rear end out of joint.
In constructing an F1 engine there are two factors that become increasing important. These are the mechanical and thermal efficiencies of the engine. Thermal efficiency is a measure of how well an engine distributes heat. One way that engines get so much horsepower out of so little displacement is because of very high thermal efficiency ratings. Mechanical efficiency is basically a measure of the friction inside the engine. Any moving part rubbing against any other moving part wastes energy of the engine in the form of friction. At the 19,000+ redline friction translates into incredible power loss and excess heat. Designers must minimize this friction to allow all of the power that the engines produce to be translated into useable horsepower at the wheels. Utilizing advanced materials and construction practices, F1 teams push engine design to the absolute physic limit.
Power is processed from the engine by the F1 cars transmission. Currently, most racing teams use a seven speed sequential manual unit. The transmissions are made out of high stress material, because the rear suspension is usually bolted directly to it. The idea behind a sequential manual transmission is basically that of a manual transmission, but it eliminates the H-pattern and allows for rapid changes, as well as semi-automatic action. By eliminating the H-pattern, drivers do not have to worry about making shift mistakes; there is no driver operated clutch on these types of transmissions, gears are changed by operating leavers behind the steering wheel. The lack of a clutch and an H-pattern makes driving a Formula 1 car simpler.
Transmissions are easily serviced by one of the F1 team’s many mechanics. Gear cogs are changed after every race because of the severe stresses imposed on it by the powerful engine. The entire collection of transmission cogs can be changed in under an hour by an experienced team of mechanics. Cogs are also customized for every race. The idea behind this is to get the car to its maximum speed at the end of the straightaway for whatever track you are on.
Power is transferred to each wheel through the differential. F1 cars used limited slip differentials. These differentials allow wheels to spin at different speeds in corners. This offers several advantages over the typical open-differential, which splits the power of the engine equally between the wheels. The main advantage is that it keeps power from being spun away by the inside wheel during turns because it doesn’t have as much traction as the outside wheel. F1 cars also have the ability to “steer” through corners by spinning the tires at different speeds. Many high performance road cars have employed F1 differential technology.
Possibly the most important aspect of the F1 car is its tires. They are, after all, the only thing that comes in contact with the road – hopefully. The tires of F1 cars are very wide because more rubber equates to more grip, which is extremely important when you have the kind of torque that F1 cars do. The tires are specially manufactured with over 100 ingredients. The tires last about 100km, over which they lose about a pound of rubber each. They are filled with nitrogen, which provides a more consistent platform than air. These tires ride on forced magnesium wheels, which aren’t very dense and hence take less power to move about their axis. Each wheel is held on by a single lock-nut that is easily removed during a pit stop. Each wheel is tethered to the car by a high strength line to prevent the tire from coming off during a crash and in the process, killing spectators.
One of the most fascinating aspects of F1 technology is that which goes into the braking system. Stopping one of these machines from speeds close to 200 mph creates a lot of heat. Brake rotors at the end of braking can reach temperatures that come close to 2000 degrees. Carbon fiber is used because it is one of the only materials that can cope with the kind of punishment it is dealt. The one drawback of using carbon fiber brake rotors is that during braking, it takes a brief moment of time for the rotors to heat up to a usable temperature. Once they reach this temperature the brakes bite hard. It has been described by some drivers as being an “on-off process”. Another disadvantage is their cost, and a time of up to five months to produce a single rotor.
Aerodynamic considerations are some of the most important factors in the design of F1 cars. Aerodynamics is also how racing teams gain an advantage over the other racing teams amid tightening regulations. Because of the speeds at which these cars travel, the designers have two goals in mind when designing a car. The designer’s chief goal is to limit drag, or the aerodynamic force slowing the car’s forward movement, while providing enough downforce to keep the car on the road and air for the engine. Air has to pass as quickly and as smoothly as possible over the car or extra power will be seeped away just to push through the outside air. However, there must be enough air for the engine to combust properly.
Most noticeable aerodynamic features of an F1 car are designed to increase downforce. Downforce is the force that sticks the car to the road. It becomes increasingly important to have significant downforce at higher speeds to cancel the natural lift that cars produce. Designers take great care in sculpting every part of the cars body to provide the maximum downforce with the least amount of drag.
There are several body components of F1 cars that are used solely to affect the car’s aerodynamics. Underneath the car there is a structure called the diffuser. This is a device which directs the airflow under the car. It is designed to lower the air pressure in certain areas under the car and provide the downforce that sucks the car onto the road. The most prominent aerodynamic device on an F1 car is the car’s wings – circled in black.
The front wing – the circled bit in the lower-right corner – serves one main purpose. It directs airflow around the front of the car. In doing this, it provides downforce for the front end in basically the same way a diffuser does for the rest of the car. It also directs airflow around the front tires. It is important because F1 cars are open wheeled, which means the tires are not inside the body of the car and they create a substantial amount of drag. One driver described the sensation of drag caused by the tires as feeling like he had put the brakes on when he lifted off the throttle. This is the reason for endplates – the red piece marked “Vodafone” – on the front wings. These are used to direct air around the tires to help subdue front wheel drag. Ferrari developed curved endplates that directed air between the body and the front wheel, and this has now become the standard. Little differences like having a curved endplate can make the difference between winning and losing an F1 race.
The second most visible piece of aerodynamic architecture is the rear wing. It provides over 30% of the total downforce on an F1 car. It directs air that is coming in straight, at the velocity of the car, over the wing. The reaction to the air being pulled up under the wing is the suction created by the low pressure zone pulling down on the wing. This action creates a tremendous amount of drag, and loss of power, but provides the stability which is paramount in any high speed situations.
Aerodynamics is the most variable, and most innovative, part of an F1 car. The aerodynamics of these amazing machines has been so far refined that almost any element has an aerodynamic feature to it. Since 2001, Formula 1 cars have had ducts that draw air onto the brakes from the inside part of the wheel. This improves aerodynamic flow outside the car, which could knock those critical few instants off a lap time.
A car’s aerodynamics are so important that some of the more innovative and wealthy teams, such as Ferrari, run full scale wind-tunnels around the clock. These wind tunnels have rolling roads which can take into account almost any racing conditions, including: road surface, humidity, temperature, and variations in the car such as body roll. Data is received through various sensors mounted to the car and analyzed by several computers.
Next to aerodynamics the most important developments in F1 technology come in the form of materials. The speeds and stresses that every part of the car comes into contact with during a race demand a level above what normal materials used on road cars can provide. The most popular material that F1 teams are using is carbon fiber – or CF. This material comes in many different forms. The lower grade carbon fiber is 3 times stronger than steel, but only a quarter of the weight. Some variants can be as high as 10 times the strength of steel. CF is also good at resisting heat damage, conducting electricity, and being resistant to corrosion.
The most common form of automotive carbon fiber is PAN (Polyacrylonitril), which is created by burning special type of synthetic fiber to produce the necessary materials. This is then manufactured into a very expensive role of cloth. The cloth is cut out and layered around different molds for the car. Each piece is then bagged and held in a vacuum before being baked in an oven under heavy pressure to bond the layers together.
With normal steel, the material comes in sheets that are then machined to fit the specifications that are needed. The material must be as thick as is necessary for the highest stress area of the piece you are working on. With carbon fiber, you can put down layers where you need them. So where you don’t need the strength, you can not put extra materials. It allows for a specific panel to be non-uniform in thickness, unlike conventional steel. Along with being less than a quarter of the weight of steel, you can avoid putting extra material where you don’t need it. This results in an incredible weight savings. Also, since carbon fiber is 3-10 times the strength of steel, you won’t need as much in the first place to cope with the driving conditions. In any automotive sport, weight is the killer. It is therefore easy to see why teams would spend so much time and money to invest in the wonders of synthetic materials.
Formula 1 technology has been used to create some of the world’s most impressive road cars. The most well known example of F1 technology used in a road car is the Mclaren F1. Its chassis was built completely out of carbon fiber. There are 7000+ molded CF chassis pieces in one car. Three cars were built every month during its production years, each taking 6000 man hours to hand-assemble.
Despite having such a large price tag this car was built at only a very small profit by Mclaren. In the tradition of the Mclaren Formula 1 racing team, no expense was spared in the production of the car. The materials for every part of the car are state of the art. The wheels are made out of lightweight magnesium. The body panels and monocoque – the single piece “tub” that all of the components are bolted onto – were made completely out of carbon fiber. Titanium was used in the construction of the exhaust system, which saved over 100 pounds on a standard exhaust system. The calipers for the brakes are made out of aluminum. A French tool company was commissioned by Mclaren to make a set of tools out of titanium to be placed in the car. The set of tools in the Mclaren road car were the first to be made out of titanium. Since gold is the best heat reflector known, the engine and exhaust bays of the Mclaren F1 is lined with 24 karat gold. Materials were only the beginning of the F1 know-how that went into this car.
Mclaren’s F1 engines preformed over 1,100 tests in an actual Formula 1 wind tunnel to perfect the shape of the car. It was designed to have very impressive handling to go with its 627 horsepower, naturally aspirated V-12. To this end the car was designed to have the smallest possible polar moment of inertia. The polar moment of inertia is the car’s natural resistance to change in direction. Cars with masses close to the “axis of rotation” have a lower polar moment of inertia than those with masses far from the axis of rotation. For this reason, most sports cars copied F1 and have their engines situated in a mid-engine configuration – where the engine sits inside the wheelbase. The green box shows the location of the main masses of the Mclaren F1. The box includes the fuel tank, the engine, and slightly ahead of that, the driver. Another way to decrease a car’s polar
Pictures courtesy of www.fastautos.net
moment of inertia is to have the smallest possible overhangs outside the wheelbase. Both the F1 car on the bottom and the Mclaren above it are designed to have almost no overhangs at all. The yellow boxes show the staggeringly small amount of overhang in both the Mclaren Road car and a Formula 1 car.
Mclaren isn’t the only racing company to build a road car. Ferrari also constructed an F1 based supercar, called the F50. Like the Mclaren, the F50 is made almost completely out of carbon fiber. However, the Mclaren was designed to be more of a driver’s car than the F50. Inside the F50 there are no power windows, seats or locks, and there is also no stereo or air conditioning. These were all nicked in order to save weight. Also, normal road cars have rubber components in the suspension to help cushion the ride, but you won’t find them in a Formula 1 car so you won’t find them in an F50 either. Without these components, body roll is almost eliminated. The rubber-less rear-suspension is also mounted directly to the transmission. This car is powered by an enlarged version of Ferrari’s F1 engine, however its redline was lowered to below 9,000 rpm to conform to road regulations.
Formula 1 is at the pinnacle of automotive technology. They are the trailblazers and the technological advances from Formula 1 such as: carbon fiber, ceramic brakes, advanced traction control and braking systems, and advanced aerodynamics will continue to make their way into the expensive cars of the day. Formula 1 teams will continue to do research and push the design envelope to help create more advanced technologies that we can’t even conceive of today.
F1 cars possess some of the most impressive specifications and statistics of any vehicle. They accelerate from 0-60 in under two and a half seconds, and 0-100 in under four. This speed is easily shed by the cars brakes, which can stop the car from over 170 mph in less than four seconds. The pistons in an F1 engine can travel through a cycle over 19,000 times in a minute – a normal road car’s engine would explode at anything over 7-8,000 revs. What makes these cars so capable on the road is what makes them so difficult to design and so amazing in their principles.
The hearts of these amazing machines are their engines. As per F1 rules, engines cannot be supercharged, exceed 3000 cc in displacement (which is roughly the same as a new Mercury Sable), or have more than five valves per cylinder. With these strict rules placed on engine design you would expect that these cars wouldn’t have a lot of horsepower, but you would be wrong. A typical F1 engine can produce over 900 naturally aspirated horsepower. These incredible engines take three days each to be hand-built, and last only about 400 hours on the track. Engineers are constantly pushing the envelope in terms of what the engine can handle. These engines must be able to withstand the thousands of G’s – a G is equal to the force of gravity – that is produced when the engine reaches it’s massive redline. Along with absorbing the strain of the piston’s motion, an F1 car’s engine is an integral part of the chassis and therefore must absorb the forces placed on it by the suspension.
The engines of Formula 1 cars are designed to provide a very consistent rev-range, or rev-band. A rev range is a correlation between the revolutions of the engine and the power output. The goal is to have a rev-band that is very smooth, without any drastic spikes. When racing, a driver will be able to utilize more of the engines power if he does not have to worry about letting off the throttle to avoid having a power spike throw the rear end out of joint.
In constructing an F1 engine there are two factors that become increasing important. These are the mechanical and thermal efficiencies of the engine. Thermal efficiency is a measure of how well an engine distributes heat. One way that engines get so much horsepower out of so little displacement is because of very high thermal efficiency ratings. Mechanical efficiency is basically a measure of the friction inside the engine. Any moving part rubbing against any other moving part wastes energy of the engine in the form of friction. At the 19,000+ redline friction translates into incredible power loss and excess heat. Designers must minimize this friction to allow all of the power that the engines produce to be translated into useable horsepower at the wheels. Utilizing advanced materials and construction practices, F1 teams push engine design to the absolute physic limit.
Power is processed from the engine by the F1 cars transmission. Currently, most racing teams use a seven speed sequential manual unit. The transmissions are made out of high stress material, because the rear suspension is usually bolted directly to it. The idea behind a sequential manual transmission is basically that of a manual transmission, but it eliminates the H-pattern and allows for rapid changes, as well as semi-automatic action. By eliminating the H-pattern, drivers do not have to worry about making shift mistakes; there is no driver operated clutch on these types of transmissions, gears are changed by operating leavers behind the steering wheel. The lack of a clutch and an H-pattern makes driving a Formula 1 car simpler.
Transmissions are easily serviced by one of the F1 team’s many mechanics. Gear cogs are changed after every race because of the severe stresses imposed on it by the powerful engine. The entire collection of transmission cogs can be changed in under an hour by an experienced team of mechanics. Cogs are also customized for every race. The idea behind this is to get the car to its maximum speed at the end of the straightaway for whatever track you are on.
Power is transferred to each wheel through the differential. F1 cars used limited slip differentials. These differentials allow wheels to spin at different speeds in corners. This offers several advantages over the typical open-differential, which splits the power of the engine equally between the wheels. The main advantage is that it keeps power from being spun away by the inside wheel during turns because it doesn’t have as much traction as the outside wheel. F1 cars also have the ability to “steer” through corners by spinning the tires at different speeds. Many high performance road cars have employed F1 differential technology.
Possibly the most important aspect of the F1 car is its tires. They are, after all, the only thing that comes in contact with the road – hopefully. The tires of F1 cars are very wide because more rubber equates to more grip, which is extremely important when you have the kind of torque that F1 cars do. The tires are specially manufactured with over 100 ingredients. The tires last about 100km, over which they lose about a pound of rubber each. They are filled with nitrogen, which provides a more consistent platform than air. These tires ride on forced magnesium wheels, which aren’t very dense and hence take less power to move about their axis. Each wheel is held on by a single lock-nut that is easily removed during a pit stop. Each wheel is tethered to the car by a high strength line to prevent the tire from coming off during a crash and in the process, killing spectators.
One of the most fascinating aspects of F1 technology is that which goes into the braking system. Stopping one of these machines from speeds close to 200 mph creates a lot of heat. Brake rotors at the end of braking can reach temperatures that come close to 2000 degrees. Carbon fiber is used because it is one of the only materials that can cope with the kind of punishment it is dealt. The one drawback of using carbon fiber brake rotors is that during braking, it takes a brief moment of time for the rotors to heat up to a usable temperature. Once they reach this temperature the brakes bite hard. It has been described by some drivers as being an “on-off process”. Another disadvantage is their cost, and a time of up to five months to produce a single rotor.
Aerodynamic considerations are some of the most important factors in the design of F1 cars. Aerodynamics is also how racing teams gain an advantage over the other racing teams amid tightening regulations. Because of the speeds at which these cars travel, the designers have two goals in mind when designing a car. The designer’s chief goal is to limit drag, or the aerodynamic force slowing the car’s forward movement, while providing enough downforce to keep the car on the road and air for the engine. Air has to pass as quickly and as smoothly as possible over the car or extra power will be seeped away just to push through the outside air. However, there must be enough air for the engine to combust properly.
Most noticeable aerodynamic features of an F1 car are designed to increase downforce. Downforce is the force that sticks the car to the road. It becomes increasingly important to have significant downforce at higher speeds to cancel the natural lift that cars produce. Designers take great care in sculpting every part of the cars body to provide the maximum downforce with the least amount of drag.
There are several body components of F1 cars that are used solely to affect the car’s aerodynamics. Underneath the car there is a structure called the diffuser. This is a device which directs the airflow under the car. It is designed to lower the air pressure in certain areas under the car and provide the downforce that sucks the car onto the road. The most prominent aerodynamic device on an F1 car is the car’s wings – circled in black.
The front wing – the circled bit in the lower-right corner – serves one main purpose. It directs airflow around the front of the car. In doing this, it provides downforce for the front end in basically the same way a diffuser does for the rest of the car. It also directs airflow around the front tires. It is important because F1 cars are open wheeled, which means the tires are not inside the body of the car and they create a substantial amount of drag. One driver described the sensation of drag caused by the tires as feeling like he had put the brakes on when he lifted off the throttle. This is the reason for endplates – the red piece marked “Vodafone” – on the front wings. These are used to direct air around the tires to help subdue front wheel drag. Ferrari developed curved endplates that directed air between the body and the front wheel, and this has now become the standard. Little differences like having a curved endplate can make the difference between winning and losing an F1 race.
The second most visible piece of aerodynamic architecture is the rear wing. It provides over 30% of the total downforce on an F1 car. It directs air that is coming in straight, at the velocity of the car, over the wing. The reaction to the air being pulled up under the wing is the suction created by the low pressure zone pulling down on the wing. This action creates a tremendous amount of drag, and loss of power, but provides the stability which is paramount in any high speed situations.
Aerodynamics is the most variable, and most innovative, part of an F1 car. The aerodynamics of these amazing machines has been so far refined that almost any element has an aerodynamic feature to it. Since 2001, Formula 1 cars have had ducts that draw air onto the brakes from the inside part of the wheel. This improves aerodynamic flow outside the car, which could knock those critical few instants off a lap time.
A car’s aerodynamics are so important that some of the more innovative and wealthy teams, such as Ferrari, run full scale wind-tunnels around the clock. These wind tunnels have rolling roads which can take into account almost any racing conditions, including: road surface, humidity, temperature, and variations in the car such as body roll. Data is received through various sensors mounted to the car and analyzed by several computers.
Next to aerodynamics the most important developments in F1 technology come in the form of materials. The speeds and stresses that every part of the car comes into contact with during a race demand a level above what normal materials used on road cars can provide. The most popular material that F1 teams are using is carbon fiber – or CF. This material comes in many different forms. The lower grade carbon fiber is 3 times stronger than steel, but only a quarter of the weight. Some variants can be as high as 10 times the strength of steel. CF is also good at resisting heat damage, conducting electricity, and being resistant to corrosion.
The most common form of automotive carbon fiber is PAN (Polyacrylonitril), which is created by burning special type of synthetic fiber to produce the necessary materials. This is then manufactured into a very expensive role of cloth. The cloth is cut out and layered around different molds for the car. Each piece is then bagged and held in a vacuum before being baked in an oven under heavy pressure to bond the layers together.
With normal steel, the material comes in sheets that are then machined to fit the specifications that are needed. The material must be as thick as is necessary for the highest stress area of the piece you are working on. With carbon fiber, you can put down layers where you need them. So where you don’t need the strength, you can not put extra materials. It allows for a specific panel to be non-uniform in thickness, unlike conventional steel. Along with being less than a quarter of the weight of steel, you can avoid putting extra material where you don’t need it. This results in an incredible weight savings. Also, since carbon fiber is 3-10 times the strength of steel, you won’t need as much in the first place to cope with the driving conditions. In any automotive sport, weight is the killer. It is therefore easy to see why teams would spend so much time and money to invest in the wonders of synthetic materials.
Formula 1 technology has been used to create some of the world’s most impressive road cars. The most well known example of F1 technology used in a road car is the Mclaren F1. Its chassis was built completely out of carbon fiber. There are 7000+ molded CF chassis pieces in one car. Three cars were built every month during its production years, each taking 6000 man hours to hand-assemble.
Despite having such a large price tag this car was built at only a very small profit by Mclaren. In the tradition of the Mclaren Formula 1 racing team, no expense was spared in the production of the car. The materials for every part of the car are state of the art. The wheels are made out of lightweight magnesium. The body panels and monocoque – the single piece “tub” that all of the components are bolted onto – were made completely out of carbon fiber. Titanium was used in the construction of the exhaust system, which saved over 100 pounds on a standard exhaust system. The calipers for the brakes are made out of aluminum. A French tool company was commissioned by Mclaren to make a set of tools out of titanium to be placed in the car. The set of tools in the Mclaren road car were the first to be made out of titanium. Since gold is the best heat reflector known, the engine and exhaust bays of the Mclaren F1 is lined with 24 karat gold. Materials were only the beginning of the F1 know-how that went into this car.
Mclaren’s F1 engines preformed over 1,100 tests in an actual Formula 1 wind tunnel to perfect the shape of the car. It was designed to have very impressive handling to go with its 627 horsepower, naturally aspirated V-12. To this end the car was designed to have the smallest possible polar moment of inertia. The polar moment of inertia is the car’s natural resistance to change in direction. Cars with masses close to the “axis of rotation” have a lower polar moment of inertia than those with masses far from the axis of rotation. For this reason, most sports cars copied F1 and have their engines situated in a mid-engine configuration – where the engine sits inside the wheelbase. The green box shows the location of the main masses of the Mclaren F1. The box includes the fuel tank, the engine, and slightly ahead of that, the driver. Another way to decrease a car’s polar
Pictures courtesy of www.fastautos.net
moment of inertia is to have the smallest possible overhangs outside the wheelbase. Both the F1 car on the bottom and the Mclaren above it are designed to have almost no overhangs at all. The yellow boxes show the staggeringly small amount of overhang in both the Mclaren Road car and a Formula 1 car.
Mclaren isn’t the only racing company to build a road car. Ferrari also constructed an F1 based supercar, called the F50. Like the Mclaren, the F50 is made almost completely out of carbon fiber. However, the Mclaren was designed to be more of a driver’s car than the F50. Inside the F50 there are no power windows, seats or locks, and there is also no stereo or air conditioning. These were all nicked in order to save weight. Also, normal road cars have rubber components in the suspension to help cushion the ride, but you won’t find them in a Formula 1 car so you won’t find them in an F50 either. Without these components, body roll is almost eliminated. The rubber-less rear-suspension is also mounted directly to the transmission. This car is powered by an enlarged version of Ferrari’s F1 engine, however its redline was lowered to below 9,000 rpm to conform to road regulations.
Formula 1 is at the pinnacle of automotive technology. They are the trailblazers and the technological advances from Formula 1 such as: carbon fiber, ceramic brakes, advanced traction control and braking systems, and advanced aerodynamics will continue to make their way into the expensive cars of the day. Formula 1 teams will continue to do research and push the design envelope to help create more advanced technologies that we can’t even conceive of today.