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What sets Formula One apart from other motorsports?
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IT’S the motor racing season, and diehard fans will once again be flocking to the Shanghai International Circuit to see the world’s most advanced racing machines and adept drivers throw it all down on the track. However, those of you who are curious about Formula One but still relatively new to the sport might be wondering what makes it rise above racing sports in terms of international prestige. Here are a few things to know to help you understand how F1 is truly in its own class when it comes to competitive auto racing.
• F1 drivers aren’t just licenced, they’re super-licenced
While other competitive racing sports require drivers to hold a grade A competition licence, Formula One requirements go a step beyond. Drivers competing in the F1 grand prix must be holders of an FIA super licence. To say this licence isn’t easy to obtain would be an understatement. Only drivers who have already met some criteria of success in junior motorsport categories, or otherwise demonstrated an outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars can get their hands on a super licence.
But if you think earning your stripes on the track is sufficient to be super-licenced, then you’re forgetting something important: the bill. Obtaining the licence requires that drivers pay a basic fee of 10,000 euros (US$10,742) in addition to 1,000 euros for each championship point. In 2010, driver Lewis Hamilton would have paid 280,000 euros in super licensing fees. But with salaries in the tens of millions, this expense is unlikely to be of huge concern for drivers like Hamilton.
• F1 teams don’t just race their car, they build it
The competition for the prestigious world championship title begins not on the track, but at the drawing board. This is because every Formula One team is required to own the intellectual rights to the chassis they build. Each team invests heavily on world-class engineers and cutting-edge technology to design their own engine. In effect, this makes the champions the ones to not only out-drive the other teams, but also out-science them by coming up with the fastest, most efficient design.
The team with the best design is awarded the Formula One World Constructors’ Championship (WCC) by the FIA. The WCC is determined by a points system based on grand prix results. The Constructors’ Championship points are calculated by adding points scored in each race by any driver for that constructor. This means that what rivets the attention of F1 fans each new year is not just about seeing what driver will cross the line first, but also the ingenuity of the car that helped him pull ahead of the rest.
• Formula one teams spend more on their car. A lot more.
To simply say Formula One cars cost more is an understatement. Drawing the North American IndyCar as a basis for comparison, a racer complete with chassis, engine, transmission, brakes, and tires can cost upwards of US$3 million. If you think this sum is enough to shatter the piggy-bank beyond repair, you’re in for a surprise: a top-tier Formula One car can cost as much as 50 times more to develop.
To a casual spectator, it can be hard to spot the major differences between IndyCars and Formula One cars. Both have open cockpit, open wheel bodies. IndyCars see top speeds of around 390 kilometers per hour, while Formula One cars top out at around 360kph. A Formula One car can sprint to 100kph in just a hair over two seconds, while an IndyCar needs three seconds. The IndyCar is a bit bulkier at 700 kilograms. The waspish Formula One cars weigh in at around 640kg. Comparing on these terms, it’s hard to see how Formula One can outspend IndyCar so massively. Where does that extra money go?
Put simply, Formula One cars are so expensive because the teams must own the intellectual property for every part of the car. IndyCar uses off-the-shelf components — all teams use the same Dallara-made chassis and can buy their engines directly from Honda or Chevrolet. The rest is up to the driver. Formula One teams, on the other hand, build their cars from scratch, and therefore spend extraordinary sums on testing their design.
Improving the aerodynamic downforce of the vehicle can be one of the most costly aspects of design, requiring numerous wind tunnel tests and petabytes of data consumption using computational flow dynamics software. Not only that, the team’s army of engineers and designers have to be paid during this lengthy testing process. It’s easy to see how costs can rack up so quickly.
With these differences in mind, and an appreciation just how much goes into the making of Formula One cars, head to the Shanghai International Circuit and see them in person at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.
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