ripping up the rule book in formula one professor tony purnell cambridge university engineering...
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Ripping Up the Rule Book in Formula One
Professor Tony PurnellCambridge University Engineering Department
F1 Glossary
20 races
Decides the FIA World Drivers Championship
Formula One is BIG
BIG audience (590m viewers)BIG businessGREAT engineering
Source www.F1.com
Governing F1 is demanding and complex
Technical Regulations
Sporting Regulations
Financial Regulations:Concorde
• 390KW (520HP) power• +30% down-force (ground effect)• 300kph top speed (as today)• Similar lap time to today
1982 F1 Car
• 450KW + 120KW (760HP) power +240HP• ≈ 30% less down-force ≈ 35% more drag• ≈ 300kph top speed• Similar lap time to today
2014
One design solution today
Paint all the cars white and try to tell the difference
Today
A snap shot – Engine Regulations
• V6 – prescribed architecture• 1.6 litre direct injection• 15,000 rpm• 120KW (160HP) electric ‘boost’ (ERS)• 4MJ of energy release per lap (33s)• Single turbo charger • Married to a highly restricted drive train• Fuel flow rate restricted (100kg/hr max)
4.1 mpg (+10%?), 31% thermal efficiency (?), generally perceived ‘green’
Is F1 missing a big opportunity?
Ripping up the Rules:
Are only three super simple rules needed?
1. Limit the flow of energy to the Power Train
Fuel Flow Restriction
e.g. 25 mg/s petrol (1.1MJ/s) about 500HP
2. Car to fit in a box• Needed only to make sure the cars fit the tracks• No dimensional restrictions, no bodywork
restrictions, no engine rules, just produce a vehicle that fits . . . . . .
Anything goes, as long as they are safe . . .
3. Safety Tests
The car must protect a crash test dummy . . . As today, but confined to the goal, not the solution
Might be nice to add a minimum weight for the driver?
Unintended Consequences?• Probably need to restrict moveable
aerodynamic surfaces:
• Best ban closed loop driving controls:
2015 Rules – Super Restrictive
20XX Rules – Minimalist
Tony Utopia Rules – Minimalist
Would these three rules work?
• Too fast? Too slow?• Too big a speed discrepancy?
• Too processional?• Too complex?• Too risky?
Go step by step:Control tyres, gearboxes, etc
What’s really wrong with this idea?
Real-Politik
Too Expensive!
“The most expensive thing one can do is change the rules” – Ron Dennis
F1’s Insoluble Problem
1950
1953
70’s to 90’s
Cost
‘When you squeeze with regulations at one end of the sausage, the other just balloons out’
Pat Symonds
‘Formula One engineers will spend as much as they are given’
Ross Brawn (then Technical Director Honda F1)
Conclusion (2008)EITHER
✗Super restrictive rules and multiple standard parts
OR✔An effectively policed budget cap
FOM
Media
Teams
Drivers
Sponsors & OEM’s
2009: A Political Football
2010: F1 too expensive for OEM’s
Level Playing Field?
£1B income – £630M to the teamsNow guess who makes the rules?
Ferrari 5% of all revenue (£50m) +
CCB: Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes £180M +
Historically important: Williams and Mercedes £9m each+£20M to each top ten team
1 st:+£40M . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10 th +£8M
11th
, 12th
£4m
Amounts from: BBC.com/sport/Formula One/Where does all the money go?
Disposable teams: Nothing extra
Just to compound the problem …• Power-train is separate:
Everyone Else . . . . £15M-£20M?
Top Teams – Free from OEM sponsor
Successful Management
How did F1 get here?Concorde:
1981 First edition‘87, ‘92, ’97, ‘98, ‘09, ’13, ‘203 way : FIA, FOM, the Teams
Cutting up the Cake
• FOM’s revenue 20% (£200M)• FIA’s revenue 5% (£50M)• Remaining 75% equally to 12 teams (£62M)
– But £12m goes to pay for Power-train– £144m goes to engine suppliers pro-rata
• Budget cap to:– this amount (£50m) +– an achievable sponsorship amount for a mid-field team
(£25m) =£75m – more than enough given the engine deal• Excess income can be taken as profit by owners• Last two teams get demoted, not actually, but the owners
must sell all shares
Descent from La La Land
Time to wake up – huge barriers to overcome
Dark Clouds
The FIA’s choice?
X-Factor OROpera?
Formula One:
The FIA’s choice?
X-Factor OROpera?
Formula One:
Sunny Side up
• The end of the Ecclestone Era - a slow shift to corporate responsibility?
• The Delta Wing– Shoestring budget– Massively fuel efficient c.f. F1– Quick (315kph) yet just 220KW– Light 475kg– Safe
Let the engineer’s have at it and this is the sort of thing you’ll get, but better because it’s Formula One
Thank you