The F1 teams actually produce car upgrade in five stages

The current rules of Formula 1 have gradually led the nearest grid in history, meaning that a minor upgradation can distinguish between scoring points and q1. Tricky ground-effects were combined with boundaries on cars and expenses and aerodynamic testing, it has made the margin even smaller for error in the development process, which has been carefully considered and requires the total integration of each department involved.

The same is true for racing bulls, which is on both sides of that tight midfield in the last 18 months. In addition to taking power unit, gearbox and suspension from Big Brother red BullRacing Bulls makes everything at the headquarters at its headquarters at its headquarters and with more than 200 people on its Milton Keins Campus. This is the place where a five-phase journey begins to walk on the track from Aero Idea.

Step 1: Aerology

Each aero performance begins with an idea imagined by an upgrade aerodynamicist, which is mainly located in the team’s new UK headquarters in Milton Keins in terms of racing bulls, although the team’s new place -free approach is now allowing people to work with fenda. The advantage of going to the Red Bull Technologies Campus is easy access to the Wind Tunnel of Red Bull, which is why most aero staff are based there, as well as a small team that designs and producing 60 percent of all new aero surfaces.

Under the budget cap of F1, every team should be more disciplined about how many ideas it removes, as not only are budget restrictions, but also limits at the wind tunnel and CFD work. But teams are capable of compensating for those restrictions by increasing the efficiency and accuracy of their methods.

“The first phase of the process is CFD assessment,” says Matio Pirakini, the operating director of the racing bull, as he guides us around the visit of the squad’s compact but modern fanza features. Piraccini, which is located in faenza, ensures that both factories are firing on all cylinders as they produce the fastest F1 cars in the most efficient way. “If we are starting with 10 aero shapes, two or three of them will be undergoing wind tunnel. Finally we collect all the data and then decide what the best solution is.

“This is not just an aerodynamicist. They are working very closely with VPG – vehicle performance group – which passes a new aero surface through a simulation, to see if it will actually be a net profit on the actual circuit. You have to take care of the characteristics of the car balance, circuit, such as a separation and different requirements for the car.

Those ideas are particularly relevant to the grassroots cars of 2022 generations, many teams found it difficult to translate virtual numbers into real -world benefits. This includes racing bulls with 2024 Barcelona ‘Dowgrade’, but including large squads Ferrari And Aston Martin has also fought.

Depending on the size of the upgrade package, a minor tweex can be signed by the performance managers, while large improvements go all the way to the level of the technical director. Their approval is called ‘aero release’, which is an official communication within the team that carries forward the next link in the series to work; Design office. This decision not only takes into account the performance benefit of the part, but also time, as some circuits require specific upgrades. In time for Monaco, a lot of teams produced Bespok high-downfores feathers, while Baku would be a circuit where the lower downforce parts are being introduced. This is a careful act to ensure that the correct parts are in the pipeline and are ready for the correct circuit.

Step 2: Design

Aero shapes are sent from the UK Aero Department of Racing Bulls to their design office located in Fenza, where designers are tasked to take ideological surfaces and convert them into real parts. It is not just about the shape being perfect, but also about designing them with the right level of structural integrity, which is done with CAD and structural software. Barcelona weekend is a good example, teams are forced to beef their front wings to follow the strict load tests of the FIA ​​as it falls down on the front wing flexing. It is expected that all 10 teams have to change their wings, even those who do not especially exploit flexing.

“The design specification requires the aero size requirement and various requirements that are associated with reliability and FIA requirements,” Pirasini explains. “Bodywork is more straightforward, as it must have only one legal size. But when we are talking about a structural part, such as front wing, rear wing and floor, then we also have to match validity from dimensional and structural perspectives to follow FIA tests.

“Technical rules have a process with applying a load in some areas. According to each stage of the load, the deformation of the flap or wing has to remain within a few limitations. It is part of all design specifications, which has now turned to Barcelona.”

Other obstacles include leaving enough space for complex cooling systems, wiring rags, and cutouts for more than 200 sensors. Designers are not only designing carbon fiber parts themselves, but also all tooling required to produce them. The design of a new floor also means that a new mold is necessary to shape it, so these processes are being synchronized as much as possible.

“All our designers are able to work in real time with the same information, and that is why one of the most important devices of the design office is the virtual mock-up of the car,” says Pirasini. “If you have a group working around the floor and a separate group of working around body work, and they are not talking in front of the same information at the same time, we may have a floor that is not matching bodywork, and we are going to lose skills in our design process.”

Step 3: Production

It is important to emphasize that this is not a linear process. The production department is not waiting for the full design specification to finalize its thumb. To further improve the “Race to Race”, one of the largest KPI in car development, which means how long an aero concept takes on the actual race car in the circuit, the production department is suppressed in action before finalizing the full design specification.

“A front wing is made up of different parts and we are not waiting for the final bit to launch the production process,” says Pirasini. “Once once the main aircraft of the front wing is released, the production department is starting the manufacturing process. Like an orchestra conductor, Product Management Officer is managing information and time to ensure that the race time is as low as possible.”

A very specific procedure is required to produce carbon fiber composites. Works in a “clean room”, where the carbon fiber sheet is laminated using the resin, which is called a wet ply to get. As the name suggests the clean room is a careful controlled environment to avoid particles contaminating the ply, which can compromise the quality of the final product. Parts can also be used from the debris released between carbon fiber layers and there may be cracks even after being stressed.

As soon as the part is crushed with a wet ply, it passes through a cure cycle in an autoclave, a large oven that can be set at a certain temperature – usually 100 to 250 degrees – as well as three to seven times. This is the place where carbon fiber composite is cured and gains its favorable power for weight ratio. Once it gets out of the oven, the part gets the first check-up and passes through a trim department that cleans and polish it to remove any dirt.

How many spare parts are being produced for each upgrade depends on the circumstances, as no one wants to produce more than the cost and necessary for material resources. “There is no magic number,” says Pirasini. “Monaco requires a high-downfores rear wings and we all know how risky the track is for damage, so we can choose to produce four or five wings on our risk assessment. But sometimes you like to put it at risk and if you can do it if you can get just one or two wings, because it is a performance.

“In the case of the front wings of Barcelona, ​​however, it is not a new aero package that is just ‘good’, but a mandatory update from the FIA. In that case we cannot run any risk, so to ensure that we have started work for enough parts in Spain that cross the new tests of FIA.”

Step 4: Quality

The fourth major step in this process is the quality department, which validate the freshly produced component. At the same time there are two ways to test the integrity of one part to ensure that the final product complies with the design specification to ensure that the final product compliance with the design specification. There is a “destructive verification process” or DVP that tests an ingredient for failure, and non-destructive tests (NDT) processes are subjected to each individual part before going to the car. This is the place where the team double-checks if its new Barcelona Front Wing is rigid enough to follow strict load tests of FIA.

But as Piraccini states, this is not a linear process, as the quality department is already supporting the production process in the first phase. “Those capabilities are already necessary during the production phase, and we want to speed up time for the race,” he said. “If we are to detect an issue, it is important to detect it before the end of the process, so we do not have to start again. We also test during the life cycle of the part, while we are servicing it. A front wing is checked when it is completely new, and again to ensure that running on-track has no external effect.”

Step 5: Assembly

The final stage is the assembly process where the sub -assembly is being kept together, such as full suspension and front wing, full nose box. As piraccini takes us through the department, we are laying our eyes on the new floor of the squad for Imola that is fitting with the load of wires. No picture is naturally allowed. Those assemblies are then taken to the workshop area. Meanwhile, the paint shop is implementing the levri and sponsor dictions on each part.

Typically, cars are sent to parts before the track is fully assembled. But the time when we are not happening all around, the team is collecting cars completely Isac Hadzar And Liam Lawson In the race. The F1 has such a thing as a house benefit, because Pheenza is just 20 minutes below the road from Emola, which means that racing bulls can move some time limit after some time before leaving their cars.

How the process has changed

What has become clear is that the Aero restrictions operated by F1’s aero restrictions are the intense choreography required to cut out the new parts and more money. Efficiency is a word, and therefore effective communication.

The same mantra applies both on-tracks as it returns to the factory. Every milliskand matters.