Formula1-----Engineering Marvel

Formula 1, a very popular brand of car racing, i guess it is the only sport in the world where engineering skills and knowledge matters most. Every team on the circuit put a lot of efforts and spend millions and billions of dollars just to have that extra edge of few seconds. . Remember they have very strict rules and regulation and teams have to work within that frame and you need  an extremely  creative and innovative team that can put you ahead of others.Most important members of there teams are fluid mechanics specialist or aerodynamicist and solid mechanics specialists.

I am particularly interested in the aerodynamics of Formula 1 car, a feature of a formula 1 car that makes it quite similar to any aircraft ,is the wings. Formula 1 cars have wings but they are inverted wings so instead of generating positive lift, they create negative lift, and it is due to this negative lift that cars stay on the ground, other wise at that speed they will fly off.

There are two types of road grip

1.Mechanical Grip

2.Aerodynamics Grip.

Now the interesting fact is that teams can not change mechanical grip largely, mechanical grip is due to tyres, and every team uses a similar type of tyre, so this factor is almost same in every car, But team can change aerodynamic grip and that totally depend on the design of your wings, shape of the body, under body of the car and maximum amount of budget is spend on the aerodynamics design, wind tunnel testing, simulation and all that type of stuff.

overtaking is extremly difficult in F1, specially before 2009 it was almost impossible for the drivers to overtake, why?

a lot can be written to answer this why, in short car following, receives turbulent (i should not write turbulent, but lets live with it) air from the car ahead of it, that reduces its aerodynamics grip, its just like if you are the first one than you will receive fresh air, otherwise get ready for bad air.

This is a very exciting field for mechanical engineers, F1 has helped car manufacturers to test some of there wildest ideas and then to implement those on the other auto mobiles, its just like space agencies around world spends billions on there space program, and research carried out there is then implemented in other fields,  

And it is mandatory to mention grid girls as well, other than cars they are the most beautiful things on the circuit.

To add spice to this boring blog.