The Season of Speed Returns
Written on July 4th, 2020 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}
“It’s Lights out and Away We Go”
MOTORSPORTS - A word synonymous with adrenaline gushing action, high tensions and beasts of engineering. But when one thinks of Motorsports, one of the first images that come to most minds are open-wheeled, high-speed, bullet-shaped cars of Formula 1. With the latest F1 World Championship Season starting 5th July for its 70th edition, we thought it would be a good opportunity for everyone to dive into this sport whose popularity still remains largely limited to European and Latin American countries.
The easiest way to describe Formula 1 or F1 is that “it’s a championship where drivers compete in cars purpose-built for racing for the top step of the podium after racing laps around various circuits with the weirdest turns on the planet.”
Seems fairly simple? No brains or body needed to race around in circles, right?
This is the biggest myth people carry when it comes to motorsports. For F1, building a car that lasts 45-60 laps around a 3-6 km circuit on limited fuel, negotiating corners at speeds greater than 100kmph, planning pit stops, predicting positions requires the best engineering and strategic minds from around the world. As for the physical building of drivers, a driver loses about 2-3 kg of weight during the course of each race and on top of this they need to prepare their bodies for a force of up to 24G in case their car crashes. This requires severe physical and mental preparation.
And this is what makes F1 an incredible sport because of its unique combination of engineering, team-effort, strategy, courage and luck. Because, on a bad day, the best car can break down on track, while on a good day, the underdog could take the top step on the podium.
So let’s dive deeper and discover this thrilling sport.
The History
The first F1 championship was flagged off at the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain with King George VI attending. That year 14 teams with pre -WW2 era engines participated in the Championship. The early stalwarts of the sport include Juan Fangio (5-time Champion), Jim Clark, Jack Brabham among others.
Back then F1 was not as we know it today. There wasn’t much money in the sport and so not much motivation for innovations and breakthroughs. And then came Bernie Ecclestone who led F1 into the era of commercial Television Rights which brought the money into F1. The 1970s and 80s were a mess for the FIA (F1 governing body) with political conflicts flying all around regarding the allocation of resources and regulations. These political conflicts had a major influence on the formation of the F1 administration and financial policies as we know it today.
Over the years, F1 has gone through tremendous changes in terms of engine and car innovations, new circuits, new regulations, owing to the large money that is being invested in the sport. We are seeing races being conducted in more exotic and grand fashion like night races in Singapore and Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. These are some of the locations with a fairly large ultra-rich population attracting more investment and making F1 one of the richest sport in the world.
How Does It All Work?
People often don’t jump into motorsports due to the complicated working of the system. Let’s simplify it.
In Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, the goal is to finish as high as possible on the points table that is updated after each race on the Championship Calendar. Points are awarded based on the position at which the driver finishes that race. Only the top 10 positions are awarded points at the end of the race, starting with the winner getting the maximum 25 down to the 10th place getting 1 point. Despite the individual driver taking the points, surprisingly F1 is a team sport because very few drivers in the history of F1 have raced in their own cars.
Teams in F1 comprise hundreds of people from engineers, mechanics, strategy experts to drivers, and their managers. A team is headed by a Team Principal who makes sure all the work gets done and calls the shots. Each team signs two drivers before the start of the season to drive their cars on Race Day. The World Constructors’ Championship is won by the team whose drivers score the most points combined, throughout the season. So, it becomes essential for teams to maximize the quality of their car and minimize any clashes between the two drivers (teammates) on the track.
There are ten teams on the current F1 Grid of which three are Works Teams. Works teams are those that make their own engines and also supply them to others. Currently, Mercedes F1, Scuderia Ferrari, and Renault F1 are the Works team who supply their engines to others. There are also teams like Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri who have Honda engines, separate from the other teams.
Each race of the F1 championship happens over the weekends, starting Friday. There are a total of three practice sessions for teams to test their cars and for drivers to get a hold of the circuit’s turns. Then, on Saturday, a Qualifying Event happens over three sessions. The goal here is to set the fastest lap time in the given session time. After each session, the five slowest cars are eliminated before a top 10 shootout for pole position. The cars line up on the Race Grid according to their best lap times in the Qualifying with the fastest car taking the front-most spot. Qualifying is a test of how fast the car is and how skilled the driver is round the track - aspects like tyre choice, track temperature differentials and slip streams always make for an interesting hour of qualifying.
Sunday is the Race Day when cars line up according to the Qualifying order and race for the win. During the course of the race, the drivers have to pit for a change in tires or minor repairs. And these pit stops are fast. The task of changing the 4 tires takes on average about 3s. But, the timing of these pit-stops is crucial, because from entering the pit-lane to exiting it, the driver loses about 20-25 seconds. So, the team has to also plan according to a rival team’s pit-stops and that’s where the strategists come in.
But when the drivers are pushing the car to its limits driving at speeds greater than 350 kmph, sometimes the car gives in and it can lead to disastrous consequences. Although in recent times, F1 safety has increased manifold, drivers always have a risk to their lives. Last year, a young driver, Anthoine Hubert lost his life in an F2 race in Italy.
After the end of each season, the contracts of some drivers with their teams expire and they are up for grabs by other teams. Drivers showing promise are usually signed by teams with greater resources and better cars, while rookie drivers usually start as back-markers with inferior teams. Some drivers don’t get signed for the next season either due to their poor performance or lack of vacancies with favorable teams.
Grid 2020
The 2020 Season finally starts on 5th July with a COVID affected calendar, but that doesn’t change the cars or the drivers.
First, let’s get the three top teams with the best cars out of the way. As constant since 2014, Mercedes are favorites for the Championship this year too with the promise shown during the pre-season testing. Ferrari on the other hand has “claimed” they don’t have a Championship worthy car as yet despite having one of the best driver line-ups with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc. On the other hand, Red Bull Racing is confident that with Max Verstappen at the wheel, they can take the fight to Mercedes this season. This is the first time Red Bull has been so confident since Vettel won the 2013 Championship for them. The switch to Honda engine from a Renault one proved very promising for them in the 2019 season.
As for the best of the rest, the mid-field battle is expected to be very close this season with McLaren and Alpha Tauri (previously Toro Rosso) showing confidence consistent with their podiums in 2019. Alfa Romeo (previously Sauber F1) also showed promise with top times in pre-season testing and experienced drivers like Kimi Raikkonen. Racing Point F1 came under heavy criticism when their pre-season car had an uncanny resemblance to the Mercedes W10, their 2019 Championship winning car. As if more proof was needed, the car was unexpectedly fast during pre-season testing in Barcelona. Renault F1 didn’t seem very confident with their car and seem to be looking at the future more than the present. But with the driver line-up of Esteban Ocon (replacing Nico Hulkenberg) and Ricciardo, they have held on to hope. But they will have to struggle to catch-up with the mid-field. Haas F1 and Williams were the back-markers in the 2019 season bringing up the rear of the Championship. This season though both teams showed great performance in pre-season with reliable cars. Williams in the current stage can see themselves back to winning days in the later future. They’ve also managed to sign two young rookies in George Russell and Nicholas Latifi who’ve shown great promise in the lower leagues.
What's Changed This Year?
The F1 Calendar normally starts out in Australia in early March. But, a day before the race weekend was scheduled to start - it was all called off because of Coronavirus. After 3 months of fans binging on old race reruns and and some exciting Virtual Grand Prix races, the season's back! (To start again)
The other main difference is one that we've all collectively despaired over - a lack of fans. Even F1 hasn't escaped the scourge of CoVID and the races are going to be held in isolated bubbles separated from the rest of the world. All teams would remain socially isolated from each other - on the track as well in their living accommodations. A further threat caused this year is a the fear that if a member of a team tests positive for the virus - the entire team is quarantined until they are tested negative - leading to a tiny chance that drivers could miss out on Qualifying or Race Day.
The first race of the year is gonna be held in Austria at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. To make up for the lost races - that's where the second race is also going to be held.
The season starts off with 8 races packed over 10 weeks in Europe and will move forward from there.
Technically - the new technical regulations aimed to improve the competitiveness of the cars have been pushed back by a year at least. However, this hasn’t stopped teams from altering their 2019 cars. Mercedes, in particular, has come up with a controversial (yet, entirely legal) steering modification called DAS (Dual Axis Steering) that allows its drivers to adjust the toe-out of their wheels by pulling on their steering wheel - allowing some level of regaining of speed on the straights.
Project Pitlane
The Coronavirus Pandemic has devastated the world - and the world of sports in particular. In response to help the people hit hard by the pandemic, Formula 1 has put old rivalries aside in the battle against the virus, doing what the people of F1 do best; adapt, innovate and deliver, as shown through Project Pitlane and other important initiatives to support health services and victims of COVID-19.
With contributions from all 10 team principals, drivers, Jean Todt, Chase Carey, and Ross Brawn - the challenge, of course, is the recently formed 'Project Pitlane', where seven of the ten current F1 teams based in the UK (Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Racing Point, Renault, Haas and McLaren) have come together along with the NHS, the UK's National Health Service, to help with the production of ventilators and breathing equipment that is desperately needed across the United Kingdom.
Innovation and resolution are hallmarks of Formula 1 and it’s inspirational to see an industry-leading sport making the world a better place.
How does Austria look?
The first GP in Austria presents a rather interesting outlook. While Mercedes and Hamilton do look the runaway favorites (especially after a Ferrari revelation that they have to run a below-spec car) - Austria has always been a happy hunting ground for Red Bull and Max Verstappen who has won the previous two Austrian GP’s. It’s impossible to discount Ferrari either - who took pole here last year and had both drivers finish above at least 1 Mercedes.
The Practice Sessions on Friday did point, however, to a bleak picture for teams not named Mercedes as they led the rest of the grid by a mile (more than half a second in Free Practice 2). However, teams are known to “sand-bag” Friday practice sessions - indicative by the fact that the fastest time was still over a second slower than the fastest qualifying time last year.
Besides the top three teams - the rest of the teams were bunched together in the middle. Racing Point, Mclaren, Renault were all competing for that mid-field slot and could take the fight to the podium places in the right circumstances.
The future of the sport (2021 season)
Sebastien Vettel is going to be out of a Ferrari contract at the end of this year. The legend of the sport was refused a contract extension with the Italian team - with them instead, resting their faith on young prodigy Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz playing the obvious support role. How this impacts team dynamics - with an underperforming car, a driver who will be driving for himself and a shaky team structure - remains to be seen.
Mercedes have to make decisions for next year as well - especially in the context of new rules that’ll even out the playing field. Both their drivers are out of a contract - and while Hamilton and Bottas are likely to renew their contracts - there is still some uncertainty over both drivers’ futures.
For the rest of the grid - large shake-ups are in order. The future of a lot of drivers is uncertain - in fact, the F1 team of Williams terminated their title sponsorship and are on the edge with respect to their funding.
There's also been very hotly received rumours about Fernando Alonso's - a former 2-time winner of the championship - return to F1. While there hasn't been any official update regarding the same - the rumours do portend well for the Spanish legend.
2021 F1 cars were also planned to have a radical new design philosophy and striking new look - with sweeping bodywork, simplified front wings, bigger rear wings, increased underbody aerodynamics, simplified suspension, and low-profile tires - however, the pandemic has put those rules changes on hold for at least a year.
The Legends of F1 Past
F1 World Championship completes 70 years this season. And over these years, there have been legends during different eras of the sport. Some more remembered than others. One thing common between them was that all raced for the passion of racing and securing the top stop, whatever it took.
The 1970s and 80s saw some great drivers take the front. This was a time when stepping into an F1 car was a recipe for a miserable death. Yet drivers like James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Nelson Piquet raced and claimed fame. But the most immortal name from these times is, Niki Lauda (1949-2019). Lauda left everything from his family behind in Austria to race. He claimed 3 world titles between 1974-1985, but the story to tell is his recovery from a horrible accident at the German Grand Prix in 1976 where he recovered from 3rd-degree burns. The movie Rush (2013), immortalized his struggle.
The late 1980s and early 90s were dominated by the greatest rivalry in F1 history between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Between 1985 and 1993, this duo took 7 world championships between them (Prost:4, Senna:3). Both had some intense moments on and off the track during these years but were undoubtedly one of the greatest F1 drivers in history. Unfortunately, Senna died during a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The rest of the 90s saw the rise of a new legend, who could replace Senna’s spot on the grid, Michael Schumacher. Schumacher is believed by most as the greatest F1 driver of history. He won 7 world championships and 91 races during his career, records yet to be broken 16 years after he took his last championship in 2004. Schumacher was not only a skilled and daring driver who performed unbelievably overtakes but also a very shrewd-minded one. He has shown at many occasions in his career that he winning is not always about being the fastest in F1.
The 2010s have seen the rise of another great F1 rivalry, one that is intense on the track but respectful of it. Two legends currently racing on track this season. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Vettel won 4 consecutive Championships from 2009-2013, a feat only Schumacher had achieved at the time. Lewis on the other hand has won 6 World Championships and is the current defending Champion. His claim to fame came after Mercedes emerged with an invincible car in 2014 with the new turbo-hybrid engine regulations. He is believed by many as Schumacher’s successor as a racing legend.
With new talent rising, where 13 of the 20 drivers are just beginning their career in F1, there is a lot of promise for the future of racing and for those of us starved of races for the past 8 months - Sunday presents a welcome treat.