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Formula 1 cars are the most advanced form of racing car in the world. As a technology story alone, an F1 car stands alone even outside its interest racing on the track. From carbon fiber to carbon brakes and from sculpted chassis to sculpted tires, find out how the F1 technology works, how it is different to other racing cars and the main lines of its development.
Formula 1's Kinetic Energy Recovery System
In 2009 as part of Formula 1's effort to become more environmentally friendly and relevant, the series began using a Kinetic Energy Recovery System to collect energy normally wasted during braking, and to re-use it in short bursts of power to increase speed and help in overtaking.
A Formula 1 Car as a Carbon Fiber Cake
A revolution in racing car materials in the early 1980s led to the standard F1 car body of today. No longer made of a metals, today's cars are made of an ultra light, strong plastic-like material called carbon fiber. It was associated more with the airplanes in the past, but now F1 engineers have become so adept with carbon composite materials that other industries turn to them for advice.
The Coming Era of the Standard ECU
One of the most high tech parts of a Formula 1 car is the ECU, used to gather data from electronic sensors on the car. The data is sent from the track to the engineers to tell them how parts of the car are reacting on the track. In order to reduce costs in F1, starting in 2008 teams will no longer create their own ECU, but will share a standard ECU made by Microsoft and the McLaren team.
FIA Talks of the 2014 Engine Rules
The International Automobile Federation changed the rules concerning the Formula 1 engine, for instigation in 2014. At the time of the rule change the FIA produced a Q&A telling the reasons behind this change, and details of the new engine.
The 2.4 Liter Engine in F1 Celebrates 100 Races
The 2.4 liter Mercedes V8 engine competed in its 100th race at the Hungarian Grand Prix of 2011. Here's a summary of what the engine has achieved since its very first appearance at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix.
F1 Brakes Are Designed for Speed, as Well as Slowing Down
We generally think of car brakes as designed to make a car slow down. But in Formula 1, the first thought of the drivers and engineers is how to use the brakes - like almost every other one of the vehicle's 3,000 parts - to make the car go faster.
F1 Drivers Face Multi-Tasking Drive
A Formula 1 driver's job has got a lot more complicated with the improvement in racing car technology. And drivers are not sure they like all the added tasks and buttons that have transformed the nature of elite racing.
The Many Buttons and Dials on an F1 Steering Wheel
One of the modern Formula 1 driver's biggest technical challenges is to learn by heart the positions, buttons and lights on their complicated steering wheels.
An A-Z Look at KERS, the F1 Environmental Initiative
The Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, or KERS, was introduced by the International Automobile Federation, the sport's governing body, to not only make Formula 1 more environmentally relevant and useful to the sport's car companies, but also to improve the racing by making overtaking easier.