Racecar Engineering December 2023 - Sample Issue

ELECTRIC RACING

The two European series that are charging ahead

Inside the world of modern motorsport technology

Ferrari SF-23

F1’s Prancing Horse and its rise to victory

AI technology

How computers are changing the role of the race engineer

CONTROL UNITS

Exploiting electronic systems for faster lap times MONOPOSTO

The most eclectic single seater race series around BATTERY MATTERS

WAE navigates through huge industry challenges

UK £5.95 / US $14.50 December 2023 / Vol 33 No 12

FORMULA 1  FERRARI SF23

Horse play ????????

The high aero load circuits seem to be a weak point for the car, with the team unable to load the wings as well as its rivals 6 www.racecar-engineering.com DECEMBER 2023

Ferrari’s SF-23 has shown flashes of brilliance this season, notably at Monza, and is embroiled in a battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship with Mercedes Words and illustrations by PAOLO FILISETTI

F

errari entered the 2023 season with high hopes, having drastically re-designed the front end of the car compared to its 2022 challenger.

There were significant shortcomings in 2022, notably from the power unit that failed in Baku, and the team running with reduced electrical power for the remainder of the season to ensure reliability. Work done over the winter to improve the ERS-H has been successful, and so attention turned towards aerodynamics for this season with the SF-23.

The Italian team reconfigured the front suspension, with a lower track rod compared to last year’s F1-75, while a new front wing, a change to the construction of the nose and optimised bodywork to increase vertical load at speed, all appeared.

Since those introductions, points have been scored at every race other than Australia (to date), and drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have both scored podium finishes. The former was second in Austria, third in Azerbaijan and Belgium; the latter took victory at Singapore and third in Italy.

These latter two races were crucial to the Scuderia for the outcome of its season.

This season cannot realistically be described as a success for Ferrari, but it was another year of building led by the appointment of Frédéric Vasseur to the role of team principal, replacing Mattia Binotto. The team then lost its head of vehicle concept, David Sanchez, to McLaren early in the year and struggled to adapt to the new regime.

Early season issues Electrical issues and strategic errors affected early-season results, but the principal issue facing Ferrari during that time was the car’s performance in traffic, more specifically, tyre wear when following another competitor.

The team worked on improving the car, but its strength lay in the high-speed circuits, specifically Monza and Singapore. The high aero load circuits seem to be a weak point, with the team unable to load the wings as well as its rivals, according to Sainz after the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix. It also appeared that the rear suspension design

was becoming an issue. At time of writing, rumours are that the rear suspension will be re-designed for the 2024 season to help the engineers balance the car.

On home ground at Monza, Ferrari threw everything at the SF-23 to ensure it took the best possible result, including inserting a new power unit, despite there being eight races remaining until the end of the season.

Ferrari started a sort of resurgence from the Italian Grand Prix onwards that, even if it wasn’t a linear process, deserves a deep analysis, which is the purpose of this article.

Monza kicked off the team’s strongest run of form all season, including a win to stop Red Bull’s dominant streak, and it is important to understand how and why that happened.

The root of the uptick lay in a terrible defeat at Zandvoort, largely due to the track layout that did not suit the car at all. However, it was at the Dutch track that Ferrari’s engineers started to better understand the behaviour of the SF-23 and, one week later, following an extensive simulation test programme, it started to pay dividends.

Rear wing, Monza

The rear wing of the SF-23 adopted at Monza was characterised by a straight, very high profile and a flap with reduced incidence. The load generated by this combination was minimal, counterbalanced by equally low drag

DECEMBER 2023 www.racecar-engineering.com 7

ENDURANCE – LMDh Richard Dole

Unfinished symphony As the first season of LMDh draws to a close, we talk to the manufacturers involved about the challenges that have been overcome

By ANDREW COTTON

T

he 10-hour Petit Le Mans was the final round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar series, which saw the GTP prototype class contested

by BMW, Acura, Porsche and Cadillac. The latter two also competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, running dual programmes with the same teams, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Chip Ganassi Racing.

While Cadillac won the IMSA title, it was hardly clear cut. Each of the manufacturers had at least one car in contention for the titles going into the final race and, while that might look like a success for the Balance of

14 www.racecar-engineering.com DECEMBER 2023

Performance system, it was in fact a series of mishaps that led to this close-run conclusion.

Key among the challenges faced by the teams were learning their new cars, getting to grips with the hybrid technology and, above everything, switching on the new Michelin tyres without warming blankets. This latter point is nothing new in the series, but the LMDh cars are heavier than the previous-spec DPi cars, have less downforce and are highly sensitive to ride height changes. There are also reduced set-up tools available to the teams as the cars must run in a certain lift / drag

performance window in all conditions, which has made setting up these sensitive cars rather more tricky than their predecessors.

Series supplier, Michelin, introduced the same tyre to the WEC and IMSA series this year, and also cut the allocation of tyres by 30 per cent for the top class, aiming to encourage double stinting for the prototypes during all endurance races. However, as the majority of cars were not designed when Michelin would normally be going through its development loops, the French manufacturer had to rely on educated guesswork for some of the tyre settings.

The LMDh cars are heavier than the older DPi versions, have less downforce and are highly sensitive to ride height changes

Each of the teams had new cars and new technology to learn at the start of the year.

Much of the development and testing of the standard hybrid system, consisting of a WAE battery, Bosch MGU and Xtrac gearbox, was undertaken by Porsche with its 963.

However, multiple issues arose during testing, notably due to vibration issues caused by the German entry’s 4.6-litre, twin-turbo engine.

The delays meant the teams went into the first race of the season, at Daytona in January, with precious little meaningful running.

During the test and development stage in 2022, the cars were not yet homologated, which means they were changing drag and downforce levels, while also testing different versions of the Michelin tyre compared to those used in races. Consequently, by Daytona, much of the test work could be largely ignored as no longer relevant.

Learning curve

Title-winning Cadillac at Sebring, the victory that kick started the championship chase for the Action Express team

What the manufacturers could take forward was their learning of the electronic control unit (ECU). In an otherwise tightly restricted formula, software is possibly the biggest area of development. The hybrid system is not used to increase power, or to improve fuel economy, as power and energy per stint are both limited by the regulations.

The system is therefore mainly used during the braking, turn and acceleration phases of the corners, including a pseudo ABS system on entry and traction control on corner exit. Brake migration from front axle to the rear was therefore a major focus for all teams as they gained an understanding of the tyre degradation.

While teams sought to get on top of the electronics attached to the hybrid system, the matter of tyres became more of an issue than expected. By IMSA regulation, Michelin was only able to bring one compound of tyre to each race to prevent teams from making a compound choice, as is possible in the WEC.

Michelin has three specifications of tyre, including a soft low temperature (SLT), soft high temperature that is classed as medium (SHT) and hard compound tyre (MHT).

The majority of the races were completed using the medium, but dispensation was given at Daytona to also run the soft during specified hours during the night. This allowed teams the safety of a quick warm up when night temperatures were low.

A similar circumstance was found at Watkins Glen, and dispensation was again given for Michelin to bring its soft tyre. Here, the dispensation was given late as everyone was caught out by the unusually cold weather. Michelin had to overnight the tyres to the track in time for the start of the race.

Temperatures were then cooler than expected at other races, which gave both Michelin and the teams an extra concern as, during testing, conditions were generally hotter. Again, that meant much of the set-up work completed in testing was less relevant during the race weekend, and teams were forced to play catch up.

Acura HPD supplied two teams, Michael Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing, each with one car. The two dominated at Daytona, with Shank taking the win, although the team was penalised afterwards for cheating the tyre pressure system. A further win mid-season and a final victory for Shank at the Petit Le Mans saw out a successful season, but the team has been dropped for next year and both cars will be run by Taylor in 2024.

‘There was a big shift from the SHT tyre to the MHT tyre and then back again,’ says Brian Pillar, technical director of Wayne Taylor Racing.

‘The big challenge we all faced is that the tyre never aligned to the track, which didn’t go like forecasted. The tyre didn’t operate the way it is supposed to, and we were all trying to figure out how to make it work.’

Jake Galstad

‘Tyre thermals is becoming something the team and the manufacturers are really starting to understand’ Brian Pillar, technical director at Wayne Taylor Racing

Acura was the only team to run a new engine in its LMDh car, a 2.4-litre V6 that worked in conjunction with the TAG Formula 1 ECU DECEMBER 2023 www.racecar-engineering.com 15

ICE RACING  TROPHÉE ANDROS

Racing, on the rocks France’s Trophée Andros has been pioneering battery EV motorsport for well over a decade now, and is doing it very successfully... on ice

By LAWRENCE BUTCHER

T

he high mountain resorts of the Alps might to most people conjure up images of après ski and tranquil alpine landscapes but, for those who arrive at the right time of year, there is a far more frenetic treat in store when some of the most aggressive motor racing this side of a stock car arena comes to town. Welcome to the Trophée Andros ice racing championship.

If you were wondering, Andros makes jam, and is owned by Frédéric Gervoson who, along with French Rallycross star, Maz Marmers, established the series in 1990.

28 www.racecar-engineering.com DECEMBER 2023

Its popularity grew rapidly, though beyond a one-off excursion to Canada and a single round held in Andorra, it has remained a strictly French affair.

This hasn’t stopped the championship attracting drivers of the highest calibre, including Yvan Muller (claimant of the greatest number of Andros titles), arguably the greatest Sebastien to have ever raced (Loeb) and a certain Alain Prost, a threetime Andros champion, with one of his wins secured in that most lauded of competition machines, the Dacia Lodgy.

Over time, the cars used in the Andros have evolved from production-based machines, much like regular rally cars, to bespoke creations honed to run solely on short, ice-encrusted tracks. In the past, these featured snarling ICE engines, but the series is now 100 per cent EV, and has been on the electrification journey longer than most.

Electric journey Climate change and reducing the environmental impact of their operations are major factors for the ski resorts Andros visits.

The Trophée Andros has had an all-electric class up and running since 2010, and made the switch to full electric in 2020. It is now a leading platform for the development of battery EV motorsport technologies

On the one hand, shifting climate patterns directly impact their business models – warmer temperatures generally mean less snow, threatening their very raison d’être.

For obvious reasons, they also tend to be situated in areas of outstanding natural beauty, and so are coming under increasing pressure to reduce the impact of development on these natural landscapes.

It’s understandable, then, that rip snorting ice racers are no longer quite as welcome as they once were. The switch to EVs goes a long way towards fixing this.

The first tentative foray towards electrification in Andros started in 2007 and, by 2010, there was an all-electric class, arguably the first of its kind in the world.

Those cars were all built by Exagon Engineering, based in Magny-Cours. Led by Luc Marchetti and well known in the WTCC, the company has a history of electrification.

Way before OEMs became serious about EVs, it was developing the FurtiveGT, a 400bhp BEV with a 53kWh battery, carbon monocoque and composite body, which debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

Exagon built eight cars for that first season. Working closely with partners, Siemens and SAFT, on motor and battery supply respectively, it produced the Andros Car 03 Evo featuring a spaceframe chassis, rear-wheel drive with a 90kW AC motor and weighing 800kg. This electric class would continue running alongside the main ICE competition for many years.

‘At first, they [the promoter] were pretty sure no one would want electric cars in this sort of racing, but they realised that it was the future. But we had to go in several steps DECEMBER 2023 www.racecar-engineering.com 29

CLUB RACING  MONOPOSTO

Single combat

The UK Monoposto Championship provides a place to race anything from old F3 cars to bike-engined pocket rockets, and remains as popular today as when it began 65 years ago

By MIKE BRESLIN

I

n 1932, Alfa Romeo introduced its P3 Monoposto (also known as the Tipo B) to grand prix racing. The car is generally regarded as the first ever genuine single seater, which is what monoposto means in Italian.

Racecars became more specialised from that point on, no longer simply sports cars with the mudguards (fenders) removed, and what subsequently became universally known as single-seater racing never looked back. Monoposto is, then, a title that has gravitas in the sport. It’s also a title that’s been kept alive and well for the past 65 years in the UK. The Monoposto Championship is often thought of as an arena for pensionedoff racecars, those that no longer have a championship in which to race, or are no longer competitive. This is true, to a certain extent, but there’s much more to the series than that. It’s not all old cars for a start.

36 www.racecar-engineering.com DECEMBER 2023

There’s also still plenty of technical development to be seen in the classes where this is allowed.

What really strikes people on first acquaintance with this championship, though, is the sheer range of cars on track.

Mono, as it is often called, is gloriously eclectic. But this is not Formula Libre, and there is a judiciously controlled class structure in Monoposto.

Class structure Formula 3 is the first of the seven classes, for F3 cars that were built before 2008 (though that cut-off date will change soon), as well as much newer F4s and Formula Renaults.

Then there is Moto 1400, for up to 1400cc motorcycle-engine racers, which allows current cars, as does the very popular Moto 1000 class, which is for up to 1.0-litre ’bike-engined machines.

The next class is Classic 2000, which caters for veteran single seaters, such as even older Formula 3 and Formula Vauxhall Lotus.

After that comes Mono 2000, which isn’t for up to 2.0-litre cars as might be assumed, but rather those built before 2001.

Finally, there are the 1800 and 1600 classes, both of which are populated by an array of evocative single seaters, including old Formula Renaults and Formula Fords, some of which have been quite heavily modified, especially on the aero side.

It’s clear from the above that this is not strictly historic racing and, while it does cater for older machines in its classes, Monoposto is certainly not stuck in the past.

‘The secret of Mono’s success is it’s always been adaptable,’ says David Cox, president of the Monoposto Club, and a competitor in the championship for over 40 years. ‘And we’ve always focused on trying to keep it affordable, so we monitor it quite closely.

Andrew Cliffe

The Monoposto Championship is extremely healthy, with a wonderfully eclectic grid, featuring everything from Formula 3 to Formula Ford

‘We allow new things to come in, but with caution. And we try to make sure that if anything new is coming in, it’s not going to disenfranchise those people that are already there.’

Generation game Perhaps the club’s stance with Formula 3 is a good illustration of this. With the relatively recent changes in this category at a professional level – where the old, ostensibly open, F3 has been superseded by the FIA-spec formula – there are now plenty of redundant cars looking for a place to race.

So, while the next generation (2008-2011) F3 cars will be allowed into Monoposto from 2024, this decision was not taken lightly.

‘It’s difficult with the Formula 3 class.

We have to be quite structured with how we move it forward, because it’s kind of our biggest class,’ says Rachel Sergison, the championship coordinator. ‘You don’t want to just say, oh yeah, bring the latest cars in, because you might let three in and lose 10.’

For some racecars, finding a class in which they may compete can take time.

‘We’ll usually sort of test them and see where they best fit,’ explains Sergison.

‘We will put them in our Tiedeman Championship [a mini-series held in the autumn] so we can assess them against the other cars first. Then there may be certain technical restrictions put on them, if they’re considered too fast for the class.’

With everything from hi-tech F3s to FF1600s lined up together on the grid, it’s no surprise to learn there’s a wide disparity in the budgets in Monoposto.

Some of the F3 operations have big transporters and uniformed teams, while other outfits are little more than a driver / owner with their own trailer.

Budgets for some of the smaller classes can be as little as £10,000 a season, less in some cases, which is impressive given that the championship raced on both the Silverstone GP layout and the Brands Hatch GP loop in 2023.

Hey, big spender But at the sharp end, in the Formula 3 class, spending can be on the higher side, though nowhere near the figures bandied about when these cars raced in F3 proper.

The club does make an effort to ensure spending is kept in check, wherever possible.

‘We frame our regulations so we can adjust them if necessary, and we give notice before we make any changes’ David Cox, president of the Monoposto Club

‘We try to keep the regulations such that you can’t just throw money at it,’ says Cox. ‘For instance, we’ve got regulations that limit the number of new tyres you can have.

So, in the Formula 3 class, teams have to register their tyres [tyre choice in terms of manufacturer is free in the championship], because we did have a situation a while back where there was somebody throwing new tyres at every session.

‘Now, whilst that means there’s a nice supply of second-hand tyres further down the grid, it also means that, unless you’re a multi-millionaire, you can’t compete on an equal footing. So, we took steps to limit the number of tyres teams can use.

DECEMBER 2023 www.racecar-engineering.com 37

BUMP STOP

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www.racecar-engineering.com

Hot topic Short stinting tyres and hot laps in Qatar

T

he imposition of maximum stint length was implemented for the Qatar Grand Prix after Pirelli found a safety issue ahead of qualifying. Despite changing the track limit at corners at which constant striking of a kerb was leading to lacerations in the sidewalls, potentially leading to failure, Pirelli mandated a maximum of 18 laps on a set of tyres to reduce risk. It was a move that probably sent the strategists into overdrive, but it was a sensible one given the alternative.

However, there was a slight knock-on effect for the drivers. Not only was the race held at the hottest time of the year in the region but, due to the ruling, each car needed to make three pit stops, regardless of tyre condition. That meant no driver was in tyre conservation mode and all were driving pretty much flat out for 57 laps.

Compact packaging of heat generators such as the engine, MGU and battery may also have contributed to the higher temperatures in the cockpit, but the upshot was there were some extremely hot drivers during and after the event.

Pirelli has gone away to examine the tyres from the Grand Prix and will work with the FIA to find a solution to prevent such a thing happening again, but it seems the focus will be on what sort of kerbs are used in Qatar as this was the first time this season the problem has arisen. The circuit also hosts motorcycle grands prix, and the kerbs famously have to be adapted for their needs.

even in the slightly cooler night temperatures it still got toasty in there. One Viper driver measured the temperature of the throttle pedal and the gear level and found them to be above the boiling point of water. It was no surprise, then, that drivers were seen putting heat insulating material around their gloves and feet ahead of their stint.

However, there was still resistance from manufacturers to doing anything to help the drivers until one particularly hot Le Mans. There, car executives on tour were shocked when they had pit tours mid-race and found drivers collapsed on the floor of the pit, suffering from heat exhaustion. Air conditioning became commonplace soon afterwards, despite the power reduction penalty incurred.

High drama Then came the drama of compulsory air conditioning in the prototype era, and Toyota using its system for cooling the hybrid battery rather than the driver. That led to another edict from the FIA. There has, for some time now, been a regulation in sportscars that could be applicable to Formula 1.

The sportscar technical regulations stipulate the temperature inside the cockpit must not exceed 32degC if the ambient temperature is below 25degC, otherwise no more than ambient +7degC. Temperature readings are live, and post-race must be taken less than eight minutes after the car has stopped. To give an idea of the length teams were willing to go, the FIA also had to mandate the probe be shielded from airflow, to prevent only the cold air coming into the cockpit going towards the sensor.

One other point of note from Formula 1, and that was the recent resistance to an 11th team on the grid. I assumed that this is down to the teams not wanting to share the funding between 11, rather than the 10 teams currently competing. What a disappointment for the fans of Andretti and Cadillac, and for the drivers who want to break into Formula 1 and need available seats to do so.

Liberty seems to have fallen down a rabbit hole of wanting more teams to improve the show, and more races for the same reason, but the existing teams don’t want to lose money. But maybe I’m wrong. With the top two drivers’ wages alone likely to exceed €150m next year, more than an 11th team could hope to take out of the prize pot per annum as it gets up to speed, is it really about money?

Car executives were shocked when they found drivers collapsed on the floor

Cool running The more serious issue is that of heat exhaustion. I can’t help thinking that Formula 1 should be able to do something about it for the hot races, particularly as more are likely to be added to the schedule in coming years.

Cool suits, cooling helmets and air conditioning are commonplace in racing now, particularly in sportscars, where closed cockpits mean reduced airflow to the drivers.

The temperatures were markedly higher on the Qatar Grand Prix race day compared to practice, and the teams and their drivers struggled. There are solutions, of course, but none of them are quick fixes, and they may have further knock-on effects to the racing itself.

During the GT days in the early noughties, drivers did sometimes collapse during races held in hot conditions. At one event in Texas, the race start was delayed to the early evening to try to protect the drivers from the daytime heat, but in cars such as the Dodge Viper, with the engine above the drivers’ feet and a hot exhaust running down the side,

ANDREW COTTON Editor

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82 www.racecar-engineering.com DECEMBER 2023