FORMULA 1 – DATA MANAGEMENT
P
erformance is a multi-faceted word in Formula 1. It can be associated with lap time, driveability, top speed, tyre degradation, downforce, power unit output and efficiency, overall reliability, component stiffness, aerodynamic drag, resource efficiency in cost, time, energy and much more. The various areas of performance can all influence each other, so measuring depends on the data collected and the type of analysis undertaken. Each Formula 1 car carries around 300 sensors, which collectively produce 1.5 terabytes of data throughout a race weekend. For a race season, a two-car team produces some 11.8 billion data points.
These must all be filtered and analysed to look for performance gains, reliability issues or strategies to make better decisions for the team. Or to work out what their competitors are doing. From the 11.8 billion data points, it is fair to say that teams reasonably understand what the car is doing. However, to make performance gains and other improvements, they need to keep developing the car, find ways to be more efficient, and understand the car’s characteristics in ever more detail. This is where the virtual world and the physical world intersect. When engineers design parts for the car, teams produce them virtually in CAD, so
By STEWART MITCHELL there is an exact digital twin of each full-scale car in CAD, and a fluid dynamics model. Teams will simulate the properties of any new element in this digital world before a component is built, tested and put on a car. CFD analysis produces a further vast amount of data, measuring every cubic centimetre of airflow around the car in high resolution. Post-CFD analysis is then equally critical, as it influences the decision on whether a part should be taken to the 3D printer and manufactured at 60 per cent scale for testing in the wind tunnel. The wind tunnel then has a series of physical sensors that produce around a terabyte of data each time the tunnel runs.
‘The IT team here at McLaren is a lean group, but our role is to ensure we provide platforms, technology and tools that the various teams within the Formula 1 group need to be as efficient as possible’ Edward Green, head of commercial technology at McLaren
Lando Norris in his McLaren MCL35M at the 2021 Italian GP
14 www.racecar-engineering.com APRIL 2022
Photos: Alteryx
Go with the ’flow
How Alteryx, a data automation and workflow platform, is helping McLaren Racing find, manipulate and exploit data in Formula 1 to run more efficiently
