We are sure that all of us F1 fans have at some point in time wondered about how big these Formula One cars really are. Well, these statistics might help, while making you wonder too.

Body design

All Formula One cars have to be built to very stringent specifications and there are many rules and regulations governing the styling, design, dimensions and weight of these cars. Any deviation from the prescribed norm can lead to disqualification.

F1 cars are about as long as 4,635mm, which is the length of a premium family saloon, just a bit longer than a car like the Chevrolet Cruze or just a bit lesser than the current Honda Accord. The Formula One cars look longer visually because they are so low slung, almost flat on the track, actually only about three feet at the tallest point.

They can not be wider than 180cms or six feet and there are regulations that govern the width of the overhangs and other body work at the front and behind the rear wheels. With the exception of the rear wing, moveable bodywork is not allowed. And any system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car’s bodywork is also prohibited.

The essence of all the regulations is to make sure every team’s car that participates in the race is identical in dimensions, aerodynamic capability and weight.

Though F1 cars can easily reach speeds of over 310 kmph, it might surprise many that their engines are smaller than 2.4-litres in capacity. They are all V8 engines, meaning that they have eight cylinders in a 90-degree configuration, with two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder.

Engines

Unlike normal road-worthy car petrol engines that work up to a peak range of about 6,000 to 7,000 rpm and may sometimes sport superchargers or turbochargers, F1 cars must be normally aspirated, weigh at least 95 kilograms and be rev-limited to 18,000rpm. Turbochargers, superchargers and devices designed to pre-cool air before it enters the engine's cylinders are not allowed.

Nor is the injection of any substance into the cylinders other than air and fuel – so unlike other race cars and what we may have seen in the movies there is no NOx involved here too. Variable-geometry inlet and exhaust systems are also forbidden, as is variable valve timing. Each cylinder may have just one fuel injector and ignition must be by a single spark plug. The only other permitted power source is a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which takes waste energy generated under braking and turns it into additional power. This is then made available to the driver in fixed quantities per lap via a steering wheel-mounted boost button.

On average F1 car engines consume about 75 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres, which is about 1.3 kms per litre of fuel. The petrol used is the regular stuff, though we are sure it will be much purer than what you might get at the local pump.

And the average F1 car tyre lasts just one race. Unlike regular tyres used in road cars that are made from a firmer compound and last about 60,000 kms, F1 car tyres are made from a softer compound and become unusable after the race.

There are whole of other regulations and mandatory rules that govern the materials used in the construction of the car and its testing to ensure a level playing field and more importantly to ensure the safety of the driver.

What is DRS?

The wings and the design of some of the external panels of the F1 car are as critical and complex as an aircraft’s wings and ailerons. The only difference between the two is that while in the aircraft they are meant to provide lift for take off, in the case of the F1 car they are designed to increase the aerodynamic down force to make sure that the car stays stuck to the track at very high speeds.

This automatically means that the amount of aerodynamic drag can vary and can also be modified to get spurts or short bursts of boost to overtake opponents. The component in the rear wing (in layman’s terms a kind of spoiler) which helps the car do that is DRS.

Also known as adjustable rear wings, DRS (Drag Reduction System) rear wings allows the driver to adjust the wing between two pre-determined settings from the cockpit.

The system's availability is electronically governed - it can be used at any time in practice and qualifying (unless a driver is on wet-weather tyres), but during the race it can only be activated when a driver is less than one second behind another car at pre-determined points on the track. The system is then deactivated once the driver brakes. In combination with KERS, it is designed to boost overtaking. Also like KERS, it isn't compulsory.

>muralidhar.s@thehindu.co.in