Auto Think - Think Automotive

Most members of a Formula One team never appear at a Grand Prix weekend.
From a team of between 600–900, only around 85–100 are there at the track.
For the most part, the work of this invisible majority is conducted solely at
the factory, but without them, those at the frontline of the track would never
get to see the glory. This group includes most of the manufacturing department
and most of the aerodynamicists, designers, and R&amp engineers –
people whose roles have been explained in the preceding section “Team
Management Structure: A Who’s Who of Players”. But there are additional
members whose highly specialised jobs require further explanation.
Teams often ensure that the profile of their best factory brains is kept
low-key in order to keep poaching to a minimum.
CFD (computational flow dynamics) analysts
Computational flow dynamics (CFD) is the computerised study of how fluids
behave, and air is classed as a fluid for the purposes of aerodynamics. CFD
experts mainly aid the aerodynamicists (explained in the section “Chief aerodynamicist”
earlier in this chapter) by studying in detail predicted airflow
over key parts of the car. By studying computerised renderings ideas can be
tested without the time and expense of actually making the parts. If the ideas
don’t work, they can be discarded without ever having bothered the production
department.
Some say that one day CFD will replace the wind tunnel and that whole cars
will be designed using just the computers – and the aerodynamicists and
designers of course! This day is a long way off. At present, no computer is
powerful enough to do all the calculations, even for a relatively small part,
and many of the results are extrapolated from behaviour in key cells. But
detail designs, like wing mirrors or front wing endplates, are currently being
designed using only CFD. The technique is also used in predicting oil and
water flow in engines and radiators.
Model makers
Long before a full size car is built and put in a wind tunnel, a scale model of
it has to be built. This model is then put into the wind tunnel to assess the
design’s potential. Different noses, wings, underbodies, and other aerodynamic
details are also built in model form first. The models can be anything from
20–60 per cent scale, and they must be stiff enough for the aerodynamic load
not to deform the body and thereby skew the data. These models are built by
highly skilled model makers.
Systems engineers
The electronic or electro-hydraulic control of everything from an engine’s
operating parameters to those of the differential or gearbox requires systems
engineers for design, development and set-up.
Information technologists
The information technologists can form up to half of the number of people
employed by a team. Computing power is an intrinsic part of a Formula One
team. In its most obvious form, computers are used to record and transfer data
from the car to the team in the garage during a race weekend, via telemetry.
But telemetry is just one branch of the IT department. Computer programmes
are used throughout the team’s operation in design, engineering, manufacturing,
development, and racing. Some of these programmes are bought in; others
are developed in-house in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage over
rivals. A top team employs several hundred software specialists.