Technical regulation "Formula 1"

The characteristics of the car are determined by technical regulations , compliance with which is monitored by stewards of the International Federation of Motorsport .

Chassis

The Formula 1 car is a carbon fiber monocoque with four wheels located outside the body, of which the rear two are leading . Previously, 6 wheels were allowed. The pilot is located in a tight cockpit in front of the car and controls it with the help of the steering wheel , brake pedals and gas.

The width of the car as a whole cannot exceed 200 cm.

Maximum chassis height - 525mm.

The minimum weight of the car with Halo and without fuel is 733 kg ^[1] .

The weight load on the front and rear wheels cannot be less than 333 and 393 kilograms, respectively.

Formula 1 is not the fastest race car in terms of maximum speed: it is 363 km / h. The main advantage of Formula 1 is its extremely effective acceleration, aerodynamics and braking system, which together allow the cars to take turns at high speed and precisely because of this, achieve record times for the passage of ring tracks.

Brake booster and anti-lock braking system are prohibited.

Since 2014, the Brake-by-Wire system has been used, which automatically distributes the brake force on the rear wheels between the brake discs and recovery systems.

Motor

In Formula 1, four-stroke V-shaped six-cylinder turbocharged engines with a camber angle of 90 ° are used. Engine displacement should not exceed 1.6 liters .

In the period from 2006 to 2014, atmospheric V8 engines with a volume of 2.4 liters were used.

However, since the transition to 8-cylinder engines was quite unexpected and costly, in 2006 low-budget teams were allowed to use 10-cylinder engines with a volume of up to 3.0 liters with a limitation of the speed and diameter of the air intake .

Air pre-cooling systems are prohibited. It is also forbidden to supply anything other than an air-gas mixture to the engine. Variable geometry inlet and outlet are also prohibited. Each cylinder can have only one fuel injection nozzle and only one spark plug. Also, the engine is limited to 18,000 rpm.

The cylinder block and the crankcase should be made of aluminum alloys. The crankshaft and camshafts must be made of steel or cast iron . Valve pushers should be made of aluminum alloys, and the valves themselves - of alloys based on iron , nickel , cobalt or titanium . The use of carbon and other composite materials in the production of cylinder blocks, cylinder heads and valves is prohibited.

To start the engine on the pit lane and on the starting grid, an external starter is used (a separate portable device not installed on the machine).

Since the 2014 season (with the transition to turbocharged power plants), the maximum speed has been reduced from 18,000 to 15,000 rpm ^[2] . In addition, restrictions on fuel consumption have been established - not more than 100 kilograms per race and not more than 100 kilograms per hour. To increase the sound volume of new engines in the exhaust system configuration, separate pipes for the flow of exhaust gases directed through the turbine bypass valve have appeared since 2016; when the valve is closed, the sound is approximately 14% louder, when open - approximately 20-25% ^[3] .

Security

In Formula 1, great attention is paid to the safety of pilots. Not a single car can go to the start of the race if it does not pass all the necessary checks, in particular crash tests . The security issue was especially acute after the tragic death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 , leading to such progress in this aspect that, in modern Formula 1, the rider, as a rule, does not receive serious damage even in a head- on collision at a fairly high speed.

To protect the pilot during impacts from behind and overturns behind the cockpit are safety arches . It is also regulated that in any situation, the pilot should be able to leave the car in no more than 5 seconds, for which he only needs to unfasten his seat belts and remove the steering wheel.

Since 2016, miniature high-speed video cameras have been used to record the movements of the pilot's head in the event of an accident. Records from cameras will be analyzed by the FIA, which will help in the development of new security systems ^[3] .

In 2018, the Halo head protection system was introduced, which must withstand a short-term load of 125 kilonewtons. The system is made of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, the system weighs 7 kg. The system was criticized by the teams and pilots, as it spoils the appearance of the car and limits the view.

Electronics

Like any high-tech product, the Formula 1 car is filled with electronics to help you achieve the best results in the race. All electronic filling of the car is inspected by the FIA before the season and cannot be changed during it.

Although some components of the car have electronic components, systems that clearly help to control the car are prohibited (for example, launch control systems or telemetry with feedback). Recently, there has been a tendency to reduce the number of electronics in cars, which increases the role of the rider in driving. In the 2008 season, the traction control was banned, which caused difficulties for pilots in cornering and it became more difficult to drive a car.

From the Formula 1 car, telemetry is continuously transmitted - information about the state and behavior of the machine. Telemetry is monitored by team personnel. Feedback is forbidden, that is, it is impossible to control the car from the boxes , however, the team engineers can, through radio communications, tell the pilot in which position the steering wheel switches should be installed.

Tires

Tires are of great importance in Formula 1. Choosing the right composition, the most suitable for the track, weather and car, is quite a challenge. Teams spend most of this time on tests and free rides . Unlike road cars, tires for Formula 1 cars are not designed for durability (one set is designed for no more than 200 km), the key properties are strength, low weight and traction.

The main components of tires are rubber , nylon and polyester . To change the hardness of the rubber, the proportions of the components added to it are regulated: carbon , sulfur and oil . The softer the rubber, the higher its grip on the asphalt, but the faster it wears out.

3 types of tires are used: slicks for dry tracks, mixed (“intermediate tires”) for slightly wet and rain for wet. Rain is more likely the exception for Formula 1, so tires for dry tracks are most often used. Pseudo-slices are tires with 4 grooves parallel to the wheel. They were introduced instead of slicks in Formula 1 in 1998 in order to reduce speeds by reducing traction.

In 2005, the rules tightened the requirements for wear resistance; This was achieved by limiting one set of tires per race weekend. In 2006, this rule was abolished. In 2007, due to the fact that Bridgestone became the sole supplier of tires, new rules were established: now the team receives two types of rubber for the grand prix, four sets for one rider on Friday and ten for the remainder of the grand prix. Each pilot must use both types of rubber during the race (if at least 1 lap rider rides on a rain or intermediate set of tires all restrictions are removed). The soft rubber type is marked with a green stripe.

Since 2009, they made the transition from pseudo-slicks to slicks.

Since 2011, tires have been supplied by Pirelli . In 2011, Pirelli used the following labeling of formulations ^[4] :
Dark gray - hard
Silver - Medium
Yellow - Soft
Red - Super Soft
Blue - Intermediate
Orange - Rain
In 2012, the manufacturer replaced the colors denoting intermediate rubber with green and rain with blue. Since 2013, hard tires are indicated in orange ^[5] .
In 2016, a new type of slicks was introduced - ultra-soft, marked with a purple color ^[6] .
In 2017, there was an increase in tire width from 245mm to 305mm front, as well as from 325mm to 405mm rear. The colors and composition of rubber for the 2017 season are as follows:
Violet - ultrasoft (ultra soft)
Red - supersoft (super soft)
Yellow - soft
Gray - medium
Orange - hard (solid)
Green - intermediate (intermediate)
Blue - wet (rain).

In 2018, 2 new compositions were added - HyperSoft, marked in pink, and SuperHard, marked in orange, which is unlikely to be used this season. All compositions were adjusted by one degree - compositions with the same names as in 2017 became softer. Also, the tire markings have been changed from orange to blue. Coloring for the season 2018:

Pink - HyperSoft (hyper soft)

Violet - UltraSoft (Ultra Soft)

Red - SupersSoft (super soft)

Yellow - Soft (soft)

White - Medium (Medium)

Blue - Hard (solid)

Orange - SuperHard (Superhard)

Green - Intermediate (Intermediate)

Blue - Wet (Rain)

Since 2019, only three rubber markings have been applied for dry tracks, regardless of the type of compounds selected for the race (out of 7 possible): the softest is Soft (Red); Medium - Medium (Yellow) and the hardest - Hard (White)

It stands for “energy recovery system” (Energy Recovery Systems). It consists of kinetic and thermal energy recovery subsystems. The energy stored during braking can be reused by the MGU-K motor generator. The second system stores the energy of the exhaust gases that are used in the turbine using MGU-H heat generators. For 33 seconds in a circle, the ERS system will release an additional total power of 163 hp.

Adjustable rear wing - a part of a Formula 1 car since 2011, which allows, by changing the angle of attack of the plane of the rear wing, to reduce the drag force acting on the car and thereby increase the speed on straight lines.

The use of DRS is subject to a number of restrictions. So, to activate DRS in a race is allowed only on a pre-determined FIA part of the track (DRS Zone) and only if the time between the leading and catching fireballs at the time of passing the control point (DRS Detect Point), located at some distance from the DRS zone, is less than 1 second

On different tracks, there can be one DRS zone, for example, in Monaco, it is a start line or two DRS zones with one detection point (for example, Hungaroring, Hungary) and two detection points (for example, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore).

The permission to use DRS is given by the race management and may prohibit its use in case of deterioration of the conditions of arrival (rain, strong crosswind).

DRS becomes active under the following conditions:
- since the start of the race, the cars drove two full circles
- when the safety car appears after the restart of the race, the cars must drive two full circles.
The wing opens when you press the appropriate button on the steering wheel and closes when you press the brake pedal, or automatically after passing the end point of the DRS zone.

Formula 1 Rules - Official Version

2006 Formula One technical regulations (English) (pdf)

2007 season changes

Technical Regulations for 2008 (English)

Technical regulations for 2009

Technical regulations. 2010 year. (eng.)

Technical regulations. 2011. (eng.)