My Lockdown Discovery: Formula One

 by Cecilia Cameron

I am sure many of you have watched the Netflix documentary ‘Drive to Survive’. For those who haven’t, it is an overview of the formula one seasons from 2018 to the 2020, picking the highlights and finding the drama throughout the year. This includes clashes, crashes and controversies between teams.  This programme is what introduced me, but what I find really interesting about F1 is how little effect the driver has on the overall result. Obviously, it is important, but not nearly as major as I would have thought. It’s the car that wins you the races. And this is where is gets complicated.

Ella Podmore is an employee at McLaren automotive and specialises in materials engineering. She was the first materials engineer at McLaren and this year won the Young Woman Engineer of the Year award. Having completed her course at the University of Manchester, she had interned at the company for just over a year before solving a large industrial problem and being hired as head of their new materials department. She now works as a fault analysis engineer working on highlighting the issues that occur with manufacturing procedures and analysing broken components. She has had a large influence on the company and its recent success as well as in the media as a member of the McLaren women’s society and a STEM ambassador.

It is no coincidence that McLaren have been contenders for the championship for the past few years. They have come 3rd and 4th in the constructor’s championship and, in 2020, had both of their drivers in the top ten when individually ranked. The drivers are amazing, but the weight of the car will have a significant effect on the results. If other cars are lighter, they will be quicker. The minimum weight of car and driver (without fuel) this year is 749kg and both McLaren and Mercedes AMG, the seven-time world champions, have the same weight of car, at 752kg. However, teams like Alpine racing have cars that are 1kg heavier and you can already see that the result standards are much lower. You could tell from the first race of the season that this will be another hard year for the Renault-born team, even with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in their garage. Microscopic changes made to the carbon fibre of which the body of the car is made can make a huge difference to the overall performance of the car. This is where Ella would come in.

The revelations and improvements made to cars in F1 will not just make that season more entertaining for us, but will eventually be introduced into the cars we drive at home. The tiny and not so tiny changes made in motor racing anywhere could and will change the way we drive. For example, carbon fibre is the main material used in the body of an F1 car because of its rigidity, high temperature tolerance and low weight to strength ratio. This makes it ideal for cars but is simply too expensive for daily life. For most people. Supercar manufacturers use carbon fibre technology to reduce weight while still being safe. Big companies like Ferrari and McLaren use this as well as less heard names like Dallara and Ultima. However, the market for carbon fibre is increasing and the prices going down especially as it is becoming more sustainable. So, these changes in materials are already becoming more and more relevant as they are promoted and perfected through formula one.

I would say that formula one has been my lockdown discovery as I had never taken much interest in it before. As I became more and more invested, I found out why people feel so passionately about it. It changed my view of STEM subjects and, especially with Ella Podmore winning the award, changed my view of the sport as a whole. It is exhilarating competition with epic rivalries all competing to be the best. The fastest. So, if you like science, speed, adrenaline, tactics and team rivalry, Formula One is the sport for you.