Glossary

ERS is the Energy Recovery System of F1 cars. ERS uses kinetic energy waste and heat waste. It gets the heat energy from the turbochargers and kinetic energy from the braking system.  The energy from ERS is then exploited to run the car. There are two main types of ERS systems used in F1: KERS […]

In Formula 1 (F1), the Drag Reduction System, commonly known as DRS, is a crucial technological innovation that plays a significant role in enhancing overtaking opportunities and adding excitement to races. DRS is a tool designed to reduce aerodynamic drag on a car, thus increasing its straight-line speed. DRS in F1 is a drag reduction

ECU is an electronic control unit that controls all electronic operations of the engine. Sometimes it’s called a car computer. ECU is a computerized device in a vehicle that controls one or more of the engine’s functions, including air/fuel mixture, ignition timing, and idling speed.  It receives input from sensors throughout the vehicle and uses

Energy store or ES in F1 cars is a set of lithium-ion batteries that stores energy from the ERS and the powertrain. ES primarily delivers energy to the MGU-K and MGU-H. The battery also takes energy from MGU-K and MGU-H as well.  MGU- K is motor generator unit – kinetic and MGU-H is motor generator

These vertical plates at the front and rear wings are called endplate and it redirects the airflow around the tires. They are typically made of carbon fiber and are designed to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible while also being as lightweight as possible. They are also designed to be adjustable, so the team can

A drive-through penalty is a penalty in f1 that requires the driver to drive through a pit lane and maintain pit lane speed. The driver must do this then he can rejoin the race. There are many reasons to get this penalty such as causing accidents, speeding in the pit lane, and ignoring the blue

Backmarkers in F1 refer to the cars falling behind in the race and they are often lapped by the fastest cars. There have been incidents where a backmarker collided with leading drivers on track.  Blue flags are raised to inform the backmarker that he should pass a leading car. Usually, there are two, or three

A diffuser in an F1 car is the rear part of the bodywork. The air flowing under the car exits through the diffuser as shown in the photo. This action by the diffuser is responsible to create lion’s share of downforce.  An interesting thing about fluid moving at high speed is that the pressure will

Delta time in F1 is the difference between two laps. Delta means difference and delta time means time difference. Usually, it’s the time difference between the pre-determined lap time and the current lap time.  Delta positive is when the driver is going faster than the predetermined lap time and being asked to slow down for

F1 debrief is a meeting after a race where the whole team comes together to discuss performance, setup, etc. This meeting includes drivers as well as engineers. Usually, there will be a race debrief on Monday where the team analyzes mistakes and comes out with answers.