Glossary

The cockpit is the section on the chassis where the driver sits. It is essentially the workspace for drivers that contain all the control modules. F1 drivers are often called pilots.  In formula 1 the cockpit is left open, meaning there is no glass shied over the driver’s head. The cockpit is left open due […]

The Coanda effect in F1 is when exhaust gas is guided to go through the rear diffuser. The Coanda effect is fluid dynamics property when a fluid tends to follow the curvature of a surface rather after being in contact with a curved surface. The purpose is to increase downforce.  Using the Coanda effect in

Clean air is when an F1 car is free from rivals and goes alone on a track. It gives optimal aerodynamic performance due to the fact that the airflow is not hampered by any moving object around it. Racing in a condition like this is called racing in clean air.  What is Dirty air in

Chicane is a section of the race track with corners in different directions. This section is placed in order to slow down the cars after high speed. The photo below has chicanes.  Chicanes in F1 are different from circuit to circuit. Some F1 tracks have multiple chicanes and some don’t have chicanes at all. Monaco,

Brake balance is when drivers manipulate the brake pressure of the front and rear brakes by a switch in the cockpit. F1 cars need different brake power in front and rear brakes throughout the race and drivers can regulate it using this dial.  Usually, drivers use a 60:40 or 55:45 split and usually, the front

Bottoming out is when a formula 1 car’s underbody hits the track surface. To get a low center of gravity and to create downforce,  F1 cars already have a very low ride height. Ride Height is the distance between the bottom of the car and the road. When going through a corner or at high

The bodywork of F1 cars is the carbon fiber sections fitted on the monocoque, like the engine cover, nosecone, and cockpit top. The photo below shows a bare monocoque. You can buy the used bodywork embedded in acrylic from different formula 1 drivers for a few hundred dollars.

Bargeboard is a piece of bodywork positioned between the front wheels and sidepods in F1 cars. The main purpose of putting this bargeboard in place is to maximize aerodynamics. Bargeboards regulate the incoming air without disrupting the car’s balance around high-speed corners.  The bargeboard design has become increasingly complex to control the airflow and enhance

Ballasts are weight put in F1 cars to ensure better balance and handling. Putting ballasts in F1 cars is part of tuning the vehicle. Teams now use lightweight materials for F1 cars and put these weights to get better weight distribution. The shape of the ballast depends on the team’s needs and usually varies from

F1 cars composite is made by processing carbon fiber in an autoclave machine. Each stage of making a chassis uses the autoclave. Different parts are processed at different temperatures and different pressures in a vacuum, to extract air from the material.  Two crucial parts that a carbon fiber chassis goes through in an autoclave are