Thread by @uberstuber

I don't car about cars, or sports, or wealthy people blowing excessive amounts of money, but I love Formula1.

After enduring an entire season of Mercedes dominance, we finally were treated to an amazing race at Austria

Here's why Formula 1 is my favorite sport. A thread 👇

1a/ Logistics: F1 is the world's most expensive travelling circus.

Races are held in 5 continents, at 21 races, often in back to back weeks, 1000s of miles apart. Not only do teams bring cars and spare parts, they bring entire buildings to each race, cheekily called motor homes

1b/ Shipments via plane, boat, and truck all are coordinated to put on a show, week in and week out.

Important parts are packed up immediately after the Race on Sunday and somehow are ready to go for First Practice session the next Thursday.

1c/ Last year, teams had to transfer everything 4000 miles from Sakhir to Shanghai in just 58 hours.

Here's a great video on F1 logistics:

2a/ Extreme Engineering:

My degree is in aerospace, but the aerodynamics involved in F1 are so much more interesting than flying.

2b/ Sure you want a car to have less drag, but you also need downforce.

Think of an upside down wing that pushes the car into the ground. This connects more power from the engine into the ground, and makes turning easier. The entire car is shaped to provide this downforce

2c/ Theoretically you could drive an F1 car upside down and it would stick to the ceiling.

F1 cars have so much downforce that manhole covers on street circuits need to be welded down; when they don't get welded properly you get this:

2d/ The engines are 1000 horsepower hybrids (kinda like your prius, but a little less fuel efficient).

2e/ Not only do you want great acceleration, F1 cars need to slow down quickly too.

Slowing down for corners puts 3-5 times the force of gravity on the drivers, lap after lap after lap. F1 drivers have to train their neck muscles to withstand these forces.

2f/ The brakes get punished during a race, often reaching 1000 degrees Celsius.

2f/ The need for downforce and the open-wheel car design make for some crazy aerodynamic configurations. Each of those tiny fins on the car serve a purpose, to move air around, reduce drag, and generate downforce.

f1technical.net/forum/viewtopi…

3a/ Push for incremental gains:

Every race teams are adapting and iterating their cars to be just a tiny bit better, even tweaking the car mirrors.

This push for tiny 1% gains adds up over a season, and you can watch as teams improve their standings; or stagnate

3b/ It's frustrating to watch Mercedes win race after race, but their engineering department is seriously impressive. A study of their processes would be fascinating.

F1 is the pinnacle of auto-engineering and it's something else to watch. (Sorry WEC fans)

4a/ Driver Drama:

Put 20 of the worlds best drivers on the same track and you're gonna get some head-butting.
Because there are only 20 spots competition is fierce; teams and drivers jockey to put themselves in the best place to win; and to get sponsors. It's fun.

4b/ The Netflix series does a good job of introducing last years drivers, albeit with some over-the-top tire squealing:

5a/ Race Day Luck:

Despite all of the planning, despite all of the contingencies, despite all of the money being poured in, shit happens when you're driving a complex supercar. Bad starts, slow pit stops, accidents, and plain old bad luck all add up for a dramatic race day.

END/ Even with Mercedes dominance, even with some really boring races in the past few years, I still watch every race weekend.

Here are the highlights from today's excellent Austria Grand Prix; the race is worth watching all the way through.

https://twitter.com/uberstuber/status/1155713739976404992?s=20

1.88 (!) second pit stop
i.imgur.com/5ZYKAKt.gifv