The Technology Behind Formula One

axlrosen writes "An article in the NY Times about the technology behind Formula One. The wealthiest teams arm themselves with powerful advantages, almost entirely centering on computing controls in the cars and computer simulation in design. Car data is sent in multi-megabyte wireless bursts each time the team's cars flash past the pits, often in excess of 200 miles an hour. It is simultaneously sent over the Internet to a larger data center in Maranello, Italy, where more complex analysis is done. AMD is expected to supply a supercomputer roughly as fast as the world's 10th most powerful machine to the Swiss-based Sauber Petronas racing team... I love the crazy steering wheel - anyone know what all those buttons and knobs do?"

war driving

[Anonymous Coward]

brings war driving to a whole new level

Blue AC?

[Ratso Baggins]

The blue one labled AC is kinda obvious - all expensive cars come with air.

Steering wheel doodads

[digidave]

"I love the crazy steering wheel - anyone know what all those buttons and knobs do?" "

I'm pretty sure I saw buttons for Ctrl-Alt-Delete on there.

Buttons and Knobs

[b12arr0]

I think the buttons and knobs control things like the oilslick and exhaust cloud. :)

These are truly amazing cars

[adequacy]

When I switch on Speedvision at my friend's house to watch Formula One, what amazes me most about these cars is not just their speed but their ability to turn left (of course) but also to the right. As a NASCAR fan, this "bidirectional steering" thing the Europeans are doing is truly amazing. Maybe someday it will come to the states.

Re:steering wheel buttons

[CaptnMArk]

This one is better: http://www.avaruusmies.com/jokes/images/135.html [avaruusmies.com]

408 attempts too early!

[ShinmaWa]

Who cares about the technology of Formula 1? It took them another 408 attempts to get it right [formula409.com]!

(its a joke people)

Re:steering wheel buttons

[Webmoth]

"What's this Bf button for?"

"NO! Don't touch that!!!"

(Push)

Bang! "Ow!" Bang! "Ow!" Bang! "Ow!"

"Ooooo, I can't watch!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME WHAT BF STOOD FOR???"

"I thought you knew..."

A girl's best friend goes kablooie.

[switcha]

The wealthiest teams arm themselves with powerful advantages,...

And diamonds! [cnn.com]

Whoops!

Re:Blue AC?

[QuijiboIsAWord]

I just figured the driver has an Anonymous Coward mode he can slip into.

Re:Background article

[WarriorPoet42]

From the article: "You can run a small country on $2.8 billion and still get change,"

Can I get that in small bills, please?

Reply to original story:

[Bob McCown]

I love the crazy steering wheel - anyone know what all those buttons and knobs do?"

About Mach 2, depending on how you hit. Let's ask Dale Earnhardt.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:steering wheel buttons

[Waffle Iron]

When I was a kid, there was an animated series on TV that explained what race car steering wheel buttons do.

For example, one button controls the cars "Jump" feature, allowing it to jump over canyons, rivers and the like.

Another button extends the circular saws from the front bumper so that the car can race through the jungle at full speed.

Another one closes the top and enables underwater operation, and there's one that extends a set of wings so that the car can fly for short distances.

The exact functions of the buttons vary by race team. Some of the evil race teams install unfair buttons, like spiked wheel hub extenders or fire dispensers.

I really think that these buttons were overused and shifted the focus of the drivers from racing to implementing dangerous technical tricks. If they had only put some of the button effort into fuel tank safety, many of the lesser-known drivers would have avoided gruesome deaths in huge fiery explosions. I'm still emotionally scarred from witnessing some of those scenes at such a young age.

Re:Background article

[xp]

From the article: Each team has at least one member affectionately known as the DAG -- the Data Analysis Geek -- whose specific role is to pore over the reams of data a car produces during a practice run or a race and help the team use that data to maximize the car's performance.

Nice job. You can call me Mr. DAG.

----
Your Boss Might Be A Muppet [blogspot.com]

The buttons

[Sloppy]

I saw a documentary on the TV that explained what the buttons do:

Button A deploys the powerful jacks. This can make the car jump.

Button B changes the tires into special tires for rough terrain.

Button C makes two circular saw blades come out of the front of the car. This lets you drive through a forest; it'll just cut down the trees as you drive through them.

Button D makes the windshield bulletproof and the cockpit crashproof.

Button E turns on the high-beams.

Button G releases the homing robot. It can fly back home and carry messages to your girlfriend or mechanic.

Re:Background article

[sentientbeing]

im pretty sure one of those yellow and black knobs is a cigarette lighter.....

Re:steering wheel buttons

[tstoneman]

If I remember correctly, the steering wheel buttons are:

1) Smoke screen
2) Oil Slick
3) Machine gun
4) Rockets

Of course, you also need the button to properly dock with your trailer so that you can be loaded with the supplies.

I'm surprised that after 20 years, it still looks like Darth Vader's toilet!

Don't forget diff mapping

[DG]

F1 uses electronically-controlled differentials, which also has its own map. At least one of the rotary controls is a diff map selector.

Another one is probably a TC agressiveness control.

And on Michael's wheel, one is a knob limiting the maximum engine RPM on Rueban's car. ;)

DG

Re:war driving

[torqer]

Yeah -- except due to high speed man/car accidents the chaulk )( symbol is replaced by a chaulk outline.