Formula One Cars - Unsurpassed Technology at Its Finest
by Michael Walker Platinum Quality Author
Formula One Racing is, quite simply, the paramount of
karting. It is the professional form of the sport in its entirety. Formula
One is an international phenomenon, a media conglomerate that rakes in
millions and millions of dollars a year from advertising, sponsorship, and
broadcast revenues. Professional drivers with millionaire bank accounts race
these majestic kart marvels that are unprecedented, flush with technological
luxuries – everything from hard to produce lightweight frames that glide the
machine to tires with unsurpassed grooving style that exemplify powerful
movement on the circuit.
There is no sport that bests epitomizes the term “global sport” like Formula
One racing. Many countries serve as active participants in shaping the
professional karting scene – for example, Malaysia is a hot spot for racing
(Fernando Alonso, a Spanish-born driver under Team Renault recently won a
race there) and Italy plays a vital role in designing and manufacturing
first class, top-of-the-line karts. Drivers and racing personalities hail
from all parts of the word – you have the charismatic and popular Italian
Renault boss Flavio Briatore, the handsome young 23 year old racing prodigy
in Fernando Alonso who stars in a Renault Megane commercial with his pet
pig, and one of the highest earning sports figures in world history in
Michael Schumacher. Rivalries are common in Formula One – adding the edge of
excitement with every zip of the curve and nitrous boost of the machine.
In order to better become acquainted with Formula One racing, we must
understand its organization. Karting goes way beyond pitting 3 2-cycle
engine machines against each other on an oval circuit. Formula One is
divided into drivers & their respective teams. Under such trademark car
companies like Renault, Ferrari, and Toyota – each driver has an assembling
cast of staffers consisting of mechanics, engineers, and designers all
working towards one goal: to make that speedster faster using all the
resources at their disposal. Headed by team bosses that are adept at
creating sponsorship opportunities and assembling the best cast for each
team, Formula One employs the finest specialists in the business with
backgrounds in computer and automobile – even specialists with aerospace
experience! High end, (rare technology reserved for space projects) in some
instances, create the fastest and most efficient car possible. According to
FI rules, racing teams must design, construct, and built their own karts
from scratch. The staff is the pride of each individual team – capable and
able to win every 57 lap enduro race from Malaysia to Great Britain.
Formula One cars can be summed up in two words: technological marvels. These
sleek, low riding gems ripping through laps at speeds topping 200 mph.
consist of more than just a chassis, an engine, and four wheels. For
starters, the engine is located behind the cockpit as opposed to standard
automobiles. They consist of 10 cylinder engines that produce heat which
propel the kart forward. Team engineers are always looking into ways to make
their engines more powerful. Currently, 1000 bhp (a scale for horsepower)
has not been topped – it is up to the teams to produce an engine which would
fare well supporting speed as well as support the chassis. And as we know,
there is a snug open cockpit for Jarno Trulli to maneuver his machine in.
Construction of Formula One race cars is unprecedented. The first rule of
thumb in designing a bonafide piece of framework is to make it weigh as
least as possible. Less kart weight correlates to faster speeds. For this
reason, team brains use lightweight material that is hard to construct. The
minimum weight of a kart must be 600 kg including the driver. This ensures a
level playing field, although teams are allowed to keep their money making
construction methods a secret from other teams. Team staff is very highly
regarded in the Formula One business. Their technological and dynamical
know-how of the machines they build is a valuable asset to any team. And
like free agents, they are lured and signed by the likes of companies
creating a recruiting war for their services. Of course, there are
restrictions for creating karts. You cannot add nitro boosts to your machine
or use technology that resembles life in the year 3000. Teams are always
looking to bend the rules slightly and coming up ways to beat the
competition legally.
Professional kart tires have to have optimum characteristics to ensure
smooth driving. For one, tires have to have grooving technology built into
them. For the novices, grooves are indented lines in tires that allow for it
to slow down considerably on turns and to adapt to the track surface. No
matter what the technology, kart tires are simply not adept at withstanding
the rigors of asphalt, concrete, and dirt. For this reason, Formula One
racers are allotted two pit stops during the course of a 57 lap race to
change tires. If you’ve ever watched a Formula One race, team staffers with
lightning quick hands have an extremely limited time for which to remove and
replace tires in the pit stop – often times not exceeding over 7 seconds!
Regulations are placed on tire grooves (a minimum of four) to allow for an
even playing field for all racers. Remember enthusiasts, grooves serve more
to slow down the kart than to speed it up.
Chassis construction with its illustrious carbon fiber material, tires with
indented grooves, team specialists with a knack for speed, and engines which
burn heat like calories is the epitome of a Formula One race car. All of
these attributes contribute to the performance of the vehicle in racing lap
after lap. As a result of all this technology, Formula One cars leave people
breathless reaching consistent speeds of 200 mph. on the race track. More
impressive is the time needed to go from 0 mph to 100 mph – 5 seconds!
Formula One is only moving forward with the advent of new features - like
improved horsepower engines, more lightweight materials, new ballasts to add
weight to the car, and more. Behind that stylish, mind blowing chassis that
pique our interest is that top-class technology that makes Formula One
racing so great.
Michael Walker is a freelance author providing information about a variety
of go-kart topics including
go kart
kits,
go kart engines and
go kart parts. His articles prove to be both a useful and
entertaining resource of valuable information for the karting enthusiast.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Walker
Automotive Industry Articles for your
Information, Entertainment and Enjoyment
Note: We do not endorse any advice, methods, products, or practices covered in
any article.
The reader needs to use their own judgment and if they feel it is warranted ask
the advice of competent authorities before following any advice, methods,
products, or practices covered in any article.
CaliforniaCollectorCars.Com has received permission to reprint all published
articles presented.
.
