Formula One racing is the highest level of single seater open wheel motor racing category recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). All participants in Formula One must comply with the regulations in order to be eligible to compete in the race.
Formula One racing championship consists of a series of races around the world. In the recent years, the championship often begins in Asia/Oceania ie. Australia, Bahrain. As the season continues, the championship then works its way back to Europe, where most of the Formula One racing teams are based.
A Formula One racing Grand Prix has the distance of about 305km (or two hours, which ever comes first). In 2011 there are 12 teams and 24 drivers participating in the championship. On the 2011 championship calendar, there are 19 Grand Prix races planned. The season will begin in Melbourne, Australia on the weekend of 25th – 27th March.
The championship races provide a variety of different opportunities for betting on Formula 1 outcomes. It is possible to place bets on overall Best Constructors and Best Driver of the season.
Development of Formula One Racing
Every year there are major or minor changes to the regulations of Formula One racing. This means every new season, each F1 team has to develop a new car that incorporates the rules and the most recent technology in order to maximise the performance of their cars. This takes a high degree of design workmanship, innovation and in some cases ingenuity.
The design of a brand new Formula One car often begins from the previous year. Teams frequently choose to launch their new cars before or during the pre-season test in January or February. During the pre-season test, the new cars are driven for the first time on the track. A good deal of set-up and calibration work has to be undertaken before the car is ready for the very first race of the year. These pre-season tests can often provide a window of knowledge that can be applied to betting on Formula 1 as the season rolls on.
The first couple of races each year are usually in Asia/Oceania, as all teams in F1 has their factories based in Europe. Due to logistic reasons, teams usually won’t have significant update on the cars until the races returns to Europe. Hence where each team is in terms of their pace is often predictable on the first couple flyaway races in Asia/Oceania.
The performance of a Formula One car is being constantly improved throughout the year. Each different track there is a different set up to the car.
Every year Formula One teams strive for the best results by investing significant amount of effort and money into research and development. At the end of the day the team that win Formula One racing championships races are the teams that are able to out-develop their opponents.
Aerodynamic Development of Formula One Car
Formula One cars travel at the speed of up to about 330 km/hr, and they average about 220 km/hr during the race. In order to turn the cars around the corners at high speed, aerodynamic down force is required to pressure the tyres to the ground, this then produces more grips on tyres.
Aerodynamic is one of the most important features on formula one car. The theory behind the generation of down force is the same as the lifting force on the wings of aircraft. The differences in the speed of the air flowing through the top and bottom of the airfoil create the differences in air pressure. Lifting force is generated.
When an aircraft’s wing is turned up side down, down force is created.
However down force may sometimes result in drag, hence efficient down force is crucial to formula one cars.
In order to maximise the aerodynamic efficiency, Formula One teams invest significantly on the research. This includes the investment in track testing, wind tunnel laboratory testing and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD). These researches result in the improvement of on track lap times.
For further details on the front wing, please read the blog post Aerodynamics of Formula One Car Front Wing.
