Understanding Formula 1: Car Setup

You may have often heard F1 drivers talking after the practice sessions that their car is still not balanced and the team have got a lot of work to do to sort out the balance issues. So, after all, what does the team and engineers do to get a driver optimal setup? Let’s take a look.

To understand the setup of an F1 car, it is vital to first understand some terminologies associated with it. First is oversteer and understeer.

Oversteer is when the front of the car grips more than the rear of the car. What it basically means is that the car will turn in smoothly but as soon as the driver enters the corner the rear of the car will have a tendency to snap out. To counter oversteer, drivers have to react quickly and use opposite lock. Opposite lock means turning in the direction opposite to the direction in which the car is starting to spin.

Understeer, on the other hand, is the opposite of oversteer. It is when the front end of the car refuses to turn in and this means that the driver will have to enter the corner at a much slower speed. Otherwise, the front end of the car wouldn’t turn. Contrary to oversteer, understeer is inherently stable and doesn’t require any correction from the driver, except reduction in speed.

So, what is the fastest way to take a corner? That answer usually depends on the driver’s skill. There are some drivers who like to have oversteer so that the front turns in quickly while some drivers like Jenson Button prefer understeer. But, with an oversteer setup, a driver has to make corrections mid-way into the corners and has to manage throttle effectively, otherwise the car would spin.

Now, you may have a question in your mind as to what role do engineers have in the whole process. The engineers basically give the drivers all possible setup options keeping in mind it’s affect on the aerodynamics, tyres, etc. If the drivers want to have a responsive turn in, they increase the wing angle of the front wing while keeping the rear wing angle in similar proportion so that the car doesn’t become unstable. And, if the driver feels that the car is too responsive, the engineers reduce the front wing angle to increase the understeer nature.

Apart from adjusting wing angles, the setup of the car can be changed using different suspension geometries. A stiffer suspension is used to make a car stick to the track while a stiffer suspension is used to make the cars ride the kerbs easily. If the suspension is too stiff, the car would be jumping off the kerbs and will be unbalanced. Set it too soft and the car will be slipping and sliding all over the track. So, the optimal setup is usually the compromise between these two geometries.

The suspension of the car is made stiffer or softer with the help of springs and dampers. Usually, in wet and changing conditions, drivers opt for the softer setup so that the car doesn’t bounce off the kerbs.

Different circuits demand different setups and so the engineers and drivers constantly have to keep working during the practice sessions to find a setup which suits their car. On circuits which have long fast straights like Monza, teams opt for low downforce setups. That is, the cars run with very small wing angle. While on circuits which involve lots of corners, teams opt for high downforce setups. That is they run with a larger wing to generate the required amount of cornering grip.

Now, when does the driver feel the car balanced? That answer again will depend on the driving style of the driver and will be different for different drivers. Basically, when the driver feels that he is able to extract maximum out of the car and is comfortable driving the car for whole race distance, he will term his car as balanced.