Racecar Engineering April 2018

Many racing stories become legends, true or not. Some happened a long time before I was there, so I cannot confirm them, but here are a few that have stuck in the memory. Vittorio Jano was Alfa Romeo’s chief engineer. He was of Hungarian descent, having been baptised Viktor Janos. He was a civilised man who enjoyed life, and he was responsible for many iconic cars. At Alfa Romeo his first design was the 8-cylinder in-line P2 grand prix car. He also produced the P3 model, which later was raced with great success by Enzo Ferrari when he began Scuderia Ferrari in 1933. Jano resigned from Alfa Romeo at the end of 1937 and moved to Lancia. Among his designs at Lancia was the grand prix D50 for 1954, but after the death…

Having been in the Ferrari garage during F1 testing a little while back, one of my abiding impressions was the remarkable composure of the then teenage driver Charles Leclerc. While most youngsters of this age are coping with the transition from school to university or their first job, he appeared to be completely unfazed with this daunting responsibility. Here was this kid, about to step into an almost priceless, advanced-technology, near-1000bhp machine carrying the badge of the most iconic marque and capable of mind-boggling speed. He was surrounded by a small army of engineers and technicians plus banks of computer screens and communications/data equipment, all of this intensive and hugely-expensive exercise focused totally on him and his ability to deliver exactly as needed. Every action mercilessly recorded, no mistake unnoticed. Oh,…

‘In testing we will make sure we understand that the losses coming off Halo are where we think they are’ Formula 1 has ushered in a host of changes for the 2018 season. The new head protection system, known as Halo, is the most obvious from a visual point of view, and has already attracted a lot of negative feedback from the teams. It has also had a significant effect on the rest of the car, in terms of weight and design thanks to a late introduction of the regulation leading in some cases to an all-new chassis design. With new tyres from Pirelli, offering teams a new challenge of working them at different circuits, and longer life power units for this season, teams have had anything but an easy preparation…

Head protection in open cockpit cars has become a major topic in Europe with Formula 1’s introduction of the Halo. But it’s also an issue in the US and IndyCar has been working with its car builder Dallara to introduce the Opticor screen-based head protection system, which has been retro-fitted to the current chassis for a test. The Opticor, produced by PPG, was tested on the Phoenix short oval in daylight, dusk and at night by Scott Dixon, and was hailed a success, although there is a long way to go for the system before it can be introduced into competition. The FIA looked at different ideas for F1 cars for some time. It fired a 20kg wheel and tyre at 225kmh into a variety of potential solutions. One was a polycarbonate…

Kevin Thomas is a normal bloke. He works in an office, doing an everyday job and lives in a quiet and pleasantly unremarkable suburb of a city in northern England. He’s also a very serious F1 fan. He attends races and tests, but what really sets him apart is in the garage next to his house. When the door raises the noses of a brace of Formula 1 cars are revealed, a 1994 Footwork Arrows FA13 and a 2014 Caterham CT05. Thomas has been featured in this magazine before, when he was rebuilding a 2001 BAR-Honda 003 in the shed at the end of his garden using parts bought from websites such as eBay. His dream is to have his own F1 car that he can drive himself whenever he wants,…

The LMP1 privateer class has come to life this year, largely because the chance of an overall podium for a privateer has risen dramatically. With Audi and Porsche withdrawing from the hybrid category in 2016 and 2017 respectively, Toyota has found itself as the sole manufacturer entry in the World Endurance Championship’s top class. And with just two Toyotas entered in the WEC and at Le Mans, the privateers now have something very tangible to aim for. There is even the chance that bad luck could hit the TS050s, paving the way for the first privateer win at Le Mans since Champion Racing’s triumph with an Audi in 2005, and the first privateer constructor to win since Rondeau in 1980. There is, of course, also the chance that a reliable LMP2…