A question of philosophy
Like any other sport in the world, developing the equipment in motorsport is an effective route to getting ahead of the competition. As with other sports, typically, technical convergence occurs as understanding increases. However, the first half of the 2022 Formula 1 season hadn’t seen the convergence some expected before this era started. So, how does such a physics-driven problem create so many different design options? The answer is philosophy. More specifically, the philosophy of those that lead the various technical groups, and their relationship with the physics at play. AlphaTauri technical director, Jody Egginton, for example, spent much of his early career as a mechanical design engineer and race engineer before he made the move into management, and explains his personal philosophy: ‘We drew dramatically different cars in the concept phase…