{"id":39438,"date":"2022-07-01T07:39:29","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T11:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/?p=39438"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:25:39","slug":"its-the-british-grand-prix-f1-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/its-the-british-grand-prix-f1-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the British Grand Prix F1 this weekend\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do we have a treat for F1 fans<\/strong>: Inside the world of Scuderia AlphaTauri<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of things have changed since the first-ever Grand Prix F1 race at Silverstone in 1950<\/a>. But, what you can\u2019t argue is that over its 72-year history F1 has continuously focused on speed and safety. And this seems to be the case with the newly designed 2022 cars. Besides the shift in aerodynamic design and the ground effect force on the new cars, new safety regulations are one of the key reasons for design changes this 2022 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere have been a lot of challenges. There is a complete new set of regulations. Aerodynamically, there is a large change in philosophy with a big increase in ground effect. This means the way we use the floor is quite different,\u201d says Jody Egginton, Technical Director, Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scuderia
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada on June 18, 2022. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main aerodynamic changes are the redesigned front and rear wings and the addition of underfloor tunnels on the car to produce more ground effect downforce. The means the cars should stick to the track for potentially faster runs, more wheel-to-wheel duals, more passing, and more agile maneuvering. Add in the new 18-inch tires and all this is certainly adding up to more exciting races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safer Grand Prix F1 cars for 2022<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the safety side, experts say the cars are twice as safe as the 2021 versions. The car chassis underwent extremely stringent crash test requirements. For example, the front impact test requires an absorption of 48% more energy than the previous car design, and a 15% increase for the rear impact test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Romain Grosjean\u2019s fiery crash in Bahrain in 2020, the power unit will separate from the chassis without exposing or bursting the fuel tank. And answering the deadly F2 crash at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium in 2019, experts also introduced a longer front nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight gain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“The most important safety changes are the front nose; it can absorb an impact about 50 percent more energy, and the side of the car is also about twice as strong to lateral impact,” says Nicholas Tombazis, Single Seater Technical Director, F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). “We’ve made improvements to the headrest for the driver and to the fuel tank. We’ve made it much more difficult for debris to spread out on the track, which would make it dangerous for other cars. So we’ve been working really hard on all of the safety features.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Digital
Digital twin of the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver in Siemens NX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the new safety features together with the design changes and bigger wheels have resulted in a weight increase. The minimum weight originally went from 752 kg to 795 kg. Before the first race in Bahrain, most of the F1 teams struggled to make the minimum driver plus car weight of 795 kg. At the last minute, the teams reached an additional compromise, increasing the weight to 798 kg. This might be why the first-edition 2022 cars were a little slower to start than the 2021 cars, which had undergone 5 years of design optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n