In the last couple of years, pre-season testing for Formula 1 had been done on the Barcelona track, “Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya”. This year will be slightly different as pre-season testing is set to take place in Bahrain. Bahrain has also been determined to be the venue for the 2021 season opener. Formula 1 is heading into 2021 with a bulkier calendar than ever as 23 races are scheduled to transpire. In the 17 races carried out in the 2020 season, valuable information was collected and reflected upon. Some of the aspects which have given a face lift in 2021 include the minimum weight of the car (pre-fuelled), controls on copying an opponent’s Listed Team Components (LTC) and a set budget spent by each team. With the ambition to minimize the financial gap among the various teams, this upcoming season will be the first ever to witness a cost cap. This may encourage more teams to stick to F1 as it could alleviate the financial burden many have suffered as a result of the global pandemic. Furthermore, making an effort to avoid prohibitive prices of the application of exotic materials, the minimum weight of the car has gone up slightly. The only question is whether the teams are ready with just over a month less to go. For that to happen, the teams must run a tight ship and closely follow a timetable with enough time for having the final components ready for the actual race on the 28th of March.
Bold's undertakings
The new season’s floor changes mean there is a great deal of new concepts needing to be developed. Teams started looking into the effects on performance of the floor regulation changes since the third race of the 2020 season. This is usually done at the Friday running session with a modified floor that accepts different aerodynamic options. These aerodynamic concepts can be modified or altered by selecting one different version of composite bolted on parts to the modified floor over another. F1 teams would usually evaluate a couple of options and a benchmark option to size up any performance differences. For this, Bold designed the components and floor drawing modifications which later went on to be used at Silverstone in 2020 by one of the top teams.
For the 2021 season, which is starting in just a few weeks, there have been many new parts coming through. The teams in F1 will more than likely come up with around 25,000 drawings for a new race car. Even with monocoques being a carry-over structure from the 2020 to the 2021 season, there has been a significant number of new components to be introduced. Some teams have even replaced the entire rear suspension, gearbox, and cooling systems, to race on top with so many new engine parts. And of course, all bodywork is completely new, from the nose box to the rear wing. In that respect, the whole Bold team has produced more than 4,000 3D models and drawings to help make these changes happen. All this work involves thousands of hours in design with the aim to contribute to making a positive difference in lap time. All these revisions and updates result in about less than a second gain per lap, which is massive in the world of F1. Little do people know how much work goes on behind the scenes during the winter period in the F1 circus, especially as regards composite components. Furthermore, this year, teams have had to combine factory work, COVID bubble groups, and remote work in an extreme adaptation challenge imposed by the most severe pandemic the world has seen in the last 100 years. Bold has also managed to adapt to working under these circumstances, with a major shift to working more remotely than not to supply composite and mechanical parts for our trusted partners while respecting mutual safety. One could say that a positive side to this global health crisis is that it has become apparent to us that we do possess the tools to maintain fluid communication. Bold has forged past the obstacles to continue working alongside our clients in unison, like one synchronized team, no matter where our clients are based.
Formula 1 design cycle
With 2022 regulations looming over head, the chassis of 2020 being held firm into 2021, all other components for modification and alteration have a bit over 2 weeks remaining (as of February 22, 2021) to be in position for the opening race of 2021 in Bahrain. Bold Valuable Tech has been working alongside our partners, who are actively involved in F1, behind the scenes to make it happen. We can safely say that die-hard motorsport fans have a lot to be enthusiastic about in the upcoming season.
Bold has undertaken the responsibility to update quite a few components on the race car. As you can see in our sample diagram, Bold has played a role in developing all these essential parts. Our team have gathered the requirements for these parts’ alterations and started working wizardry with our simulation software. It is thanks to the opportunity to recreate each part’s environment that we could confidently screen its performance under the most extreme of conditions in plenty of time to meet the testing deadline.
Strength in smaller players
It could be our budget cutting methods that have led to a continuous demand for our services. Being a reliable OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) has its perks. Knocking off pricey overheads that brand name products carry with them means that our clients enjoy awesome money for value.
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