In this post I try to describe what a typical Formula 1 design
engineer’s job role is and important tips on what someone needs to do to
become an F1 designer.
The Formula 1 team members that you see on television are generally
mechanics, race engineers, strategists and team managers. This small
group of individuals make up only a small fraction of the staff of a
Formula 1 team. A modern F1 team’s core business is not actually being a
race team at all, they are actually focussed on the design and
manufacture of racing cars. A modern Formula 1 car is made up of
completely bespoke parts, designed with only that one car in mind and
the design and technology that goes into the cars is the greatest asset
and secret of the teams. The team of design engineers behind the F1
car’s concept and detail design are a highly prized set of experts who
are rarely seen at races but form one of, if not the most critical part
of the team’s function.
Each team will have its own “Design Office” comprising of somewhere
between 25 and 150 designers. These designers between them will produce
the detail drawings of each and every individual component that goes to
make up the complete car assembly. Each part is specified in precise
detail, the material it is made from, the manufacturing process and any
heat treatment processes, it requires. The detail drawing will show
each dimension and measurement of the parts, and important sizes are
toleranced a handful of microns (1/1000th of a millimetre). Very few
parts of a modern Formula 1 car are ‘bought in’ these days, other than
nuts and bolts, and so each part of the car must be individually
designed and made to order. This is typically of the order of 10,000
parts for each vehicle – a lot of work !!.
Traditionally this job was done on a drawing board in pencil but now
almost exclusively this task is carried out on a Computer Aided Design
(CAD) software such as
CATIA,
ProEngineer or
Unigraphics.
Each part is modelled in a 3D environment which can also be used to
build up virtual assemblies of mechanisms or even the whole car if the
computing power allows. Many of the advances in aerodynamics in recent
years have only been possible because of the ability to package
essential mechanical components of the car very tightly together. The
3D CAD systems make this much easier than using a 2D drawing board and
so car designs have become much more advanced since their use was
introduced. Despite this, Adrian Newey, arguably the most successful F1
designer of all time still uses a drawing board in order to visualise
his aerodynamic designs and so the old art form still remains. The CAD
system is very capable and complex but it does not make the user a good
designer and a fundamental understanding of design and draughting is
still essential in this role. It is however a very creative job and a
fantastic reward to see a design that you have dreamt up and worked
through to a finished product racing in Formula 1. There are not many
careers where you work is shown on television every 2 weeks !
Most new designers these days are degree educated in mechanical
engineering or similar disciplines. A good grounding in engineering
fundamentals allows the designer to make judgements on the size and
strength of the components and the suitability of a material for a
particular purpose. There are still many F1 designers who do not have
degrees however and these are often some of the most gifted and capable
as they may have many years of previous experience in manufacturing or
assembly of parts. Someone who shows a flair for ideas and
understanding of mechanisms on the shop floor can still aim to be a
designer if they so wish. Whilst a good education is a valuable asset,
many of the skills required to be a successful Formula 1 design engineer
cannot be learnt from a lecture or text book and it takes a long time
to gain the necessary experience. Design is essentially an art form.
The best designers are the prize possessions of the teams and senior
personnel can command very high salaries indeed, perhaps more than
£100,000 per annum in many cases. Starting salaries are however much,
much lower and it is not untypical for graduates or placements to be
very poorly paid. For those who can prove themselves in the design
office environment, this will quickly change but competition for those
chances is very high and so the teams are not obliged to pay well. To
get a job as a junior design engineer is very difficult and getting the
right CV, education or experience is critical to making your application
stand out from the masses. Contrary to what many people believe, it is
not necessary to understand the inner workings of a seamless-shift
gearbox or to be able to recite the theory behind double diffusers in
order to get a job in F1. Far more important than that is the ability
to work hard, to show initiative and to apply logical thought to a
problem. Demonstrating these personal skills will be key to your
application and CV and involving yourself in activities where you can
develop and practice these skills is critical before you apply to one of
the teams.
In future posts I hope to expand more on what kinds of skills F1 team
managers and senior engineers are looking for from their applicants and
what the do’s and dont’s of a good job application are. In my next
post I will run through the role of the F1 race engineer and what skills
this very different job requires. Feel free to comment or ask
questions about anything I have written here or any other job roles you
wish to me to describe. Its a very busy time for us with the new car
about to launch but hopefully I will get some spare time to write. The
new season is almost upon us which always one of the best times of the
year and some good inspiration to follow those dreams of your F1 career !
* Source from jobinf1
