Federation Internationale De l’Automobile Research Articles

Thermodynamic evaluation of 2026 Power Unit technical regulation changes in Formula 1

Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has announced a Power Unit (PU) Regulation change for its Formula 1 (F1) Championship that will become valid from the 2026 season in pursuit of carbon neutralization and a higher commercial value. The change includes a full switch to sustainable fuel and an increase in the power of the electric power output to the cars axles but removed energy retrieving and recovery from the turbocharger. The choice to use fully sustainable fuel will lead to a richer burn. On the other hand, the increase in the hybrid system capacity will outweigh the removal of energy retrieving and recovering from the turbocharger and cause an overall increase in thermal efficiency. Also, the changes are bringing a cost reduction for PU suppliers, which is an attraction for them. The increase in electric power will also integrate the car with new driving characteristics. This paper focuses on respective reviews of the 2023 and 2026 F1 PU Technical Regulations and gives an evaluation of the process for the improvements.

Race Cartels: How Constructor Collaboration Is Curbing Innovation in Formula 1

Formula 1 is in the midst of a copycat scandal: technology has made it possible for teams to reverse engineer clones of competitors’ race cars. This is a less than ideal state of affairs for the championship series, which prides itself on being the pinnacle of motorsport and automotive innovation, thanks in large part to the cars’ rapid rate of technological advancement. In order to address this problem, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula 1’s governing body, must increase independent innovation efforts by amending the technical regulations to restrict the extent of presently allowed inter-team collaboration. Worried that the sport was becoming a “copying championship,” the FIA adopted new measures that ban extreme reverse engineering methods. Because these new FIA regulations do not limit the degree of coordinated conduct between teams, this approach will likely fail to remedy the sport’s copying problem because team plagiarism is an anticompetitive side effect of this collusive behavior. The FIA addresses the copying problem as one of trade secret misappropriation. By contrast, this Note approaches the issue as one of unregulated anticompetitive conduct. Analyzing the technical partnerships in Formula 1 under antitrust law elucidates their harmful effects on the racing series. This Note urges the FIA to adopt measures that limit Formula 1 teams’ ability to collaborate, before the “A-B team” phenomenon further diminishes the sport’s innovation efforts.

Strategy for Optimizing an F1 Car’s Performance Based on FIA Regulations

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The aim of the present work is to propose a control strategy for maximizing the performance of a Formula One (F1) car through numerical simulation for 2021 regulations taking 2019 regulations as a benchmark. This study has developed an engine-powertrain model of an F1 car with real world driver data for estimating the vehicle’s full throttle performance. The maximum possible energy recovered, stored and deployed by the Energy Recovery System (ERS) was estimated for the first 10 circuits in the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship® Race Calendar. A 1.6L V6 Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), as well as, a full vehicle was modelled according to the 2019 Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One technical regulations using GT-Suite software. The model was validated against the experimental data. The data for validation was extracted from On- Board videos using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and FIA regulations. Strategy for qualifying has been developed for all 10 circuits and compared. Strategies used by different drivers on different circuits are analysed and the optimum strategy for maximizing the Power Unit’s (PU) performance is proposed.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Findings show that the data acquired from FIA Formula One on-board videos from the F1 TV App is highly accurate in conjunction to the official lap time with an error of less than 1%. The full car model is able to meet the Target Vehicle Speed at the required gear number and follow the FIA regulations at all times. Factors affecting the performance of the PU such as Average vehicle speed and the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K) deployment speed have been found and quantified. Driver to Driver variation in the MGU-K deployment speed for maximizing performance during qualification has been quantified. It was found that the winning drivers had higher Average vehicle speed and MGU-K deployment speed which resulted in better performance from the PU. The maximum possible energy recovered per lap by the MGU-K is analysed for both the qualification and race laps. It was found that the energy recovered per lap by the MGU-K is higher in race laps as compared to qualification laps because of increase in the vehicle mass due to fuel weight. Lastly, Strategies have been proposed to maximise the performance of the PU for qualification and race.</div></div>

Glossary on drug use and driving safety

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is the world governing body of motor sport. In motor sport, anti-doping policies for international competitions were implemented in 2008 and the ...

The obscure link between motorsport and energy efficient, low-carbon innovation: Evidence from the UK and European Union

Motor racing conjures many images – fast cars, celebrity drivers, cheering crowds – but few involve environmental benefits/protection. Yet one aspect of the motorsport industry that is rarely discussed is its significant contribution to Energy Efficient and Low-Carbon (ELC) innovation within the automotive sector. This article argues that innovations in motorsport have, perhaps counterintuitively, influenced the development of ELC innovations in the passenger car industry. Historically, motorsport has been credited for many technological innovations that were eventually adapted to road cars, but as technologies matured, the contributions from motorsport lessened. However, post-2008, Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) motorsport came to the rescue of automakers tasked with rapidly developing ELC technologies in order to meet emissions targets set out by the European Union. With an expertise in rapid prototyping and access to engineers already skilled in electrification, hybridisation and other ELC technologies, the motorsport industry has once again become highly relevant in the knowledge transfer of ELC innovation. By using primary qualitative interview data from industry experts and policymakers, this article explains how innovation derived from motorsport has helped automakers develop ELC solutions that comply with newly implemented EU regulations.

All-embracing modification of a mass-produced Renault Clio to prepare it for professional rallycross racing

Motorsport constitutes an excellent research laboratory for the entire automotive industry and all the related industry branches. Since the dawn of motorization, motor vehicle component systems have been developed and improved. This process will go on and there is no doubt that it will never stop. Engines with rising performance require increasing strength of transmission system components. The more efficient use of the power transmission system requires improvements in the suspension system, which will ensure better vehicle handling, and higher efficiency of brakes, so that the vehicles moving with higher and higher speeds can be stopped more effectively. An increase in the cruising speeds entails a higher accident hazard and this, in turn, requires safer construction of the vehicle body. The best way to develop the modifications is to test them in the difficult conditions of professional motorsports. The solutions engineered for this purpose and proven on such a kind of testing ground are afterwards adapted to mass-produced vehicles and used in everyday vehicle operation. This publication is to present the scope of the work to be done when building a high-performance sports car that must meet the requirements of regulations laid down by FIA (Federation Internationale del'Automobile) for vehicles of this type. The works described in this article were undertaken to modify the construction of a mass-produced Renault Clio car of the second generation in order to adapt it for professional motorsports, chiefly for starts in Polish and international rallycross championships. The modifications of this car intended for rallycross racing consisted in the designing or modernization of its individual parts and component units so that they were compatible with the specificity of this sport and were in conformity with FIA requirements.

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Driving first-time and repeat spectators to a motor sport event

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the differences in expenditure and satisfaction level between first-time and repeat spectators to a motor sport event, as well as differences in their intention to return and to recommend the host destination. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was developed and data were collected on-site during the 2012 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sardinia via 210 interviews. A series of descriptive analysis, independent t-tests, chi-square tests and regression analysis were run for the purposes of the study. Findings – Findings showed first-timers spend more and are more satisfied than repeaters, even if no significant differences were reported. Repeaters reported to be more willing to return and to recommend, with significant differences, only in the intention to return. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on a convenience sample of a relatively small size, and it might be influenced by the idiosyncratic characteristics of the location. Further, it does not consider the mediating effect that the budget of spectators and their travel/event career ladder can exert over their behaviour. Practical implications – Destination marketers and event organizers need to run their marketing operations to renew their customer mix and/or to increase the standard level of quality to be delivered to repeaters. Further, their marketing and communication strategy should be personalized, and incentives should be given to encourage both groups to purchase multiple products simultaneously. Originality/value – The paper adds to the growing, and often still inconsistent, research aiming to compare first-timers’ and repeat visitors’ behaviours by offering insights from the context of motor sport events, where no published paper exist so far.

Medical support at a large-scale motorsports mass-gathering event: the inaugural Formula One United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Formula One returned to the United States on November 16-18, 2012, with the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Medical preparedness for motorsports events represents a unique challenge due to the potential for a high number of spectators seeking medical attention, and the possibility for a mass-casualty situation. Adequate preparation requires close collaboration across public safety agencies and hospital networks to minimize impact on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resources. To report the details of preparation for an inaugural mass-gathering motorsports event, and to describe the details of the medical care rendered during the 3-day event. A retrospective analysis was completed utilizing postevent summaries, provided by the medical planning committee, by the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile (FIA), and Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS). Patient data were collected from standardized patient care records for descriptive analysis. Medical usage rates (MURs) are reported as a rate of patients per 10,000 (PPTT) participants. A total of 566 patients received medical care over the 3-day period with the on-site care rate of 95%. Overall, MUR was 21.3 PPTT attendees. Most patients had minor problems, and there were no driver injuries or deaths. This mass-gathering motorsport event had a moderate number of patients requiring medical attention. The preparedness plan was implemented successfully with minimal impact on EMS resources and local medical facilities. This medical preparedness plan may serve as a model to other cities preparing for an inaugural motorsports event.

Mosley v. United Kingdom

The Strasbourg Court interpreted that article 8 of European Convention on Human Rights 1950, which covers the respect for one’s privacy principle, did not prescribe an obligation for the press to warn the persons of prospective publications of an intent to issue information relating to them (referred as to prior notification rule below), central issue of the case. Max Mosley, former president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), has lost his quest to compel the United Kingdom to change its privacy laws.

Transforming production cars into race winners

When the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) introduced the World Touring Car Championship for the 2006 racing season, the Spanish car manufacturer Seat, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, used the opportunity to showcase the sporting talents of its new Seat Leon. In only five months of development time, the engineers at Seat Sport, the company’s motorsport division, redesigned the production car for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems in Formula 1

During 2007, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) considered that energy recovery systems had become relevant technology for Formula 1 (F1). The emergence of mechanically-based high-speed flywheel systems are giving race engineers increased choice. Xtrac is involved in Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) energy efficient motorsport initiatives and has played a key role in designing, developing and integrating a mechanical Kinetic Energy Recovery System (Kers).