Formula One: Strategic Masterminds Behind Closed Doors
“It’s lights out and away we go!” exclaims David Croft, ready for another thrilling season as the cars launch under the illuminated floodlights of the first race of the season. The modern era of Formula One began in 1950, with several legendary and historical constructors entering the coveted races to win the greatest racing championship in the world. Established in 1950, Formula One has become the pinnacle of racing, and continues its growth both as a business and a sport. In 2022, ten teams race at speeds of over 300 kilometers an hour across five continents for the hopes of out-pacing other teams with cars that are marvels of engineering. Formula One has pushed teams to continuously innovate; producing cars with aerodynamic downforce that glues the car to the track at mind-boggling speeds. Although the average viewer would perceive Formula One as irregularly shaped cars driving in circles, this is not the case. Rather, the politics, strategy, and leadership behind every one of the ten teams creates a cut-throat environment fueled by pride, glory, and greed in pure secrecy.
If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them
Succeeding in this historical motorsport is a tall order for anyone without long-standing experience with emerging technology. However, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team has shocked the paddock by winning eight consecutive constructors championships, along with seven driver’s championships in just the twelve years since their return. Their success has not come easy; with the help of the brightest engineering and strategic minds, the challenge that other teams face is twofold: teams must ensure that their cars are original designs, while also navigating the politics of racing that can create tension and protest.
In 2018, Force India (now Racing Point) filed for administration due to accusations of fraud and defaulting on loans; luckily, a consortium of investors led by Canadian multi-billionaire Lawrence Stroll bought out the team and renamed it to Racing Point. Two years after the acquisition, the team was doing phenomenally on track, beating out the mid-field—raising eyebrows from several teams that have been working harder and smarter than them. Protests and appeals soon arose to inspect the Racing Point cars for potentially copying Mercedes’ 2019 championship winning design. An extensive investigation was brought on by the motorsport governing body, which discovered several key aerodynamic parts and pieces were identified as identical to the previous generation Mercedes. Despite Racing Point’s best efforts to keep a discreet outlook on their copycat design, the team was ultimately fined €400,000 Euros and forced to design an original car for the following season.
Although the momentary backlash that Racing Point faced was harsh, their efforts of plagiarism succeed in helping climb the rankings and in due course, secure fourth place in the championship.
Cash is King
Formula One is perceived to be a luxury sport with celebrity appearances and name brand endorsements injecting billions of dollars into the sport every year. The spectacle sport has seen sponsorship from various luxury brands such as Rolex, Richard Mille, and IWC plastered on cars to showcase their brand names. F1 generates over $2 billion USD in revenue every year, up 87 per cent from 2022.
While the breakdown of each team's revenue is different, generally money comes in from the same places. The team’s budgets are derived from several key areas including sponsorships, payments from Formula One, pay drivers, and constructors. The most lucrative form of accessing monetary capital for a team is through sponsorships, making up over 50 per cent of most teams’ revenues. If teams are falling behind in the rankings, team budgets are supplemented by payments from a “pay driver,” who pays the team a large sum of money for their seat in Formula One.
Current drivers on the grid such as Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll pay Williams and Aston Martin, respectively, tens of millions of dollars to race their cars. Nicholas Latifi brings $30 million USD to the Williams team from his sponsorship with Lavazza; Lawrence Stroll, Lance Stroll’s father owns Aston Martin, so it’s not a surprise that he’s in the seat of the British racing green car.
The cut-throat nature of the sport does not aid in the longevity of weaker and smaller teams, as many have come and gone throughout the history of Formula One. Favouritism also lies heavily within the regulations with team such as Ferrari receiving a heritage bonus of $35 million USD just because they are a long-standing team in the motorsport. Although a fundamentally flawed financial model, teams have no power to protest the FIA.
Teams often attract their sponsors by their brand name. For example, Ferrari has a long-standing relationship with Shell and Ray-Ban, who have been of extraordinary influence over the team’s financial standings. The Redbull team, has the Redbull energy drink company backing all operations. The constructors with the quickest cars or the most talented drivers have the most screen time, which is ultimately what sponsors desire.
The Make-or-Break Moment
A team's success over a race weekend can ultimately come down to their strategy on the track. Several factors can come into play—whether that be tire choice, pit stop strategies, or team orders—teams have to optimally manipulate the controllable factors to their chances of success. A single slip up can result in devastating losses in position and lose them the championship altogether.
There are three dry tires and two types of wet tires that the teams can choose from, which range in effectiveness depending on local weather conditions. The choice between tires can be difficult as they all have different operating temperatures and only work within a specific window of temperatures. These differences can be impactful as the selected tires can tremendously increase grip on track, or falter to excessive wear or blistering if chosen incorrectly. These decisions are usually made before a race weekend, but teams have the option to switch tire choices throughout a race when necessary, during pit stops.
All cars have to make at least one pit stop during the length of a race, which significantly impacts their final position. A pit crew consists of around 20 people that all operate on the car simultaneously and is choreographed to perfection; these stops usually take two to three seconds, removing all four tires and replacing them in the blink of an eye. “The pit stop is the point in the race when everyone holds their breath. Races can be won or lost when the car pulls off the track, down the pit lane and heads towards the garage to stop in the box,” says Redbull. Ultimately, there are an infinite number of scenarios that could affect a pit stop, whether that be replacing damaged parts, undercutting, overcutting, and safety car releases.
Undercutting occurs when a driver changes tires in the pits first and uses the advantage of fresher and newer tires to set faster laps than the competing car; therefore, when the latter pits, they will come out behind the tire who pitted first. Overcutting becomes more of a risky strategy as it relies on car performance and performance data with the tires. The objective becomes a battle of squeezing out the last drops of performance from an F1 tire as the car becomes lighter within the final laps of the race due to fuel being consumed. Now you may ask, “how do teams know to do this?” The answer is simple, every team has trackside engineers seated at the pit wall with 10-15 screens displaying performance metrics, telemetry data, and mini sector times that all contribute to a team’s overall pit strategy throughout a race. For example, when a safety car is released due to hazards on track, teams are more likely to pit as the safety car bunches up the field and slows down the race. With that advantage, teams can change tires without losing as much time compared to a regular lap at pace.
Checkered Flag
The competitive nature of Formula One will always be the mainstay of the sport, fueled by the exhilaration of success and the lucrative nature of winning. Although only a select few achieve such greatness, potential for glory has kept racing professionals and enthusiastic fans alike coming back. The multifaceted strategy of racing is essential for success, and the possibilities are endless—the world’s your oyster in the pinnacle of motorsport.