Sensor and sensibility

A contemporary generation Formula 1 car is made up of around 25,000 components: 11,000 in the chassis; 6000 in the power unit (PU), electronics another 8500. Each of those must perform within a very specific window for the team and the driver to extract performance potential out of the car. To understand what the individual components are doing, they must be instrumented and monitored by a host of sensors.

The most complex system onboard the cars is the power unit. Currently in F1, this comprises two motor generators, an internal combustion engine (ICE), battery store and control electronics. All of these are sub-systems in themselves and need constant supervising to ensure all elements are operating in the desired way.

With power unit control strategies being the key to Formula 1 performance, data flow is imperative in ensuring a car is at its most competitive

Monitoring here involves using torque, pressure, temperature, position and speed sensors that relay information to the control electronics and via a telemetry link to trackside engineers and those back at the various factories. With power unit control strategies being the key to Formula 1 performance, this data flow is imperative in ensuring a car is always at its most competitive.

As with any racecar, packaging and weight are crucial design constraints, and every extra sensor added needs to be integrated, and accounted for, in the overall package. The challenge for teams and sensor manufacturers is to produce the smallest, lightest sensors possible, yet still ensure they will survive