Published: Tuesday, 27th July, 2010 3:59pm

Components that drive F1 development

by Judith Edwards

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It costs around £110m to run a Formula One team and much of this is spent on design elements of the cars which spectators will never notice. The companies that produce these technologies are typically small, specialist operators. One such expert in F1 technology is FHS Motor Racing, which has been based on the Slough Trading Estate for 33 years.

FHS supplies product to every competing F1 motorsport team and 95% of components are manufactured in the UK. For FHS, the requirements of the racing calendar inevitably result in working to tight delivery schedules. The typical timescale for production is three days to a few weeks and when an order has been placed, the FHS specialists will often work around the clock. There are approximately 11,000 components on each F1 car and every one of these will go through a re-work or re-design before the start of each season.

The peak design and production time for FHS is October until March with a summer period where highly skilled and specialist labour is working to capacity. Peter Hughes, FHS managing director, said: "Each customer requires something different, yet they all need delivery in time for the first tests at the beginning of the season."

Most F1 components must be light, reliable and robust. Minimising weight often requires the use of titanium - contributing to keeping the centre of gravity of the car as low as possible for maximum stability. Precision made, with titanium tubing, fittings will typically withstand pressures of 3,000 psi.

A leader in the design, development and the manufacture of air and fluid hose systems and trusted by F1 and World Rally Championship teams, FHS employs 21 people in the production of highly robust hose assemblies. Applications on an F1 car include specialist kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) which essentially collect and store heat generated from braking to use for extra performance and power boost as needed.

In the 1980s, Lotus, and other teams, were starting to develop active suspension with a responsive and lightweight control system allowing the car to retain a consistent ride height and slash lap times. The precise control, flexibility and 'power density' of hydraulics, rather than electrical alternatives, resulted in widespread adoption in braking, steering, engine and gearbox control. However, hydraulics require meticulous cleanliness and like many systems on an F1 car, have to operate in tight, hot and high vibration environments. Similar to other technologies that have transferred from F1, designs typically cope with over 400 bar in a high temperature, exceptional vibration and a harsh environment and as such are well suited to use in defence, military aircraft and industrial applications.

The Ministry of Defence announced last week the start of testing of Formula One technology to see if it can be used to help British forces serving in Afghanistan.

Microchips used to send data to engineers from F1 cars could be adapted to help commanders of armoured vehicles like Jackals, Ridgebacks and Panthers.

If a vehicle is attacked or is involved in a roadside bomb blast, medics will, from information transmitted by the chip, know which part of the vehicle has been affected and what injuries there are likely to be.

Designed by highly skilled specialists, the products that FHS designs and manufactures, such as the rigid hose assembly above, are absolutely essential to the efficiency of F1 cars. Without these components the vehicles would simply not run.

Each device is a bespoke original, made to exacting specification and an intensive development process. The scale of some of the components, apertures and coatings is microscopic and yet each item is lightweight, reliable and made to withstand extreme temperature and vibration. It is these qualities that make FHS products eminently suited as much to motorsport as to the defence and aerospace applications.