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F1 Setups Explained: A Beginner’s Guide to the Key to Victory

Updated: Jan 26

While watching a Formula One race, fans will often hear drivers complain about a “setup issue” or hear a complaint about “the balance of the car” but what does that actually mean? An F1 setup refers to how the car is changed depending on the track, weather, and driver preferences and it can completely change the outcome of a race. 


In the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, it was reported that Red Bull had brought the wrong rear wing to the event. Autosport claimed this would cost the British-based team up to 7 km/h on the straights. In a sport measured in a thousandth of a second, that is a significant disadvantage. A rear wing, while very important, is just one of several different aspects that make up a setup. One of the most technical, and one of the most crucial aspects of success in F1. The key to victory.


What Makes up an F1 Setup?

An F1 setup changes several times throughout an F1 weekend, the team will prepare the car before the first practice session on Friday morning. They will prepare the car based on the data they have from previous races, junior races and even virtual simulations. The engineers have to consider the driver preferences as well as the track conditions and the weather is also a huge factor.


During and after practice sessions, the driver will give feedback to the team on what they think about the setup. Usually, multiple minor corrections will be made to optimise performance for the race on Sunday, while maintaining a balanced setup to be competitive in qualifying. But what exactly makes up an F1 setup?


Aerodynamics 

Aerodynamics in an F1 setup refers primarily to the front and rear wings of the car and the angle they sit at. The wings of an F1 car shape the airflow pattern of the car to make the car quick on the straights but planted through the corners, to give the driver as much grip as possible. The front wing is responsible for the grip of the front tyres and how the rest of the car responds to the airflow. The rear wing can create more downforce and stability, but having a large rear wing can slow you down on the straights. 


Engineers set up the wings to have either a high or low wing angle, often depending on which track the race is at. A high wing angle (on the front and rear) generates more downforce, more stability and more grip, this is perfect for tracks that contain lots of tight corners and lack long straights, like Monaco. Whereas a low wing angle reduces downforce and grip, but creates less drag meaning that the car will be much quicker on the straights, this works at tracks like Monza. Most tracks require a balanced wing angle to be competitive throughout the weekend, and worse weather conditions require more downforce even if the track is primarily straights.


Suspension  

In simple terms, suspension refers to how the car responds to the surface of the track. This is becoming increasingly important with the number of street tracks being added to F1, with more set to be added in the future. The suspension of the car can control how much grip the car has, as well as the responsiveness of the car if a quick adjustment of the wheel is needed. 


A softer suspension helps the car absorb bumps and will be beneficial on tracks that aren’t smooth, such as Monaco and Azerbaijan. The other end of the spectrum is referred to as a firmer suspension, this improves the responsiveness of the car but bumps will be a lot more aggressive and could even cause pain for the driver. Another aspect of the car that can change suspension is the ride height, this refers to how close the floor is to the surface of the track. Having too low of a ride height will not only be slower, but it will likely result in disqualification due to the plank regulations. However, a high ride height will make the car unstable and create drag, slowing the car down on the straights. 


Tyre Management 

Tyres often determine the outcome of an F1 race, with the teams’ strategy playing a huge factor in every race. However, picking the compound (soft, medium or hard) is just one aspect of the complicated world of tyre management. 


Tyre pressures can determine how quickly your tyres warm up and generate heat, meaning a car with higher tyre pressures will reach optimum temperature quicker. However, high tyre pressures also increase how quickly the tyre wears and you could have to make more pitstops to compromise for this. The other aspect of tyres is known as camber angle, this refers to the tilt of the tyres concerning the track surface and the corner the car is entering. 


Braking Systems 

The last part of an F1 setup is how the car’s brakes are set up and there are two key factors concerning the breaks. The first is brake bias, this means that tyres absorb the breaking force when stopping before a corner. A car that has an ‘open setup’ has a balanced brake bias, meaning the front and rear tyres absorb a similar percentage of the braking. If an F1 car is described as a ‘closed setup’ then the rear tyres will absorb the majority of the braking force. This makes it harder to lock the front tyres but will create significant wear in the rear tyres and cause you to lose grip in the corners. 


All of these aspects are crucial to how the car will perform throughout the weekend, however, they all have to be decided and finalised before the beginning of qualifying, this is known as Parc Fermé. Teams can’t change the majority of their setup during Parc Fermé or they will receive a grid penalty for the race. In a sprint weekend, the setup has to be finalised after just one hour of practice and it can completely change the outcome of the race. If weather conditions change throughout the weekend, teams have to predict what setup will suit the conditions and a poor prediction could result in a poor weekend. 


The F1 setup is truly the key to victory.


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