Curiosities
A Grand Prix racing team on a circuit consists of around 90 people; 70 from AT&T Williams, 10 from the engine supplier and ten others in charge of tasks, such as caring for the merchandise booth or organizing accommodation.
During the race, 22 men are on call in pit stops:
- twelve mechanics (three per wheel) change the tires;
- one operates the front jack;
- one operates the rear jack;
- one has a special jack should the car arrive with a damaged nose;
- one checks and replace the air pressure when necessary;
- three are busy refueling;
- one is close to the fire extinguisher;
- one is responsible for a board signaling to the driver messages such as "Brakes", "Gear" or that he can now leave the box. He is also the only one in contact with the driver by radio.
AT&T Williams transports approximately 25 tons of Grand Prix equipment. This included spare parts and tools. Plus at least three racing chassis complete the freight, although in exceptional circumstances the team has the capacity to build a fourth racing car. For races in Europe the useful cargo is carried by two trucks - which stay in the paddock - and a motorhome.
It requires 250,000 man/hours to build a car from start to finish.
The AT&T Williams design office creates between 600 and 700 drawings per car in production and around 1,200 drawings by the end of the year. The cars are completely rebuilt between each race - fully dismantled and are then put to more than 200 tests.
It takes around 80 hours of work to assemble the engine.
A current Formula 1 engine weighs less than 100 kg.
In 2002, the BMW P82 engine provided around 900 bhp and reached a maximum of 19,050 revs a minute.
With the car running at 360 km/h and the engine at 18,000 rpm, it takes only one second for the following to happen: 300 engine rotations, 1,500 ignitions and 9,000 speed measurements. The pistons cover a distance of 25 meters, 450 liters of air are sucked in and 150,000 data measurements about the vehicle and engine are registered and processed. The car runs 100 meters and the wheels turn 50 times.
An average of 2,600 gear changes are made in the Grand Prix.
In one Grand Prix weekend the team uses a maximum of 1,200 liters of fuel, between 60 and 80 liters of engine oil and up to 30 liters of transmission oil.
The temperature of the exhaust can rise to 800 degrees Centigrade.
When the car goes back into the pit lane during trials, oil samples are taken and submitted to x-rays and spectrometry tests in the boxes. Specks of metal in the oil provide important information about the state of the engine.
A driver burns an average of 600 calories in a Grand Prix to lose approximately two kilos.
The cockpit temperature reaches 50 degrees Centigrade.
A driver's heartbeat may reach 190 beats a minutes during a GP.
A Formula 1 car can accelerate from zero to 130 km/h and stop dead in less than seven seconds.
A Formula 1 car takes only 2.5 second to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h.
Acceleration from 0 to 200 km/h in a Formula 1 car takes less than five seconds over 140 meters.
When a Formula 1 car brakes at 200 km/h it has a stopping distance of 55 meters. This process takes 1.9 seconds and deceleration forces are created of up to 5Gs. A driver weighing 75 kilos will undergo a pressure of 375 kg.
As the car brakes, the carbon fiber disks of the brakes heat up to 600 degrees Centigrade in one second.
Formula 1 tires reach a temperature of around 100 degrees Centigrade.