F1 telemetry: the data race

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With so many numbers to crunch, F1 engineers have to be choosy to find the most relevant data to use. Some issues are picked up automatically, while other problems will need to be identified first before looking at the corresponding information.

“Obviously, it is impossible to continuously check all the data from the car, because the monitoring channels are limited to a thousand, but there can be twice as many parameters and sensors fitted to the car,” added Beneventi.

“Therefore one needs to be able to very quickly find the useful information. It can be for example that a driver complains the car is handling in a strange way. In this case, the engineers try to find what could have caused this, targeting data from the components that are likely to have caused this malfunction. The quicker and more able the engineers, the quicker the problem can be found and solved.”

On any grand prix weekend, no less than a hundred people, whether at the track or the factory, are poring over the data, and they will continue to analyse it during the post-race week. For each car, four engineers monitor telemetry data, splitting the workload in different fields (engine, gearbox, electronics and systems, car handling and vehicle dynamics).

They will signal any issue, anomaly (drop in pressure, increase in temperature) or relevant information to the track engineer that works on the car potentially in trouble. The engineer must be able to glance at the report and digest the data very quickly. With the graphs and charts under his eyes, he will advise his driver accordingly. This closely-knit collaboration is not a one-way relationship where the driver merely obeys and executes what he is told.

“This is why we give them a laptop in the office between the sessions, so they can use the data to do an overlay themselves.” McCullough added. “We always give a laptop to the drivers and teach them how to use the software, just because it takes off a bit of workload for the performance engineer as well, rather than always asking, asking… Sometimes in the debrief, they just start to do the overlay themselves, just because there isn’t much time between sessions.”