The Unrivalled Masters of Speed: The Best Engineers in F1
Formula 1 engineering greats list is as long as the drivers who have taken championship glory. Some of the most notable ones include Colin Chapman, Adrian Newey, Mauro Forghieri, Gordon Murray, Rory Byrne, John Barnard, Andy Cowell, John Cooper, Sir Patrick Head, and Aldo Costa.
The case for F1 engineering is wide-ranging. Activities include race engineering, design, and data analysis, amongst others. But what are the foundations required to enter the exciting world of F1 motorsport, and which ones are the best amongst the best?
In this article, we list the engineers who have made the greatest contributions to F1 in the history of the sport.
What Do F1 Engineers Do?
On every race day, there are approximately 15 to 20 engineers at the track. This figure, however, represents only a fraction of the people involved in the background.
Raceday engineers assume their positions based on their functions, with some buzzing around in the garage and others on the pit wall, involved with the racing sessions. They usually all congregate for meetings only.
The guys seen sitting abreast at the wall talking into their headsets and watching events on digital monitors are the pit engineers, and they are responsible for what happens to both cars on the track. The garage-based engineers usually look after one of the two team cars.
The team’s sporting director sits on the left side of the pit wall and is responsible for FIA regulations compliance. They also liaise with the overall F1 race director, decides on pit stop strategy along with the chief team strategist, and lead the pit crew involved with tire changes.
F1 Engineering, A Careful Juggling Act
Undeniably, the drivers are the “fighter aces” of F1 motorsport. Young, daring, and talented, they grace our TV screens every fortnight, battling for the ultimate prize of a podium finish.
Yes, drivers win races, yet there is an entire team of engineers and mechanics that ensure performance consistency, and the entire technical crew ultimately wins championships.
With a huge emphasis on safety, engineers are constantly juggling ideas on the best way to improve performance, reliability, and safety, striving to make their cars the quickest around the track without compromising on reliability while ensuring the safety of the drivers responsible for testing these machines to their limits.
Who Are The Best Engineers in F1?
Formula 1 is one of the most technologically advanced sports in the world, and the engineers who design and build the cars are some of the brightest minds in the business. Over the years, F1 engineers have made incredible innovations that have pushed the boundaries of what is possible.
In this article, we will take a look at some of the best engineers in F1 history. We will discuss their innovations, achievements, and qualities, and we will explore the future of F1 engineering.
10 Best Engineers Of All Time
A career in F1 engineering involves many years of formal education and training and a steely determination to find positions in this exciting sport. While there is a long list of great engineers in F1 history, here are a few worthy of making this list.
There are many great engineers who have worked in Formula 1, but here are a few of the best:
1. Colin Chapman
- Colin Chapman: Chapman was the founder of Lotus, and he is considered to be one of the most innovative engineers in F1 history. He is credited with developing the use of monocoque chassis, ground effect aerodynamics, and the Lotus 72, which is considered to be one of the most successful Formula 1 cars of all time.
Chapman understood the power-weight dynamics and worked tirelessly to revolutionize the approach to weight reduction in cars.
With a hugely successful career with the Lotus team through the 1960s and 1970s, Chapman was instrumental in the development of stressed monocoques, sidepods, suspension struts, and innovations in ground effect aerodynamics and team sponsorships. Chapman’s contributions helped Lotus win titles with Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, and Jochen Rindt.
2. Adrian Newey
- Adrian Newey: Newey is one of the most successful F1 designers of all time. He has won 10 Constructors' Championships and 18 Drivers' Championships with his designs. He is known for his innovative aerodynamic designs, and he is considered to be one of the most influential engineers in Formula 1 history.
His designs have been adopted by no less than three championship-winning teams, namely Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull Racing.
He graduated from Southampton University with degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1980, despite having been booted out of school earlier. He started his career in F1 with the Fittipaldi team before embarking on the rest of his career, which involved spectacular, innovative designs in Aerodynamics.
3. Mauro Forghieri
- Mauro Forghieri: Forghieri was the chief designer of Ferrari from 1964 to 1982. He is credited with designing some of the most successful Ferrari cars of all time, including the 312T, which won two Drivers' Championships and one Constructors' Championship.
Engine development being his forte, Forghieri was instrumental in the development of the first turbocharged engine for the Scuderia Ferrari cars, seemingly giving them an unfair advantage. He was also the brainchild behind the transverse gearbox, which was later adopted by the entire F1 lineup.
In part and thanks to the driving skills of Jody Scheckter and Niki Lauda, Forghieri’s efforts helped Ferrari wrestle their way back to the podium after a decade of dominance of McLaren, Brabham, Lotus, and Tyrrell.
Today, Forghieri plies his trade at Oral Engineering Group, a company he co-founded.
4. Gordon Murray
- Gordon Murray: Murray is a British engineer who is best known for designing the McLaren M23, which won two Drivers' Championships and one Constructors' Championship. He is also the designer of the Brabham BT46B, which was nicknamed the "Fan Car" because it used a fan to create downforce.
His mechanical engineering qualifications took him to England the following year, where he found himself working for Brabham. Bernie Ecclestone, seeing Murray’s talents, appointed him Chief Designer.
Innovative and bold, his eccentric approach to racing car design eventually led him to design the radical Brabham “Fan” car. Ingenious in concept, the BT46B’s fan attached to the car’s rear produced immense downforce, drawing air out from beneath the car.
It was withdrawn after one race by Ecclestone for reasons later attributed to his own F1 political ambitions.
5. Rory Byrn
- Rory Byrne: Byrne was the chief designer of Williams from 1979 to 1996. He is credited with designing some of the most successful Williams cars of all time, including the FW14B, which won the Constructors' Championship in 1992 and 1993.
At the age of 33, Byrne started his F1 journey with Toleman in the late 1970s after establishing himself firmly in British motorsport circles.
Taking his first win in 1986 with Gerhard Berger at Benetton, Byrne ended up with racing boss Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher and ended up following the German driver to Scuderia Ferrari. At Ferrari, Byrne designed five world championship cars for Schumacher.
6. Ross Brawn
Few F1 enthusiasts would claim to have never heard of Ross Brawn. In his role as technical director and taking Benetton and Ferrari to multiple winning performances, this British legend is known as the “mastermind” that took Michael Schumacher to seven world championships.
After his successful stints at Ferrari and Benetton, Brawn joined Honda as Team Principal. After Honda’s withdrawal from F1 in 2008, Brawn bought a 51% stake in the team and rebranded as Brawn GP before being bought out themselves in 2009 by Mercedes.
7. John Cooper
John Cooper, a recipient of the CBE, was one of the most prolific car makers in the history of motorsport and helped Britain to retain dominance in F1 from its formative years. His idea to put the engine in the back of the car radically changed the approach to F1 car design permanently.
Enzo Ferrari, seeing the “odd” looking Cooper-Bristol T40 with its engine in the rear in the 1955 British Grand Prix, remarked, “A horse doesn’t push the cart with its nose.” He would later concede, forced to eat his words.
The Brabham team would eventually go on to win the constructors championships in 1959 and 1960. The following year all F1 cars came out with engines in the back.
8. Patrick Head
Another British great, Sir Patrick Head, is best known for co-founding the Williams team along with Frank Williams and dedicated 27 years of his life to leading the engineering team to success.
Williams quickly won titles twice within three years of its inception and increased the tally from the late 1980s and onwards.
With 113 wins, seven driver’s and nine constructor’s championship titles to his credit, Head’s sterling career saw him help build one of the most successful F1 teams in history.
9. Andy Cowell
With an acute understanding of engine dynamics, this mechanical engineer’s contributions to engine design in general and Mercedes, in particular, are profound.
Through his development of the V6 hybrid power units, Mercedes have managed to collect six double title wins for Mercedes since 2014, an enviable tally.
To put it in plain terms, Mercedes, under his engine management, have seen them dominate like no other team in F1 history. His other achievements include race-winning engine designs for Cosworth and the BMW that won four victories for Williams in 2001.
10. Aldo Costa
This list of engineering greats would not be complete without the inclusion of Aldo Costa. A title winner with Mercedes and Ferrari, this Italian, hailing from Parma, Italy, and a graduate from the University of Bologna, earned his stripes focusing on suspensions at Minardi before joining Scuderia Ferrari in 1995.
As a protégé to Rory Byrne at Ferrari, Costa headed design and development before taking on the technical director role. He found limited success and left to join Mercedes in 2011 and led the design of the W04 Mercedes F1 series, which has dominated F1 podiums for the past seven years.
Innovations
F1 engineers have made incredible innovations over the years. Some of the most notable innovations include:
- Monocoque chassis: A monocoque chassis is a single unit that forms the entire structure of a car. It is made of lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber, and it is very strong and rigid. Monocoque chassis were first introduced in Formula 1 in the 1960s, and they have become the standard for all racing cars.
- Ground effect aerodynamics: Ground effect aerodynamics is a technique that uses the ground to create downforce. Downforce is the force that pushes the car down onto the track, which helps to keep the car stable at high speeds. Ground effect aerodynamics were first introduced in Formula 1 in the 1970s, and they have been used to great success by many teams.
- Hybrid powertrains: Hybrid powertrains combine a traditional internal combustion engine with an electric motor. This allows the car to generate more power and to be more fuel-efficient. Hybrid powertrains were first introduced in Formula 1 in 2014, and they are becoming increasingly common.
Achievements
The achievements of F1 engineers are truly impressive. They have won countless races and championships, and they have pushed the boundaries of what is possible. Some of the most notable achievements of F1 engineers include:
- 10 Constructors' Championships and 18 Drivers' Championships: Adrian Newey has won more Constructors' Championships and Drivers' Championships than any other F1 designer.
- 7 World Championships: Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver in Formula 1 history, and he has won 7 World Championships with the help of some of the best engineers in the world.
- 24 Hours of Le Mans: In 1995, Williams won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a car that was designed by Adrian Newey. This was the first time that a Formula 1 team had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The world of Formula 1 engineering is a testament to human ingenuity, technical excellence, and relentless pursuit of perfection. From the visionary minds of Colin Chapman and Adrian Newey to the strategists like Ross Brawn and the engineering virtuosos like Mauro Forghieri and Gordon Murray, each engineer has left an indelible mark on the sport.
Resources
Motorsport.com (www.motorsport.com)
Formula1.com (www.formula1.com)
"The Mechanic's Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula One" by Steve Matchett
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