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One of the biggest criticisms from new fans of the F1 Academy is that the cars are quite slow in their opinion.
Some fans have compared it to a tractor. Even Max Verstappen has questioned the speed, saying, among other things The Limburger“The cars they drive are much too slow. If you ever want to get them into Formula 1, it really has to go to the next level.” But if you ask F1 Academy, it’s the right car for the right level.
F1 Academy, the all-female racing series launched in 2023, is part of the F1 pyramid and joins the F1 calendar for seven race weekends per year: Saudi Arabia, Miami, Barcelona, Zandvoort, Singapore, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Some circuits, such as the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, are straighter than others, such as the banked bends at Zandvoort. This can give the impression that F1 Academy is slow, says F1 Academy competition manager Delphine Biscaye, especially compared to the high speeds of the F1 cars.
The F1 Academy cars are similar to Formula Four, with an equivalent level of competition, but with a notable adjustment that brings the F1 Academy more in line with F1. It is the right choice for this series as it helps prepare the young drivers for higher competition and growth.
A general view of the F1 Academy paddock during previews ahead of F1 Academy Round 5 at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 19, 2024 in Singapore. (Pauline Ballet/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
All about perspective
The speed of the car is not due to a lack of talent of the drivers. It’s the nature of an F4 car and the track configurations. More often than not, fans turn to the F1 Academy after tuning into one of the higher series running on the same circuit now that the all-women category joins the F1 schedule.
“When you see us and then (F1) straight after, you think we are very slow,” Biscaye said. She pointed out that on a track like Jeddah, these young drivers, some of whom are teenagers, shoot between walls at a speed of 200 km/h. That kind of driving, she says, is “already a huge challenge for those young drivers. Men or women are the same. But with the age and experience they have, it actually doesn’t go that slow.
“If we challenged someone to do the same, they would see what slow is.”
However, this must be weighed against the benefits the F4 car offers. At this level, drivers can train, adapt and secure crucial track time, as well as gain experience on F1 circuits. Biscaye added: “The fact that we are on F1 circuits makes it seem slow, but it has a huge benefit for the drivers because it has really prepared them for the next step.”
Tatuus CEO Giovanni Delfino echoed similar points. He describes the car as ‘easy to drive’ and one that uses higher category safety specifications, providing drivers with a safe environment to learn to navigate single-seaters.
“The power of the car is enough to give the performance we want, but it is not so much that the car becomes undriveable,” he said. “All the specifications of the car are exactly what you find in (Formula) Regional and then in an F3 car. But what changes compared to the higher category is the ratio between power and weight.”
F1 Academy may not be an FIA championship, but it does follow the rules, such as the power-to-weight ratio that the governing body dictates for each level. The most important step is the jump from karting to a single-seater, but from there every step a driver takes up the motorsport ladder is about the same difference. Delfino said drivers typically stay in F4 for one or two years, adding that “after two years in Formula Four it is easy to get into a regional car.”
“So in reality, this kind of car helps you get used to the dimensions of a single-seater car, get used to the way you drive a single-seater car, get used to the racing mode of a car. single-seater car.”
The nuts and bolts
The car is relatively similar to a Formula Four car, Biscaye said. For example, the chassis, designed by Tatuus Automobili, is the same as that of British, Italian and Spanish F4s. Biscaye said, “Only aerodynamics makes a change.”
Delfino said the front and rear wings have been changed compared to an F4 car, which was a request from Liberty Media and F1 Academy director Susie Wolff. From start to finish, the process took about three months, from identifying the best shape and creating the first prototype to testing. However, production will take another month to six weeks, Delfino said.
“We thought that was a good compromise between what we can and cannot do in Formula Four, because the rear wing is not homologated,” said Delfino. “So you can more or less do whatever you want in terms of homologation, even if it is not recognized as a Formula Four wing. In the case of the front wing we had to keep some of the Formula Four design as it is connected to the noses.
“So there is also a crash homologation test that we have to perform before the current homologation, but the shape of the lateral parts of the front wing could be freely moved as Liberty Media wanted.”
Homologation is the approval process where the car is checked against the technical regulations and the specification is frozen for the cycle defined in the rules. according to the FIA. This change to the wings allows the F1 Academy car to resemble the F1 cars and optimizes aerodynamics, Biscaye said. “The better aerodynamics allow us to overtake more, something we also wanted to create for a more active race.”
F1 Academy is not technically an FIA championship. However, certain parts of the car (such as the chassis, engine and gearbox) have been homologated by the FIA. Apart from the percentages, the homologation process for Tatuus is much the same as for F1. Delfino said: “We have to homologate the car with 100 percent of the test, 100 percent of the taxes. In Formula 1 you can put 80 percent in.”
According to Delfino, the changes to the wings had “zero” impact on the car’s performance “as they do not affect the downforce of the car or the aero kit and the aero balance of the car.”
Right car, right series
Biscaye said the car remained largely unchanged heading into the 2024 season, aside from adding an on-board camera. No major changes are planned for next year either. It’s not that they’ll never change the car; on the contrary, the car now serves its purpose.
“Our goal is to prepare the drivers physically and mentally and give them all the skills and track time they need to progress,” Biscaye said, noting that the cars are safe and reliable. The reliability factor is crucial because it affects the amount of driving time the drivers have. To support an F1 weekend, the teams only have a few practice sessions before qualifying and the two races.
Biscaye said: “If you have reliability issues it prevents the drivers from being able to run during free practice; they actually lose very important track time, and very important time to learn the track and check the conditions, and some tracks we can’t test before.”
Miami and Singapore are two circuits where drivers cannot test in advance, because they are both temporary circuits. So far, from a reliability perspective, the F1 Academy has had few problems – almost none in 2024, Biscaye said. And it’s fairly easy to maintain, keeping costs down for the teams. There are also a limited number of operational trackside personnel who can work on the cars. Biscaye said, “So if you go with a more complicated car, you need more people. So you not only increase the cost of the car, but also the total cost of the team’s activities.”
This series is simpler than F1, allowing teams to focus on suspension and wing layout changes and just a single tire compound. The aim is to focus on driver preparation and training, such as learning how to handle the brakes, clutch and tires.
F1 Academy cars wait in the pit lane during F1 Academy Round 4, Race 2 at Circuit Zandvoort on August 25. (Joe Portlock/Getty Images)
“We don’t realize it, but when you go karting and go to (single-seater) cars, you discover the link,” Biscaye said. “If you are only 16 and have never driven another car, like your parents get, you don’t have driving lessons in real life. So that’s the first time you have the clutch and have to make a real start, and that’s already a huge step.”
Mental and physical training are also important learning moments at this level. Biscaye recalled a conversation with Miami wildcard entry Courtney Crone during testing at Zandvoort earlier this year. She has good experience in single-seaters, but it was her first time in an F4 car. Zandvoort is a trickier circuit due to the bank angle, which Biscay described as ‘very stiff and requires a lot of power’.
“Courtney came out of the car and said to me, ‘I wasn’t prepared for this. It’s actually very demanding compared to some of the tracks and cars I’ve driven,” Biscaye recalls. “So if you put all this together, or if you take Jeddah where it’s more mental and the focus (is higher) because of the walls and it’s technical, then after three days of testing the drivers are actually tired.
“I think this also shows that the F4 car is a good step. If you want to make it safe and at the same time interesting enough to really train them and really get them to make the transition from the go-kart to maybe Formula Regional or Euro Cup or F3, then you need this in between. F1 Academy gives them a huge training on the track, but also off the track, with all the support they get from the F1 team or also from their F1 Academy team.
“They get this, and that’s really the package they need to move forward after that.”
Top photo: Joe Portlock/Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletics