Vehicle Performance & Science

Introduction

Vehicle Performance

This group is within Race Engineering and contains teams that are track focused with specialist areas in Aero Performance, and chassis/suspension setup performance. Our Aero performance functions involve a trackside aerodynamic engineer at all races and tests with factory support provided by aerodynamic and software engineers in Maranello IT. We are also responsible for all the main vehicle simulation activities using our in-house tool set developed by Vehicle Science, involving Pre-Event and Post Event simulation and correlation which are carried out in Banbury UK. In addition we provide race weekend support both in-session and after running to further support the race engineering trackside group to help improve the car for the remainder of the race event. Simulator activities are also run and coordinated from within Vehicle Performance, including running and post session analysis to support the race calendar when needed. These UK based roles are typically carried out by vehicle dynamicists, numerical simulation and software engineers, and automotive/mechanical engineers.

Vehicle Science

This group is within Race Engineering and is currently made up by three sub-groups: Mathematical Modelling, Vehicle Dynamics and Tyre Science. The main aim of the Vehicle Science team is the development of in-house simulation tools for vehicle and tyre. Such tools are developed from the algorithm-design stage, through bench testing validation till final correlation against track data. The team works closely with the Vehicle Performance team, the Design Office and the R&D department to define modelling objectives and test cases for bench validation. The latter may involve tests carried out on the whole vehicle or parts of it, including tyres. The team supports the Electronics department with the development and installation of onboard instrumentation, whose good functionality is essential to fully achieve the team’s goals. The Tyre Science division also provides tyre performance analysis and support to track activities during race and test events with one person always present at the track and more people from the factory in Banbury. The Vehicle Scientists roles are UK based and are typically carried out by mathematicians, vehicle dynamicists, software engineers, and automotive/mechanical engineers.