Electronics control engine, transmission, and chassis systems. Just as in a modern road car, an ECU (electronic control unit) determines the Formula One engine’s optimum fuel and ignition settings based on thousands of measurements each second taken by dozens of sensors and controlled by thousands of parameters. Electronic radio signals have replaced cables and linkages to give a “drive-by-wire” system similar to those used in modern aircraft. The throttle, for example, has no linkage between the pedal and the fuel supply other than an electronic one. Electronics, in conjunction with a hydraulic system, also control when the car changes gear, based upon what the engine is doing. The differential – the mechanical device that determines how the power is split between the rear wheels – is controlled electro-hydraulically, too. But perhaps the most controversial use of electronics is that for traction control. Based on measurements of wheelspin and engine torque, a computer limits power to the rear wheels in order to make the car faster and easier to control. These are Formula One drivers, you say, and should be able to control traction themselves? You’ve got a good point, and the drivers can do it themselves, but the computer does it better. Charges of this de-humanising the sport are difficult to argue with. The problem has been getting detection techniques sophisticated enough to control the use of traction control. It’s the age-old story of those designing the cars being cleverer than those making the rules.
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