Built with purpose: The F1 Academy car was chosen with the series’ goals in mind

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One of the biggest criticisms new fans have of F1 Academy is that they perceive the cars to be quite slow.

Some fans have compared it to a tractor. Even Max Verstappen has questioned its speed, saying among other things that The Limburger“The cars they drive are way too slow. If you ever want to get them into Formula 1, it really has to go to a higher level.” But if you ask F1 Academy, it’s the right car for the right level.

F1 Academy, the all-female racing series set to launch in 2023, is part of the F1 pyramid and ties into the F1 calendar for seven race weekends a 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 corners at Zandvoort. This can give the impression that F1 Academy is slow, said Delphine Biscaye, F1 Academy’s competition manager, especially compared to the high speeds of the F1 cars.

The cars of F1 Academy are similar to Formula 4, a similar level of competition, but with a notable change that makes F1 Academy more like F1. It is the right choice for this series, because it helps prepare the young drivers for more 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 from the drivers. It is the nature of an F4 car and the circuit configurations. Fans more often than not tune into F1 Academy after having tuned into one of the higher series that run on the same circuit, now that the women’s only category has been aligned with the F1 schedule.

“When you see us and then (F1) after, you think we are very slow,” said Biscaye. She pointed out that on a circuit like Jeddah, these young drivers, some of them still teenagers, are shooting between the walls at 200 km/h. That kind of driving, she said, is “already a huge challenge for those young drivers. Men or women, it’s the same. But with the age and the experience they have, it’s actually not that slow.

“If we challenged someone to do the same, they would see what slow is.”

However, this must be balanced against the benefits that the F4 car offers. This level allows drivers to 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 look slow, but it has a huge benefit for the drivers because it really prepares them for the next step.”

Tatuus CEO Giovanni Delfino echoed similar points, describing the car as “easy to drive” and one that uses higher category safety specifications, giving drivers a safe environment to learn how to drive single-seaters.

“The power of the car is enough to give the performance we want, but it’s 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 power-to-weight ratio.”

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 transition from karting to single-seater racing, but from there, each step a driver takes up the motorsport ladder is roughly the same difference. Delfino said drivers typically stay in F4 for one or two years, adding that “after two years in Formula Four, it’s easy to get into a regional car.”

“In reality, this kind of car helps you get used to the size of a single-seater, get used to the way you drive a single-seater, get used to the racing mode of a single-seater.”

The nuts and bolts

The car looks relatively similar to a Formula 4 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 the aerodynamics make a difference.”

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 takes another month to six weeks, Delfino said.

“We found that to be a good compromise between what we can and cannot do with a Formula Four because the rear wing is not homologated,” Delfino said. “So you can more or less do what you want in terms of homologation, even if it is not recognised as a Formula Four wing. In (the) case of the front wing, we had to keep part of the Formula Four design because it is linked to the noses.

“So there is also a crash test that we have to do before the current homologation, but the shape of the lateral parts of the front wing could be moved freely as Liberty Media wanted.”

Homologation is the approval process where the car is checked against technical regulations and the specifications are frozen for the cycle set out in the rules, according to the FIA. This change to the wings makes the F1 Academy car look like the F1 cars and optimizes the aerodynamics, according to Biscaye. “The better aerodynamics allows us to overtake more, which was also something we wanted to create to create 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) are homologated by the FIA. Apart from the percentages, the homologation process for Tatuus is pretty much the same as for F1. Delfino said: “We have to homologate the car with 100 percent of the test, 100 percent of the loads. In Formula 1, you can put 80 percent.”

According to Delfino, the changes to the wings had “no” impact on the car’s performance “because they don’t affect the downforce of the car or the aerodynamic kit and the aerodynamic balance of the car.”

Right car, right series

Biscaye said the car is largely unchanged heading into the 2024 season, aside from the addition of an onboard camera. There are also no major changes planned for next year. It’s not that they’ll never change the car; the car is serving its purpose right now.

“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 track time the drivers have. As a support series to an F1 weekend, the teams only have a practice session or two before they go into qualifying and the two races.

Biscaye said: “If you have reliability problems, the drivers can’t drive during free practice. They lose very important time on the track, and very important time to learn the track and control the conditions. Some tracks we can’t test earlier.”

Miami and Singapore are two tracks where drivers can’t test in advance, as they’re both temporary circuits. So far, the F1 Academy has had few problems reliability-wise — almost none in 2024, Biscaye said. And it’s fairly easy to maintain, which helps keep costs down for teams. There are also limited operational staff at the track who can work on the cars. Biscaye said: “So if you go with a more complicated car, you need more people. So you’re not only increasing the cost of the car, you’re increasing the overall operational cost of the team.”

This series is simpler than F1, allowing teams to focus on changes to suspension and wing setups, and just one tire compound. The aim is to focus on driver preparation and training, such as learning how to manage their 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’re karting and you go to (single-seater) cars, you discover the clutch,” Biscaye said. “When you’re only 16 and you’ve never driven another car, like your parents have, you don’t have driving lessons in real life. So that’s the first time you have a clutch and you really have to start, and that’s a big step.”

Mental and physical training are also important learning moments at this level. Biscaye recalled a conversation with Miami wildcard entrant Courtney Crone during testing at Zandvoort earlier this year. She has a lot of experience in single-seaters, but it was her first time in an F4 car. Zandvoort is a trickier circuit because of the corners, which Biscaye described as “very stiff and requires a lot of strength.”

“Courtney got out of the car and said, ‘I wasn’t prepared for this. It’s actually quite demanding compared to some of the tracks and cars I’ve driven,'” Biscaye recalled. “So when you add it all up, or if you take Jeddah where it’s more mental and the focus is (higher) because of the walls and it’s technical, after three days of testing, the drivers are actually tired.

“I think that also shows that the F4 car is the right step. If you want to make it safe and at the same time interesting enough to really train them and really let them make the step from karts 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 from their F1 Academy team.

“They get this, and that is really the package they need to move forward.”

Top photo: Joe Portlock/Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletics