Virgin Racing is Richard Branson's foray into F1 as a team owner. Just like most of his other Virgin brands, Virgin Racing too has a different DNA. iSport's Motorsport Expert Kunal Shah tells us how the VR-01 could usher F1 in a new era. A MUST READ for F1 geeks!
Richard Branson – there’s only one brand that pops out in my head when I hear that name, Virgin. Branson over the years has grown into one of the world’s most spoken-about and successful entrepreneurs. His rise to success with Virgin Music, to his victory over British Airways is well documented, not only by media globally, but also by the man himself – ‘Loosing my Virginity’ is an addictive read and I happened to finish my book only a few weeks before Branson announced his interest in starting up Virgin F1. While it surprised many, I only thought – what took him so long!!
Branson did taste F1 when he partnered with Brawn GP for a few races in F1 2009. While the association didn’t last beyond the first two races of last season, what Branson did do in his typically bold style was – start his OWN F1 team! Not much of an investment for a person who is in the top 20 list of richest Britons!
So what does it take for one to start up an F1 team? A good engineering and mechanical setup, an engine and gearbox supplier, 2 or 3 good drivers, a fully functional wind tunnel and if you’re Ferrari – a private testing track! Branson got all of that except for the wind tunnel! Very typically Branson – be different, break the traditional mould and the mindset and that’s exactly what he’s done. Yes, for the F1 geeks out there – the Virgin F1 2010 challenger has been built without the help of a wind tunnel! So the question now is – how has he built his racing car?
Computational Fluid Dynamics or CFD is an advanced branch of fluid dynamics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyse problems that involve fluid flow. For the geeks again, air is actually treated as a ‘fluid’ while designing aviation systems. Super computers are used in CFD to perform millions of calculations to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases (air) with surfaces (F1 cars!).It is only after the use of CFD that F1 cars are put in the wind tunnel for further testing. However, Branson and his team of designers have decided to take a bold step – from the CFD drawing table straight to the race track – eliminating the step of wind-tunnel testing.
And why did I choose to write about it? Firstly, it’s oh-so-Branson to be different and its only fun when he decides to do so in F1 too. F1 otherwise is boring, teams are usually doing the same things – either by their own brains or by copying others! Here’s one man who is attempting to be different and is possibly trying to lead the era of F1 car design in another direction. But seriously speaking is he really?
F1 cars are built with highly complex and well crafted aerodynamics – fine tuned on the race track, but built and tested in wind-tunnels. A wind-tunnel is the single most essential tool to build a stable F1 car. So much so that till a few years back, Mclaren and Ferrari had wind-tunnels that would operate non-stop for 24hrs. What will surprise you on the importance of wind-tunnel testing even more is that in the last few years, the FIA has restricted not only the number of hours a team can test their race models in the wind tunnel, but also put a limitation on the model size. (For the geeks: scale models of 1:40 are permitted for wind tunnel testing!!)
So is Branson being foolish while being brave? Now that’s a tough one to answer! His pre-season testing hasn’t been too great to talk about, but what he does have is a team that has proved the worth of CFD in other forms of racing. Heading the Virgin F1 development team is Nick Wirth, who has successfully engineered F1 cars for the Benetton Renault F1 team. However, Nick shot to fame was when he designed the class-winning American Le-Mans Series Acura LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes using an all-CFD approach. While Nick has tasted success with his all-CFD approach, he does agree that is only an approximation – just like scale-model testing and the car does need on-track testing to be made race-worthy.
While the all-CFD approach hasn’t worked yet, Branson’s screw-it-lets-do-it approach and Nick’s wealth of knowledge in engineering F1 cars does give me belief that the VR-01 will be one hell of a race car to watch out for! And if they do succeed in their mission – could this be the next step in F1 car designing? Considering that F1 is entering a low-cost era and that the CFD approach is a much cheaper alternative, I wouldn’t place my bets elsewhere just yet!
Do you really think Virgin's all-CFD formula will work in F1? Tell us here.
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a guest
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... What Virgin will do is usher a new marketing style in F1 and push the envelope in a big way! |
Kunal Shah
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... Well not just that - their spends will be much lesser considering the fact that they've no wind tunnel! Its an expensive resource to build and maintain. Trust Branson so cover his backside before venturing into any new biz. I will be only glad to see a privateer actually run a profitable F1 team. |
a guest
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... Skipping a step doesn't make anything better, just cheaper and possibly an inferior outcome. Obviously, they make progress if they pioneer new CFD innovation or other methodology than compensates or is superior to wind tunnel testing. Branson is just trying to "get away" with a cheaper, faster to market solution. His greatness is how he markets his group and establishes alliances. Would like to see him pioneer more entrepreneurial approaches vs. the big guys. Who knows what his guys will come up with. Fun to watch even if it's a bust. |
Kunal Shah
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... Yes, exactly my thought. Virgin will grow for sure, as a group. Whether Virgin Racing will do so is still a big doubt. But like you said, it's only perfect that he attempts to bully the big bullies!!  |
a guest
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... aaahhh..another gyaan piece by the plagiarist...who has not seen a single formula 1 race from the paddocks or the media box...nor with access to any of the teams...this site will never cease to amuse me...wannabees |
Kunal Shah
said:
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... HAHA - Welcome back Mr. Guest!! (I'd have rather said - Welcome back you Sick F***) Thank you for your comment (Atithi Devo Bhava!) but thanks for also pointing out that I haven't watched a race LIVE yet - because that is the truth. But somehow that truth still allows me to pen articles on iSport and other established and well subscribed publications (Read my latest here: http://business.in.com/article...ia/11492/1) and Yes, I am bragging! But that's what asses like you make me do! Is this story plagiarized? Well - the funny bit is here - you will see it appear in yet another publication and this is totally genuine. You making tall claims? (You short D* head) then show me where this story appeared before iSport and trust me my super-brain is the only place that you will find it! I think you're one struggling F1 writer (sorry, but I have to put you down) and is jealous of my success as an F1 expert - so the point I am making is that go for a flying F! :-) Apologies to the iSport admin and the other readers, but you do get my point and reason for doing this! Bring it on Mr. Guest!! |
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