From testing to the trackNow that the various components have been built, to get the best out of a Formula 1 engine, technicians must gain as much data as possible to fine-tune every element of the power plant and this is where the engine dyno comes in.
With such
small margins dictating results in Formula 1, this area is normally very much off limits. But John Howett revealed: "The finished engines are installed onto test beds and we can undertake many different types of test and evaluation, either power development, mapping for each specific circuit or durability testing. Basically we can simulate everything in these facilities."
More so than engine performance, aerodynamic characteristics play a determining factor in whether a car can compete with the best and, to keep Panasonic Toyota Racing at the cutting edge, the team's Cologne factory has two wind tunnels.
A 50% scale model of the team's latest car, identical in every way but smaller, is subjected to a strong wind - between 50 to 100 metres per second - which gives engineers the opportunity to see how it behaves when moving at speed.
"The aerodynamic performance of a Formula 1 car is one of the largest contributors to its overall performance," John adds. "The wind tunnel area is one of the most secret and restricted-access areas of any Formula 1 factory.
Here new parts are fitted to a model and tested rigorously and remorselessly to gain additional performance."
When all the individual components are built and fine-tuned, the Formula 1 workshop completes the task. The same mechanics who work in the pits during race weekends and test sessions painstakingly assemble the cars in dedicated assembly bays, taking time to be certain everything is in perfect working order before they are shipped to the next race.
After a rare guided visit by President John Howett himself, he sums up: "All the parts from all the manufacturing areas in the factory come together and a race car is built."
When the car is finished, it is usually taken swiftly to the next track on the calendar, where many of the same mechanics join to rebuild the car and get it ready for Ralf or Jarno to hit the track.
Obviously, with limited space available, the full factory team cannot travel to races but behind the pit box, there is space for gearbox and engine assembly areas, as well as working areas for tyre mechanics, who keep dozens of sets warm and ready to use at a moment's notice.
Further behind the scenes, data engineers monitor banks of data screens, scrutinising the smallest amounts of information to keep the car in the best possible working order.
Elsewhere, engineers can work from fully-equipped offices - either in the top of one of the specially-built race trucks or in permanent circuit offices - continuing the vital work they started back in Cologne.
Every car which rolls out of Panasonic Toyota Racing's high-tech Cologne headquarters and heads to the race track is more than the sum of its parts - it is a combined effort from a team united by one aim: to succeed in Formula 1.
Source Panasonic Toyota Racing
