The Tech Side Of The Formula 1: The ECU

I get often asked why do I love Formula 1 so much. It is just some fast cars driving in circles. Right?
Well, not so much.

Everybody interested even slightly in this amazing motorsport knows that there is much more to it than just drivers performing their best on the weekends.
With over 25000 separate bits — around 6000 parts of the engine, 11000 components of the chassis, 8500 of the electronics, and thousands of people engaged in the process, you can understand that we are talking about a complex business here.

A few days ago, my friend asked me, “What the hell is DRS? I know it has something to do with the wings.”
That’s when it hit me -it takes time to understand Formula 1 entirely, and for a new enthusiast, it can be challenging to enjoy a race when you don’t understand what is going on.
That’s why I decided to create a series about hardware and software in F1.

I will start with the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), or how McLaren Applied likes to call it — the brain of the F1 car.

The rise of the ECUs

First things first. In arguing out why McLaren Applied secured the contract with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to make standard ECUs for F1, they state that they are operating as an independent body from the McLaren Racing Company.

Why would a sports body initiate such a move? The answer lies partly in events that preceded the ECU’s inclusion in the sport.

As an automotive sport’s governing body, FIA is responsible for setting rules and regulations for fair sports for all.

In the rise of innovations such as the traction and launch control systems, racing competition outcomes often relied on the electronic control units rather than driver ability. As such, cars that ran under electronic system control had higher chances of emerging as winners than those with limited technology. Even after instituting bans on the gadgets, it was continually proving to be a rat chase to eliminate its usage.

For that reason, FIA came into play. It recognized that it might not be easy for all companies to manage the cost of competing when it comes to these new technologies. The price was becoming unbearable, so to settle matters once and for all, the FIA put out a tender for manufacturing Formula 1 standard electronic devices. McLaren Applied Company landed the tender and became the entitled manufacturers of the units.

So, what is the electronic control unit, and what role do they play in Formula 1?

The mechanics behind the ECUs

The Electronic control unit is an inserted device in a racing car’s electronic system that controls one or several vehicle’s electrical functions. They come in various forms, including ECM (Engine Control Module), BCM (Body Control Module), CCM (Central Control Module), et cetera. All of these modules fall under the umbrella term.

A brief discussion of the roles of specific modules

• Engine Control Module. In the world of these small computers, ECM is the most valuable asset. It is also referred to as Engine Control Unit, though you should distinguish it from the umbrella ECU term under which it falls. It plays a vital role in initiating a series of actuators that run the internal combustion engine to maximize its full fuel combustion capacity, ensuring that the machine gives maximum performance. How does it achieve this role? As a mini-computer, the unit reads the engine output and interprets the data it receives. It then modulates the engine actuators by appropriately adjusting them. The resulting impact the ECM has on the engine completely changes the way it operates. Before ECUs arrived, mechanical centres controlled engine functions. These devices have taken over processes such as ignition timing and the vehicle’s speed and setting the air-fuel mixture level. In some examples, the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) operations and the ECM merge into one unit called the Powertrain Control Module (PCM).
• The Body Control Module (BCM). BCM is a general name containing systems involved in the functioning of the racing car’s various electrical accessories. Its operations include the circuit connected to the windows, mirrors, central locking immobilizers, etc. It plays a significant role in initiating relays that perform support activities on the car, such as dimming interior lighting systems and locking doors.
• The transmission control unit (TCU). It oversees the proper functioning of the modern electronic automatic transmissions in a race car. It works together with the automatic paddle-shift transmissions to sense and regulate the shift from gear to gear, shift quality, and optimum fuel usage.

The additional modules under ECU

The Telematic Control Unit (TCU) is responsible for automotive tracking.

The Battery Management System (BMS) controls the rechargeable battery’s operation within the safe area of operation to lengthen its lifespan. The Speed Control Unit (SCU) controls the cruise of the car, taking over the throttle to keep the car racing at the limit set by the driver, and the Human Machine Interface (HMI) provides the human-machine interaction interface and initiates effective operation of the automobile from the human side.

ECU’s wonderful achievement

The complex ECU device controls more than 25 500 components of electronics, engine parts, and the chassis parts on the F1 car.

The vast amount of data transmitted from over 300 sensors on a single car means that every 300 km of Grand Prix, an F1 racing car interacts with over 1000 parameters and sends back around 1.5 GB of data as feedback to initiate specific actions.

The Bottom Line

These small computers placed in an F1 car are huge improvements and something to admire aside from racing itself. They come with a software framework, and each team is responsible for writing the code under this framework.

It seems that McLaren Applied is doing a good job so far, and not only do they manufacture these parts for Formula 1, but also for Formula E, IndyCar, and NASCAR.

But even with a fantastic car, computer, and well-written codes, it is still essential who operates that car. That’s why we still love Formula 1 and can keep on enjoying it, with just a little bit more knowledge when it comes to the tech side of it.