Society As Formula 1

The first race of the new Formula 1 season is done. Red Bull and Max Verstappen were expected to reign supreme, based on early test results, but in the end it was Ferrari with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. who took gold and silver, with both Red Bull drivers failing to finish and scoring 0 points due to technical problems.

This post will not be just about Formula 1, although I'm very happy with the prospect of a season in which there's a good chance we'll see a three-way fight for the championship between Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Instead I want to focus on one particular aspect of the sport, and how I believe this could and should apply to human society. You see, this year there are completely new technical regulations for the sport, mainly with regards to aerodynamics and bodywork, resulting in the biggest change in car-design since decades. These new rules were implemented to solve one of the sport's biggest problems, namely the ability to follow another car at close range, thereby increasing opportunities for overtakes.

Formula 1 cars depend for their lightning fast lap times on down-force. All the wings on the cars cause the cars to be pressed down on to the track to increase grip levels; this is why Formula 1 cars can take fast corners at ridiculous speeds while still staying glued to the track, and why drivers have to do some serious training of their necks to be able to withstand the enormous lateral G-forces for 50 or more laps. But because of this, it's very hard for another car to follow closely. The wings generate down-force, but also what's called "dirty air" behind the car which causes any car following to lose a lot of its down-force; that's why there's not a whole lot of close racing in Formula 1, and that's what the new rules are for.

This year there's a lot less down-force generated by the wings, and a lot of the little flaps and wings that were put on the side of the cars have also been made illegal, resulting in a lot less dirty air. To make up for some of the lost down-force coming from the wings, cars now generate most of their down-force through so called "ground effect." As the name suggests, ground effect is the generation of down-force using the air that passes underneath the car; this sucks the car towards the track from beneath. I'm not going into all the technical details here, but I'll include a video, if you're interested, discussing ground effect and a problem called "porpoising" it causes for the teams.

The new rules are not only revolutionary, but very strict as well, which is why experts and pundits didn't expect there to be a whole lot of variety in this year's car designs. Fortunately the Formula 1 teams employ some of the world's best designers and creative minds; and oh boy, there are a lot of different takes on the new rules! If you're not a fan of the sport, I'm sure all the cars will look the same, but for someone who's been following Formula 1 since the 1990s, no 2 teams look the same. Red Bull has a radical side-pod design with aggressive undercuts, Ferrari's side-pods look rather traditional, and Mercedes has almost no visible side-pods with a vertical air-intake instead of the traditional horizontal air-intake. There are differences in the design of the rear wings, the diffusers, front wings, suspension and so on.

But only 1 car design will be winning at the end of the season. Of all the different design-philosophies only 1 can be the best. What will follow is a year of frantic development of all the cars, and all the teams will try to replicate from their opponents what they think will work on their own car as well. Have you noticed how road cars gradually have come to resemble each other more and more throughout the years? That's the same dynamic at work; competitors replicate what works. But just like in Formula 1, they can't just go in there and ask how they make this or that work so well; they're competitors, not friends. Instead they spy on each other, steal from each other, or work hard and spend a lot of time and money to re-invent what has already been invented before. That's why this process is slow, but eventually unstoppable.

That's why, and this is the whole point of this post, capitalism isn't smart and hinders progression. That's why competition is good for sports, but not for a society. If all ten formula 1 teams would put their heads together, they'd come up with a car that's faster and more efficient than any car that's on the track right now. But that would kill the spirit of competition in the sport. Or, another way to think of it is that it would make for a real competition between just the drivers, since they'd all race with the same equipment. For a society however, one that aspires to make life better for everyone and to progress technologically and scientifically in the best, fastest and mos efficient way possible, competition is a waste of time, money and resources. Formula 1 literally started as a group of extremely wealthy old men who decided one day to create a competition between themselves over who could build the fastest car and ride it hardest; that's the origin and the spirit of the sport, and that's okay, but society is not that small group of wealthy old men...

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