The concept that Components 1 is one of the costly sports activities on the planet for producers and groups to take part in shouldn’t be a shock to anybody. After all, quantifying simply how costly it truly is turns into type of powerful and complex, however let’s attempt to do it by speaking a few single easy half: the standard wheel nut.
On a passenger automobile, a wheel nut (or bolt in case you’re driving a European automobile) will sometimes vary from a few {dollars} every to perhaps $20 on the upper finish. Components 1 groups, however, spend nearer to $1,000 every, based on the superb racing tech-focused YouTube channel Driver61, and the journey that the F1 wheel nut took from being one thing that groups knocked on with a hammer to the light-weight milled aluminum items they’re now could be fairly fascinating.
If you wish to get the entire story, watch the video, however among the highlights for me embrace the truth that at present, wheel nuts in F1 are usually not spec elements, which means they don’t must be the identical for each automobile just like the wheels, however the producers are required to share their design data with the remainder of the grid, stopping this from changing into yet one more space the place richer groups can outspend poorer ones and go away them behind.
Additionally fascinating is that the majority groups find yourself machining their very own wheel nuts and that every wheel nut is often solely used as soon as. The latter isn’t a rule, however as a result of aluminum isn’t particularly sturdy and may deform or break when subjected to excessive forces like, y’know, an F1 pit crew’s ridiculously highly effective wheel gun, the associated fee financial savings of reusing the {hardware} don’t make sense when in comparison with potential time misplaced as a result of the splines on the nut broke, which occurred to Mercedes-AMG in 2021.
So, subsequent time you’re watching a grand prix, do not forget that along with all the opposite prices a crew has to take part, it’s taking a look at spending round $80,000 on wheel nuts for every race weekend, and know that for that cash, you should purchase a BMW M3 with a few choices.