A tie-up between an America\u2019s Cup and Formula 1 team sounds great in principle, bringing together engineers and designers at the leading edge in two massively technical sports, writes Ed GormanMercedes F1 team CEO Toto Wolff and INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe. Photo: Steve Etherington for Mercedes Benz Grand Prix LtdBut in reality it\u2019s difficult to make such a collaboration work because the differences tend to outweigh the points of crossover.
\nHowever, the word from inside Ben Ainslie\u2019s team is that INEOS Team UK\u2019s relationship with Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 has been a major influence.
\nThe Mercedes outfit based at Brackley in Northamptonshire has dominated Formula 1 for years, helping Lewis Hamilton to six of his seven world titles.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
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To start with the two sides were somewhat wary of each other. \u201cYou could see them sizing us up,\u201d remembers Grant Simmer, CEO of INEOS Team UK.
\n\u201cI mean there they are, multiple world champions, and then they are talking to these guys in the sailing team who operate on a much, much smaller scale than them.\u201d
\nThe contrast in resources between even a properly-resourced America\u2019s Cup team and a top Formula 1 team is stark. While Ainslie has been operating on a \u00a3110 million budget over three years, Mercedes F1 has spent \u00a3250-300 million every year over a decade.
\nThe technical facilities at Brackley are incomparable, with computing, machining and testing capabilities worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
\n\u201cQuite rapidly they started thinking about our problems and providing resources,\u201d explained Simmer. \u201cSo when we talk about foils, they were helping us with CFD \u2013 computational analysis of different variations.
\n\u201cThey also helped us a lot on the mechanical configuration of the foils \u2013 how we actuate the foils and how we achieve that, working with tighter and tighter tolerances.\u201d
\nThe foils for Britannia were assembled at Brackley after a rigorous inspection of every component that goes into them.
\n\u201cI think the future of this team will be centred around working even more closely with the Mercedes F1 team,\u201d Simmer said.
\nFirst published in the January 2021 issue of Yachting World.
\nThe post How Formula 1 tech is helping the America\u2019s Cup contenders fly around the course appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A tie-up between an America\u2019s Cup and Formula 1 team sounds great in principle, bringing together engineers and designers at the leading edge in two massively technical sports, writes Ed GormanMercedes F1 team CEO Toto Wolff and INEOS founder Jim … <\/p>\n