The wraps have come off Formula One’s latest challengers as teams unveil fresh looks ahead of a brand-new season. The traditional pre-season testing period, which for 2020 consists of two three-day sessions in Barcelona, offers the first opportunity for drivers to get to grips with their machinery for the coming year.

Designers, engineers and mechanics have spent months working tirelessly behind closed doors to hone their latest creations, as teams seek to find the incremental tenths-of-a-second that could mean the difference between success and failure during an intense F1 calendar.

The sleek looks and shapely aesthetics have been largely dictated by aerodynamic designs with Cosworth’s electronics solutions supporting several teams in their bid for race wins and podiums this coming season.

We supply advanced data acquisition and control systems, including hardware, wiring and software products, to a number of multiple world championship-winning teams. Races may be won on track, but it is inside the teams’ windtunnels where the seeds for success are sowed – and where Cosworth plays a key role.

“Aerodynamic development is the single most important performance differentiator in Formula One,” says our Technical Manager, Maximiliano Lotto. “With both test time and the number of aerodynamic tests limited by regulations it is crucial to make every test count. Cosworth systems provide accurate and repeatable data, acquired reliably and in the minimum possible time, while being flexible and easy to configure and use.”

Our flagship data acquisition and control software system, Diablo, was designed to meet the demanding needs of modern-day Formula One windtunnels. It has been created to be highly modular, flexible and scalable to maximise productivity of aero testing.

The Cosworth Motion Controller, or CMC, is deployed for real-time, closed-loop, accurate and repeatable positioning of models and vehicles in the windtunnel. Supporting playback of user-defined motion profiles, the CMC enables continuous testing to maximise the amount of data gathered.

Our solutions also include Toolbox, the Diablo Results Viewer and the DAE Viewer libraries for data visualisation and analysis. Acquisition modules include the EtherCAT enabled EAI32, ESG16 and SJU.

“These tools allow Formula One teams to conduct fast, accurate and repeatable aero testing, furthering their development pace,” adds Maximiliano. “This is crucial to be competitive in F1. Our systems have supported aero development of all teams that have won the F1 constructors’ championship uninterruptedly since the year 2000 and are currently used by half the grid.”

As is commonplace across our performance electronics offering, it is far more than just product supply; we also ensure our highly skilled and experienced team is on offer to support as and when necessary.

“Cosworth solutions are powerful and reliable,” says Maximiliano, “and are backed by responsive and comprehensive support. We offer up to 24-hour cover. One of our engineers is always ready to help customers to get the most out of their systems.”

We have always sought to use our participation at the forefront of international motorsport – whether F1, WEC, WRC, IndyCar or MotoGP – to improve our high-performance technology. This is equally true with our electronics packages.

Maximiliano concludes: “The relentless pursuit of further performance in Formula One drives the continuous development and enhancement of our windtunnel aerodynamic test systems, which keeps them at the technological forefront and directly benefit other users such as automotive OEMs.”

As teams take to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for pre-season testing, Cosworth’s electronics will have helped shape many of the 2020 challengers – quite literally.

Please contact our sales team for more information on our solutions.