Red Bull Racing highlights the importance of metrology in Formula One

“Did we change Formula One a little bit? Perhaps.”

by

The ever-competitive world of Formula One has seen the ‘development race’ be reduced to microns of improvement. Nothing will highlight this more than at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. In Montreal, the top three were split by two-hundredths of a second. Mercedes driver George Russell and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen posted identical lap times (1:12.000), with the former taking pole position simply because he completed his lap first.

With the Formula One grid converging, achieving extremely high levels of accuracy and performance has become critical. As a result, metrology has taken its place at the forefront of the pinnacle of motorsport. Oracle Red Bull Racing, the sport’s current reigning constructors’ world champions, has enjoyed its technical partnership with metrology specialists Hexagon for 18 years. The duo has successfully worked together to move the goalposts of measurement accuracy in both the motorsport and passenger vehicle industries.

About Oracle Red Bull Racing

The Milton Keynes-based outfit arrived in Formula One ahead of the 2005 season after the team was raised from the ashes of the old Jaguar Racing team. Since its inception, Red Bull Racing has gone on to win six constructors’ world championships, seven drivers’ championships, and 119 race victories. 

The team has also housed some of the sport’s most successful drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. The latter helped the team make history in 2023, as Red Bull Racing went on to win an astounding 95.45% of all races that year, with 15 consecutive wins.

Hexagon revolutionises metrology with Red Bull Racing

Last week, Manufacturing Quality was invited to the Red Bull Technology Campus for an Innovation Day with the team’s partner Hexagon to learn more about how the Swedish company’s metrology technologies have helped them stay on top. As we toured the pristine factory corridors, we were taken aback by the vast number of scanners and 3D printers that keep the developing, scanning, and testing cycle going.

“Thanks to the multi-year report and the partnership, we can count on Hexagon seven days a week, 24 hours a day, to explain to us how to use the tools, and also how to use them to reach the limit of the set-up of the car and performance. They also help us to solve problems, even with transversal solutions that we had not thought of,” said Mark Foden, Head of Quality Control at Red Bull Powertrains.

Red Bull Racing utilise a selection of Hexagon’s technologies including the Absolute Scanner AS1 (and the XL version), the PRESTO system and the Leica Absolute Tracker AT960. The team at Milton Keynes revealed that they were able to push the technologies further than Hexagon were expecting, with the engineers able to measure every component of the car and the engine. All parts can then be built to the exact specifications outlined in the design, even down to a single layer of paint.

“We were able to measure things we’d never measured before. And then we realised how much more accurate it was than other technologies,” Paul Monaghan, Chief Engineer of Car Engineering had previously said.

The team has Absolute Scanner AS1’s installed at the factory, but they also needed additional technology that they can take on the road. Because the race cars will only return to Milton Keynes around six times throughout the season (which kicks off around February/March and runs until November/December), Red Bull Racing needed a solution for race weekends.

The Leica Absolute Tracker AT960 was the perfect addition. According to the team, on a race weekend, Thursday is the main day when it comes to scanning and checking the cars, even though the car floors are scanned every day. Now, the team can measure the car whenever they require it.

This newfound flexibility is pivotal for the team to check that its cars are still compliant with the sport’s rules and regulations. The sport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), conducts regular scrutineering checks throughout a Grand Prix weekend to ensure that all cars are legal. If any team were found to be breaking the rules, the consequences could be severe.

Typically, the team will conduct its inspection and measurement processes and submit the results to the FIA, who will double-check. Both Red Bull Racing and the FIA utilise Hexagon’s equipment to measure and inspect the legality of the cars on the grid.

“We have absolute trust in Hexagon’s technology,” said Monaghan. “We’ve been using the equipment for many years, and there’s no need for a backup.”

Key features of the Leica Absolute Tracker:

  • All-in-one design with Leica T-Probe, Leica T-Scan, and Leica T-Max available to built-in.
  • The portable design makes transportation easier.
  • PowerLock design with a +/-5 degree field of view.
  • Portable power feature with hot-swap battery features available.
  • Wi-Fi enabled.
  • Fully compatible with Metrology Asset Manager.
  • IP54 IEC certificate ensures the system can be used in the harshest environments.
  • MeteoStation environmental unit allows the tracker to adapt to environments with different temperature, pressure, and humidity levels.
  • Offers real-time machine guidance.

Hexagon helps to reduce Red Bull Racing’s failures by around 50%

As Hexagon and Red Bull Racing continue to push the limits of metrology, the team can now work within a margin of error of two microns. Additionally, in the last two years, the world champions have seen a 50% reduction in failures as a result of Hexagon’s metrology hardware and software.

“Hexagon has played a vital role in the success we’ve achieved – not just recently, but over a long period of time as a valued partner to the team. We’re using Hexagon to ensure we’ll be competitive for years to come,” said Christian Horner, Team Principal & Chief Executive Officer at Red Bull Racing.

As we have previously highlighted, achieving the highest levels of accuracy is paramount in Formula One. However, as expected, producing part upgrades quickly is just as important. At Red Bull Racing, metrology data informs the design process, and each component put on the car has a two-week lifecycle. Each part must work as expected the first time, which can be incredibly challenging because the team strips each car down to around 8,000 individual parts between events.

The Head of Quality Assurance and Manufacturing Engineering at Red Bull Racing, Mike Hughes, previously stated, “The quicker we can make the car, the quicker we can test the car and get feedback to continue its design evolution.”

Hexagon’s metrology solutions are not only being utilised by Red Bull Racing and the FIA but also by most of the other Formula One teams. A fact that was highlighted by Foden, who revealed that he helped bring the technology to at least one other F1 team.

“Did we change Formula One a little bit? Perhaps,” said Monaghan. However, he believes that Red Bull Racing are ahead of the rest of the field as they know the “full potential” of the technology.