GPM Help Index

Grand Prix Manager - On-line Reference

Contents

The Team

Drivers

Design

Engineering

Mechanics

Commercial Management

The Car

Car Internals

Car Externals

Driver Aids

New Car Design

Facilities

Manufacturing

Engines

Fuel

Spare Parts

Tyres

The Rules

FIA


Driver Attributes

Drivers

Drivers are the ambitious stars of Formula One who race their cars at speeds up to 200 mph. The rewards for success are great; but the price of failure can be tragic. Only the fittest and fastest drivers will make a name for themselves in this fiercely competitive sport.

In Grand Prix Manager, drivers are rated by a number of attributes. These are:

Attribute	Description
Character	How flexible the driver is in contract negotiations, and how likely the driver is to accept team orders during a race.
Speed	The driver's overall speed during a race.
Reliability	How likely the driver is to make a mistake during a race.
Performance	The driver's performance at the start of a race (how quick he is off the mark, and how good he is at avoiding contact with other cars during the scramble for first bend). Also the driver's ability to maintain a good racing line.
Stamina	The rate at which the driver grows tired. Some drivers retire from races simply due to fatigue, or pain from sprains and bruising caused while drving.
Understanding	The driver's understanding of his car. The more intelligent a driver is, the more often he will make helpful comments about the car's setup.
Ambition	How flexible the driver is during contract negotiations, and how likely he is to want to look for another job elsewhere.
Luck	Whether or not a driver is injured during an accident is solely a matter of luck.
Leadership	Drivers improve with experience (by racing). Drivers learn faster if paired with a driver with good Leadership.
Ability	The driver's ability to avoid making simple mistakes. This includes not stalling the car or incurring stop/go penalties. Experience is also a key factor in avoiding contact with other cars in all circumstances.
Bravery	How likely a driver is to try to overtake. Overtaking is never a simple manoeuvre, and even to attempt it at 150 mph takes courage.
General	The driver's general race performance and attitude towards contract negotiations is greatly affected by his attitude to his present situation.


The Role of Designers

Design

All F1 construction work starts in Design. The Chief Designer plans the shape of the cars, and works out how each component will fit within the chassis design. He must also keep abreast of technological developments to ensure the cars remain competitive from year to year, while also checking that the cars conform to detailed FIA regulations. Design quality is a key factor in any car's performance. Because of this, 'Chief Designer' is the most important technical post on any team; it is certainly the highest paid, and 'star' designers are always in demand.

In Grand Prix Manager, Design performs two vital functions. The first is to design cars to be used next year. A team using cars designed for the previous year, will be seriously out-performed by its rivals.

Design is also responsible for starting Driver Aid projects. Unless Design work has started on a Driver Aid project, Engineers or Mechanics allocated to the same project will make slow progress - they'll be waiting for Design plans to work from.

You can greatly help Design complete its work quickly by building a CAD Network facility.


The Role of Engineers

Engineering

The Chief Engineer is responsible for turning the Designer's blueprints into reality. The Engineering team manufacture all the parts (including the chassis sections) specified by Design, and supervise car assembly.

Top F1 teams make up to 90% of the cars themselves. This means that every part they use is uniquely engineered to fit perfectly within the car design. This process is costly, but worthwhile because of the performance advantage and improved reliability it offers.

In Grand Prix Manager, Engineering has two functions. The first is to manufacture In-House parts. In-House parts out-perform all 'off-the-shelf' parts. However, as time goes by 'off-the-shelf' technology improves. When a season finishes, all your In-House parts will be replaced by the best 'off-the-shelf' parts available. To gain a further advantage, you will have to build a whole new set of In-House parts for the new season.

Engineering also builds advanced Driver Aids. If Design has not started on a Driver Aid project, Engineers allocated to the same project will make slow progress (having no plans to work from). If no Engineers are on the project, Mechanics will make little progress as they will not have the parts to fit to the car.

You can help Engineering complete its work quickly by building a CAM Network facility. You can also save a lot of money on making In-House parts by building the Manufacturing Unit and Carbon Fibre Unit facilities.


The Role of Mechanics

Mechanics

Once all the parts of a car have been made, they must be assembled and maintained. This is the job of the Mechanics. The Mechanics must know the car inside out as it is they who must travel with the cars around the world, making all the set-up changes needed to ensure that the cars perform at their best at all times. Mechanics also double up as the team's pit crew.

In Grand Prix Manager Mechanics maintain and modify your cars. Every adjustment you make to your cars takes time. If you don't have the manpower to do the job, you will not be allowed to do it. Also good mechanics will comment on the condition of the car.

The second job Mechanics have is to work out how best to fit Driver Aids to the car. Unless Design and Engineering have begun work on a Driver Aid project, there is little point assigning Mechanics as they will have no components to try out.

Finally, Mechanics are responsible for Pit Stops; the better your crew is, the faster and less accident prone your pit stops will be. A fast pit crew can win races!

The only way you can help the Mechanics department is to employ as many good staff as you can afford.


The Role of the Commercial department

Commercial Management

Competing in F1 costs money, and most of this money comes from sponsorship. Companies pay huge sums to have their logos put on the teams' cars and drivers. Sponsors also use race days to provide entertainment for their clients. Commercial Managers co-ordinate all this activity, in addition to marketing the team in the form of merchandise and licensing. They command high salaries; but without them, even the most successful team would not survive.

In Grand Prix Manager the Commercial Manager divides time between raising sponsorship and doing merchandising deals.

To raise sponsor money you must allocate departmental time to companies who are interested in you, and who can provide the level of income your team needs. Bear in mind that offers will vary depending on how successful your team is, especially when considering long term deals.

Merchandising comes in two forms: goods made by the team itself, and goods made by manufacturers who want to use your team name to sell their product. Team goods make a loss, but are useful as free gifts to sponsors - making them happy for relatively little cost. Licensing the team's 'brand' to manufacturers doesn't make much money, but it's all free!


Car Internals

The gleaming chassis of a Formula One car hides a complex system of finely-tuned  components. These parts can either be bought 'off-the-shelf', or custom made by Engineering. Car Internals must be maintained at peak condition; if any part should fail, it will mean the end of the race.

Some Internal components have to be 'set-up', adjusted to perform their best on each of the world's racing circuits. For example, car set-up for Monaco (a track made entirely of low-speed bends) would be very different from that for Hockenheim (a fast track with long straights, where all-out speed is essential).

In Grand Prix Manager choosing Internal parts is simply a case of fitting the highest quality (FIA legal) parts you can afford, preferably In-House parts you have made yourself. You should also keep checking the parts and replace any worn ones you may find - if you can afford to!

Each Internal part has a different effect on car performance:

Part	Effect
Brake Balance	When a car decelerates, its weight shifts to the front wheels. The harder the braking, the more weight is thrown forward. Brakes should be set so that the front ones go into action before the rear (raise the front brake %). This gives more control and cornering speed under hard braking.
Gear Number & Gearing	Grand Prix cars have between 5 and 7 gears - most favour 6 or 7 - with gear ratios set to enable cars to drive all parts of a circuit at optimum speed. Top gear should be set so that the car can reach top speed on the longest straight, and 1st gear should be set to give top speed on the slowest bend. All other gears should be spaced equally between the two. Gear ratios greatly affect acceleration on both straight and corner speeds.
Fuel Tank	In-Race refuelling gives teams a choice of racing with a large fuel load (fewer pit stops but slower average speed, due to fuel weight), or a small fuel load (more  pit stops but faster average speed). Fuel load affects speed and the number of stops a car must make.
Cooling System	Engines get extremely hot. Heat must be moved out of the car quickly before the more sensitive parts over-heat and break. A good cooling system helps this.
Gear Box	This contains the gears as described above. The better quality a gear box is, the less chance there is of gear failure.
Suspension	The object of suspension is to cushion the body of the car from sharp jolts caused by the track surface. The better the suspension is, the more likely a car is to last full race distance.
Brake System	Brakes in an F1 car are subject to incredible strain, and need to be of very high quality to ensure the level of cornering performance required. Quality affects how fast and reliably the car can drive round corners.
Transmission	Transmits the force of the engine to the wheels. Better quality transmission is less likely to breakdown under this great force.
EMS	The Engine Management System is an electronic computerised system designed to ensure that the engine always runs at its best. A good system improves the car's top speed, and reduces the chance of failure.
Electrical System	Supplies power to all the various components that need it. A poor system is more likely to breakdown in race conditions.
Steering System	Enables the car to change direction. Low quality steering is more likely to suffer defects, particularly on winding circuits.
Car Weight	Cars should be as light as possible, to increase top speeds. Unfortunately, FIA regulations specify a minimum weight which all cars must conform to.


Car Externals

A Formula One chassis is composed of separate sections made from 'space-age' materials like Kevlar, Nomex, and polymerised aluminium. These materials combine to create a chassis that is light, safe, and strong in equal amounts.

Sections can be bought 'off-the-shelf', or custom made by Engineering. It is vital that car Externals are maintained at peak condition, to prevent the possibility of failure during a race.

As with Internal components, some External components have to be 'set-up' to allow the car to perform at its very best on all the different racing circuits.

In Grand Prix Manager choosing External parts is simply a case of fitting the highest quality (FIA legal) parts you can afford, preferably In-House parts you have made yourself. You should also keep checking the parts and replace any worn ones you may find - if you can afford to!

Each External part has a different effect on car performance:

Part	Effect
Ballast	If, according to FIA rules, your car is under weight, you can add ballast to make the car legal. Ballast increases weight and so has an effect on the overall speed.
Centre of Gravity	If you add ballast to the car, you can adjust its centre of gravity (which is normally set just behind the driver). You can adjust this to affect cornering but do not alter this too much as the car will become un-driveable. Heavy components will mean that the rear of the car is heavier than the front; in this case you should move centre of gravity slightly forwards to balance the distribution of weight.
Tyre Pressure	Increasing tyre pressure reduces tyre wear and overall speed (the tyres have less grip). Decreasing tyre pressure has the opposite effect; tyre wear increases, but grip and speed improve.
Wing Angle	Raising the angle of the large rear wing increases  aerodynamic downforce on the car. Increased downforce improves grip, so cars can take bends at higher speeds. Unfortunately, on straights downforce acts as drag, stopping the car from reaching top speed. You need to assess the balance of corners and straights on each circuit to decide how best to angle the wing. The front wing has much less effect on downforce and acts mainly to balance the car. You should set the front wing angle as close to the rear wing angle as possible, while trying to keep the front wing angle as low as possible so as to not contribute to drag. A wide difference between front and rear wings will upset the balance of the car and may cause it to spin!
Air Box	Air rushes in through the air box, to the engine where it helps keep the engine cool. A good air box reduces the chance of engines overheating.
Front & Rear Wing	The design of the wings has an effect on the aerodynamics of the car. The better the quality, the faster the car will go with minimal chance of spinning.
Side Pods	Side pods admit air which help cool the engine, and also offer protection to the driver. Good side pods reduce the chance of both breakdown and driver injury.
Nose Cone	The nose cone affects the car's aerodynamics and thus its speed. The fastest cars in 1995 feature the raised 'shark' nose.
Stepped Bottom	Stepped bottoms increase ride height. This reduces downforce and so forces the driver to go at slower speeds (or he'll spin off!). The use of stepped bottoms is enforced by the FIA for safety reasons. Higher stepped bottoms reduce overall speed.
Vanes	Vanes control air flow into the side pod cooling ducts and so increase cooling. Better quality vanes reduce the chance of over-heating problems.
Skirt	This device is effectively an upturned wing which sits round the bottom of the car, creating 'ground effect' (forcing the chassis towards the ground). Skirts increase overall speed.


Driver Aids

Driver Aids are advanced electronic systems designed to give cars an edge. In the 1990s the FIA banned most such systems because only the top teams could afford them, making the sport less competitive. Also, the aids detracted from the driver's skill. However, technology continues to advance, and is becoming more and more affordable. In time all these devices may be seen in Formula One racing once more.

In Grand Prix Manager Driver Aids tend to suffer higher failure rates than other parts. Also they can be improved through continued R & D. There are ten levels of quality for each Driver Aid. Once you have finished designing a Level One Driver Aid, you can either start research on a different one, or continue R & D on a Level Two version of the same Aid.

Driver Aids offer the following advantages:

Part	Advantage
Active Suspension	This computerised system enables suspension to adjust to the track's surface profile in real time. It gives cars a significant speed advantage.
Driver Communication	Allows communication between team and driver. This is useful for giving team orders. In the absence of good communication, the team must wait for the driver to come into the pits before they can modify his strategy.
Fully Automatic Gears	This system greatly cuts down the time involved in gear changing, and helps keep the engine at optimum revs at all times. Improves overall speed.
Traction Control	Delivers power smoothly and evenly to the wheels, which means improved grip under high acceleration. Traction control guarantees a perfect race start, with no wheelspin, almost every time.
Onboard Camera	Enables the pit crew to see what's happening on and around the car chassis. The better the cameras are, the earlier the team is likely to spot any problems with the car exterior.
Car Control Software	Monitors the internal condtion of the car, and helps control some of the internal systems. The better the software is the sooner the team will become aware of any problems with internal parts. A good system will also improve car performance.
Turbo	Turbo-charges the engine, giving a major improvement to straight line speed.
Semi Automatic Gears	Eases gear-changing for the driver, while still allowing the driver some control over gear choice. Top drivers perform better with semi-automatic gears than with fully automatic because their judgement is better than the system's.
ABS	Antilock brakes help cut braking distances to a minimum, and stop brake locking which causes excessive tyre wear.


New Car Design

It is usually the case that just as a racing season starts, work commences on cars to be driven next year. From design to final construction can take as long as 6 months, and costs millions of dollars. Sometimes teams simply do not have the resources necessary to get cars ready on time; they start a season using last year's cars and invariably suffer as a result.

In Grand Prix Manager it is important that you allocate enough Design staff to have the new chassis ready in time for next season. It is also important that you save enough cash to build new cars when the time comes to do so. It is possible to buy new cars mid-season, should it take that long to complete them, but this is not an ideal situation.


Facilities

Team offices vary as much as everything else in F1. Poorer teams are often based in industrial warehouses, they have to buy all their components, and must rent any facilities (e.g. Wind Tunnels) they need to use. Top teams, on the other hand, occupy plush office complexes that are as secure as banks. They have all the facilities they need to construct cars on site, and this level of researching gives them a major edge over the other teams.

In Grand Prix Manager you can build a number of facilities around your home base. Building and maintaining facilities costs money; but if things get tight, you can also sell them.

The various facilities offer you the following help:

Facility	Help
CAD Network	Computer Aided Design systems enable the team to 'build' and 'test' car designs on computer. This means that designs can be tested quickly and efficiently before any money is spent on building real components. The Design department will complete all its jobs much more quickly.
CAM Network	Computer Aided Manufacturing systems help to automate and improve the component making process. The Engineers will complete all their tasks much more quickly.
Fibre Carbon Construction Unit	This factory is equipped with all the tools, machinery and raw materials necessary to build In-House External parts. If you don't have one of these Units, you will have to hire one - all the parts you make will cost you a great deal more. Owning a Unit will save a lot of money.
Manufacturing Unit	This factory is fully equipped to build In-House Internal car parts. Unless you have one of these Units, you will have to hire other facilities, which means that all the parts you make will cost you much more. Owning a Unit will save a lot of money.
Testing Rig	This large 'four-poster' computerised rig simulates all aspects of a car's behaviour, using telemetry data from the car. Test programs are tried on the rig; if successful, the test data can be fed back into the car's telemetry system, improving the performance of the car. Owning a testing rig will improve the overall performance of your cars.
Wind Tunnel	Wind Tunnel testing is cheaper than track testing, and can offer pinpoint accurate data on the car's current setup. Owning a tunnel saves on hire fees each time you want to use one.


Manufacturing

Top teams build around 90% of the cars themselves, and so can be sure of quality right down to the last screw. This capability really sorts winning teams out from the rest. Design blueprints can be taken and realised to the finest detail, with very few compromises being made for non-custom components.

In Grand Prix Manager car parts are either bought 'off-the-shelf' from specialist companies, or made by your own Engineering team (In-House). Building In-House parts is carried out on the Manufacturing screens, by assigning Engineering time to Internal and External parts.

Tooling an original In-House component (the master) is an expensive job. If you do not have a Manufacturing Unit (for External parts) or a Carbon Fibre Unit (for Internal parts), you will have to pay a large one-off fee to cover the cost of hiring facilities to create and test the masters. Once you have created master parts, you can make duplicates at little cost.

In-House parts are the best you can have. However, after you fit any superior components to your car, you should Try Car Improvements at a test day. If you do not tune new components before the next race, they will not perform at their best.

At the end of a season, all In-House parts are replaced by best 'off-the-shelf' components. This is due to advances in commonly available technology. To get the edge over your competitors you'll have to design a whole new set of In-House parts.


Engines

Engines are the power-house of a Formula One car. Made principally from aluminium and steel, they must be capable of generating over 700 bhp for up to two whole hours.

There are less than two dozen engine manufacturers, and it requires up to 150 people to design and build each engine. Engines are taken apart and re-built after every 300 miles of use, to ensure that they are at top condition.

For teams, a good engine is critical; for suppliers, a successful team is essential. There is great prestige attached to the company who supplies engines to the top formula one cars, and Formula One success means more domestic car sales. For this reason, companies who supply engines to the best teams do so for free. This is no small saving, as engines cost around half a million pounds each. In addition to the money saving, suppliers will give top teams full technical support, to ensure that car and engine work perfectly together.

Smaller teams have to pay for their engines, and will sometimes struggle to keep two cars on the road, simply because they cannot afford replacement engines should one be destroyed as a result of a crash.

In Grand Prix Manager, you should try to negotiate a contract for the best quality engine available. Ideally, you should try to arrange a contract with one of the big companies who, if impressed with your performance, will supply you engines at no cost.


Fuel

Formula One racing used to be a testing ground for the major fuel companies who would supply different teams with their own special fuel mixtures. In return the fuel companies received excellent data on the performance of their fuel, in addition to team advertising.

In 1994, the use of 'unique' fuels were banned by the FIA. All teams must now use standard petrol - the kind that is commonly available from filling stations.

In Grand Prix Manager fuels are listed by quality. Some fuels are generally better than others, but each fuel works best with a specific engine type. Irrespective of general quality, the right fuel for your engine will give you a performance bonus.

Try to negotiate a contract with the supplier of right fuel for your engine. Fuel suppliers can only supply a certain number of teams, so you should make a deal as soon as possible.

Also be aware that the best kind of fuel for your engines is likely to change over time.


Spare Parts

Holding all the technological marvels of a Formula One car together are hundreds of standard minor parts: screws, bolts, gauges, cables etc. etc. While these parts are unspectacular, any problems with them can be just as devastating as engine failure. Because of this, teams ensure that they use parts from only the best suppliers.

In Grand Prix Manager you should try to negotiate a contract with the best supplier you can afford. If you are happy with the supplier, you should make the contract a standing one; otherwise you will have to renew after each race.


Tyres

F1 tyres are not the same as those on an everyday motor car. The tyre manufacturers use their own unique compounds - secret formulae involving rubber, carbon black, additives, sulphur and oils. The tyres made in this way provide F1 cars with exceptional grip.

Tyres cost around £250 each, which can be a problem as they are very short-lived. F1 tyres deteriorate within a few laps, leaving debris ('marbles') all over the edges of the track. Tyre wear is affected by driving style and by the quality of the track. A driver who pushes hard on a winding circuit will wear tyres down far more quickly than a driver who brakes in good time on a predominantly straight circuit.

Sharp braking can 'flat spot' tyres. The tyres become so hot that the rubber sticks to the track, leaving an irreparable flat 'tear' in the tyre's surface.

Tyre temperature and tyre pressure are also key factors in tyre performance. Tyres provide optimum grip at about 100 degrees centigrade, which means that fresh tyres have to be driven in, to build up their temperature before the driver can rely on their grip once more.

Over the course of a grand prix meeting, FIA rules allow teams to use a maximum of 7 sets of tyres. Teams almost invariably use every set up.

In Grand Prix Manager you should try to negotiate a contract with the highest quality supplier you can afford. Tyre companies only have resources to supply a certain number of teams, so you should try to sign a deal as soon as possible.

During races, you must choose which type of tyres you want to fit to your car. Tyres are graded in Compounds. Compound A is the hardest wearing tyre; it lasts longer but offers less grip (producing slower speed). B is a medium compound; it will not last the whole race but is quicker than A. C is a soft compound, and should only be used if you are planning several pits stops in a race. D is very soft and gives excellent grip but it wears out very quickly.

Qualifying tyres are special tyres which last less than 4 laps before they lose their usefulness; but the grip they provide is phenomenal. Finally, a treaded tyre - for wet weather is available. These provide extra grip for driving in wet weather, but greatly slow cars down in dry. Conversely, racing on Compound A tyres during a rain fall will almost certainly see you leaving the track - unless you slow right down.


FIA

The Fédération Internationale De L'Automobile is motor sport's governing body. It organises the F1 calendar (deciding which circuits will be raced at), it annually issues a rule book which specifies regulations on every aspect of F1 racing, and it adjudicates any disputes or infringements of the rules, and has the power to penalise teams and drivers accordingly.

In Grand Prix Manager the FIA specifies car set-up regulations which you should follow. They may change the rules at any time, and the changes may well cost you money to implement.

Also at every race, an FIA technical adjudicator will inspect all cars. If any cars are found to have an illegal set-up, the FIA will issue appropriate penalties. Drivers could be fined or even banned!

The FIA also awards prize money to competing teams.


Glossary

A

ABS

Active Suspension

Air Box

Ambition

B

Ballast

Brake Balance

Brake System

Bravery

C

CAD Network

CAM Network

Carbon Fibre Construction Unit

Car Control Software

Car Weight

Centre Of Gravity

Character

Concentration

Cooling System

D

Driver Communication

E

Electrical System

EMS

Experience

F

Front and Rear Wings

Fuel Tank

Fully Automatic Gears

G

Gear Box

Gear Number and Gearings

I

Intelligence

L

Leadership

Luck

M

Manufacturing Unit

Morale

N

Nose Cone

O

Onboard Camera

Q

Quickness

R

Reliability

S

Semi Automatic Gears

Side Pods

Skirt

Stamina

Steering System

Stepped Bottom

Suspension

T

Testing Rig

Traction Control

Transmission

Turbo

Tyre Pressure

V

Vanes

W

Wind Tunnel

Wing Angle