(Motorsport-Total.com) – For Formula 1 teams, work in the simulator has long been vital for survival. Here, not only the basic setup is prepared, but every new update is also thoroughly tested.
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But a virtual car is only as good as its base. Cadillac is therefore taking an unusual path and has signed a young driver who is only 16 years old: Aiden Price supports the team at the simulator center in Charlotte to further develop the mathematical models and advance the crucial correlation.
It is precisely this correlation that is the holy grail of modern vehicle development. Only when the data calculated in the wind tunnel and by CFD exactly matches the behavior on the real racetrack do updates actually make the car faster. If the correlation is off, all the development work on the computer is worthless.
While established teams can rely on years of accumulated databases even with major regulation changes, Cadillac is starting from scratch.
The US team is starting with a proverbial blank sheet of paper. They have to painstakingly build up the technical foundation that the competition has solidified over decades and feed the models with real track data from race to race.
The project is made more difficult by the packed Formula 1 calendar. The regular drivers are so busy that they can hardly spend time in the simulator to evaluate new parts or test weekend setups. Additionally, Cadillac’s simulator is located in the USA, which further complicates logistics for the mostly Europe-based drivers.
That is why a strong backup team is needed. While Red Bull relies on Formula E world champion Jake Dennis and Ferrari uses the WEC and Formula E experience of Antonio Giovinazzi and Norman Nato, Cadillac has also positioned itself extremely broadly with Guanyu Zhou, Colton Herta, Pietro Fittipaldi, Simon Pagenaud, and Charlie Eastwood.
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But since these drivers are also fully engaged in their respective racing series, General Motors looked for a constant for simulator work directly on the US market.
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This is where Aiden Price comes into play. The 16-year-old American, who also trains privately in a high-end simulator, takes on the important preliminary work in the first half of the week and helps the engineers to make the simulator fit for various GM classes up to Formula 1.
That teams rely on extremely young talents or even sim racers – as Red Bull did for years with Rudy van Buren – is now common practice in modern motorsport.
Price’s job is the hard work behind the scenes: He compares and calibrates complex data models, for example for the tires. That he also shines as a driver and delivers times that barely lag behind those of the reference drivers makes him extremely valuable to the engineers.
Because a modern Formula 1 simulator is much more than a monocoque on a moving platform. The real magic lies in the highly complex software in the background. When it comes to final fine-tuning on race weekends, of course, the veterans take over to digitally decode real track problems in real time.
But the case of Price impressively shows how much detailed work goes into these digital labs and how many cogs must mesh for the virtual car to work perfectly.
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