About this episode

The episode features an interview with F1 engineer Dom Riefstahl, exploring the intricate relationship between drivers, engineers, and technology in Formula 1 racing.

Love the show? Become a Member and get a weekly bonus episode, ad-free listening, our VIP community, and a real say in what we discuss! Show notes Formula 1 is one sport we've never properly tackled, so who better to guide us through it than a man who spent 25 years on the inside? Dom Riefstahl is a mechanical engineer who went straight from graduation into BMW's F1 programme, later moving to the Sauber F1 team and then to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 outfit, where he worked with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Riefstahl now keeps his eye on the ball as an F1 pundit for Luxembourg public broadcaster RTL. In this interview, Riefstahl takes us inside the world's most sophisticated sport, and, in particular, the fascinating triangle among driver, engineer, and car. He explains how a driver's feel for the car is translated into action by engineers armed with 400 sensors and 40 000 channels of data, why the great drivers are the ones who can tell whether a problem comes from their own driving or from the car itself, and how a top driver sometimes feels things the technology can't yet measure. Along the way, we learn what it costs to develop a driver from karting to an F1…

People in this episode

Hosts: Professor Ross Tucker, Mike Finch

Guest: Dom Riefstahl

Topics covered

• F1 Racing
• Engineering
• Driver-Engineer Relationship
• Data Analysis
• Sports Technology

Keywords

• Formula 1
• engineering
• data
• drivers
• sports
• technology
• mechanical engineering

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BMW, Sauber F1, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1, RTL

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