A Formula One Aerodynamicist

When he joined Jaguar Racing as head of aerodynamics in 2002, 32-year-old Ben Agathangelou says he inherited "the worst Formula 1 car in the history of the universe". So he started again from scratch. Jenny Hogan talked to him about rising through the ranks of Formula One
When it comes to applying aerodynamics to Formula 1 cars, is it all about speed?
It's all about cornering speed. We use the car's aerodynamics to push it downwards and maximise the grip on the road round the twisty bits. This gives you a higher cornering speed- that's what brings your lap time down.

So how fast do the cars actually go?

It depends on the circuit. Part of the aerodynamicist's job is to adapt the car to the conditions. At Monza in Italy, for example, you can take all the wings- upside-down aerofoils that create a downward force- off because it is all straight, so you get up to speeds of 350 kilometres per hour. Monaco is the opposite, it's all curves, so your top speed is cut to 300 kilometres per hour.

Didn't you get your first job in F1 just as new speed restrictions came in?

I joined McLaren in August 1994 - the year that Ayrton Senna died in a big accident at San Marino. There were a lot of regulation changes aimed at improving safety, such as reducing cornering speeds. I remember McLaren being a very sombre environment at that time.

That was a top team to start your career with. How did you get the job?

I took a degree in aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Southampton- at the time, it was the most direct route in. I was very clear that I wanted to get into F1. I must have been interested in it since I was 13 or 14. My dad and I went down to Silverstone, and I remember that being a big event. But after I graduated, I struggled to get a job. I was applying endlessly and writing speculative letters. I had a couple of interviews before joining McLaren.

What's your advice for graduates trying to work in F1?

Be persistent. You need the basic maths, physics and engineering background but the rest you learn on the job. What differentiates people who get into this business from those that don't is energy, enthusiasm and commitment. In Formula 1 there are lots of "A class" personalities- people who have to win in everything they do.

Is it a glamorous world to work in?

At first you are star-struck, thinking "oh wow, these are racing car drivers". I go to maybe six races each year, but testing is a tiring job. There is a lot of hard work that isn't shown on TV.

What was your job when you started out at McLaren?

As an aerodynamics analyst, I was looking at data from wind tunnel tests and from the car itself. F1 cars are covered in instrumentation. A lot of it is for health-checking, for example monitoring fluid temperatures and tyre pressures. There are also more specific tools, such as lasers that measure the height off the road. I compared the predictions of our mathematical models with this data, which was telling us what the car was actually doing.

And now that you're head of aerodynamics at Jaguar?

When I want to, I still get my hands dirty. But now it's down to the people working for me to build computer models and test components. At Jaguar, I am responsible for a department of about 50 people.

How did you make the jump to being in charge?

After three years at McLaren I took a bit of a gamble and went to a back-of-the-grid team so I could have more responsibility. I was put in charge of aerodynamic design at Tyrrell Racing Organisation. It was a bit frightening because I wasn't quite ready for it. But the most pivotal part of my career came later, when I went to a new team at Honda Racing Development in 1998.
What happened at Honda?

There were three of us designing a car from scratch. The team were planning to enter F1 in 2000 - that never happened, but we were still chuffed with the car. We raised some eyebrows when we tested it against cars built by other F1 teams because ours was quite quick. This was personally satisfying because we had created something from nothing.

And this experience of starting from scratch has stood you in good stead at Jaguar?

When I started here, I inherited the R3, which was probably the worst F1 car in the history of the universe. It was rubbish. But I like to think that you have more of an impact in an environment where everything isn't right, and I enjoy the throes of struggling to improve a car. To design the R4 for the 2003 season, our approach was "throw it all away and start again".

This year the R5 is racing. What are your expectations?

Last year we finished 7th, so our target is simply to finish ahead of that. Of course where we want to be is at the front. That's not going to happen overnight but ultimately your enjoyment of this job is proportional to the performance of your car.