Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
Right, you need to decide which concept to persue. Recently many teams went single cylinder more kart like, whilst some retained 4 cylinder inlines which usually resulted in a larger car which has recently struggled on the tight nature of the tracks against the more nible competiiton. The UK rules are being altered to try and get teams away from the kart like concept and back to building more 'proper' single seaters...
Either way you need to begin by reading the rules through 5 times :p then choose the concept, then engine, tyres, wheelbase (we ended up around the 1.7-1.8 m mark although I would now suggest a shorted WB) and track. Photos of the competition can be used to estimate the right sorts of starting points, use something you know the dimensions of in the picture as a reference, eg if the car is running 13 inch wheels in the photo these can be used to calibrate the measurments. The chassis and suspension are then drawn up around the rules, components and driver! Suspension varies greatly, and this is where development plays a role... We had a system where we had varible geometry to induce more or less scrub to heat the tyres for the sprint/endurance...
From SAE experiance I would also suggest you begin by raising some more money! Our car cost in excess of £25K to build, plus the sponsorship we got!
