Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

The McLaren F1 team has designed a car to show how Formula 1 could look in the year 2050 - 100 years on from the inception of the world championship
Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

Called the MCLExtreme (or MCLE for short), it’s not just an artist’s rendering intended as a fun treat for the eyes. Oh no. The whole thing has been designed around a future theory for how the sport of Formula 1 as a whole could actually look in 30 years’ time.

Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

First up, the car. As well as looking mega (we’re seriously behind this sort of protective canopy, should it ever become feasible) the performance is a serious step up from the current cars - which you’d kind of expect after 30 years.

With a top speed of over 300mph, McLaren says the car would also have shapeshifting active aero, with the sidepods changing shape depending on what part of the circuit it’s on. Parts of the car will also change colour depending on the emotions of the driver, allowing fans to judge whether a driver is feeling the pressure or keeping their cool.

Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

Power will be all-electric because as much as many people would love big screaming V12’s, electric power is the future of motoring - and is arguably capable of much more performance, which something we all want from the ‘pinnacle of motorsport’, right?

Cars will be able to recharge by drawing power through the tyres (which are now made from a self-repairing composite, by the way) from induction loops embedded in the circuits themselves. But instead of this replacing the need for pit stops, McLaren suggests it could become a new strategy feature in itself. Cars will have to recharge by driving through the ‘E-pitlane’, but will be able to recharge quicker by driving through it at a slower speed. That would mean decisions have to made as to whether one slow stop is better than multiple fast ones.

Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

Even the way those strategies would be decided is different. Instead of having a traditional pit lane set up with engineers at the track and at the factory running simulations and communicating that back to the drivers, the role would instead be played by artificial intelligence. Each driver would have their own AI ‘co-driver’ which not only relays the information, but learns it during the race and adapts its advice to the state of mind of the human driver. Ahead of each weekend esports events would be held, with the data from those races being incorporated into the AI, further closing the gap between real and virtual.

All sound a bit too techy for you? McLaren’s got it covered. Each race would apparently have a ‘black out zone’, where all the AI systems and team communication will shut down, leaving it entirely down to the skill of the driver.

Driver suits and fitness levels would seriously ramp up with the increase in speeds
Driver suits and fitness levels would seriously ramp up with the increase…

This radical change in tech would also mean changes to the type of circuits. With speed, downforce and safety levels all increasing, McLaren suggests races could take place on tracks with extreme gradients and seriously banked corners. Think of the game Wipeout and you’re pretty much there.

Here's McLaren's Crazy Vision Of What Formula 1 Might Be Like In 2050

Instead of replacing traditional circuits, the new features would be added on as extensions to existing ones, retaining a link to the sport’s history while also moving things firmly into the future.

McLaren says this entire concept has been based on the feedback from fans, who want to see exciting racing combined with advanced technology while still being accessible and focused on the skill of the drivers. That’s an incredibly difficult compromise to achieve but you have to say, it seems like everything has been covered.

Not only that, but McLaren has worked with tech experts to come up with a blueprint which is buried in realism and not fantasy. F1 in 2050 probably won’t look anything like this, but it could. We think it all sounds rather epic - it’s incredibly different, sure, but still recognisably Formula 1.

A version of this article was orginally posted on WTF1

Comments

Uzair Patel

Future cars look ok but why would Are fidget spinners relevant to drones. Like leave that in 2015

01/26/2019 - 16:47 |
60 | 0
Anonymous

even the MP4-X was more realistic than this, and that was a red bull X2010 clone with inefficient aerodynamics

01/26/2019 - 16:55 |
34 | 2
Ali Mahfooz

McLaren should concentrate on making their car more competitive than day dreaming this fantasy. 😆

01/26/2019 - 17:12 |
32 | 2
Anonymous

Essentially Mario Kart 2050

01/26/2019 - 17:13 |
16 | 2
Gazzzz

During this time, Tesla announcing that the 2020 roadster will fly…

01/26/2019 - 17:43 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Gazzzz

[X] doubt

01/27/2019 - 14:28 |
0 | 0
Mark Stanton

The most surprising thing to me is that they think in 2050 they’d be allowed to race in that amount of rain

01/26/2019 - 19:45 |
8 | 0
Anonymous

Those drones remind me of MF Ghost…

01/26/2019 - 20:13 |
2 | 0
Griffin Mackenzie

so we gonna have lights in tires now? Lmao

01/26/2019 - 20:32 |
78 | 2

THEY MUST BE RGB

01/26/2019 - 21:09 |
6 | 0

Yes we bloody well are

01/27/2019 - 13:42 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

McLaren is drunk

01/26/2019 - 20:33 |
24 | 0
ThatV70Guy

The leds really ruin it

01/26/2019 - 22:47 |
0 | 2

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