F1 will compete at Imola ? or the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the for the Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell?Emilia Romagna on October 30-November 1 2020. Credit: Formula 1
 
The racetrack is the battleground and teams put tremendous effort into understanding it as it feeds everything they do when it comes to developing components, setups and strategies for a race at a given venue.
In the upper echelons of motorsport, teams with sufficient budget will start learning about a new circuit by producing racetrack models using LiDAR scans of the real track.
In many cases, teams use static scanning with each scan covering about 300 feet of the track in all directions at a time from a fixed point. Each scan can take about an hour, so for a circuit of around 4-miles, it can take as much 80 hours of scanning to capture the entire thing. These LiDAR scans pick up every nuance of the racetrack including the abrasiveness of the track surface, all bumps, curb surfaces, track walls, astroturf, rumble strips, curbing on the inside of the apexes, painted lines, Armco barriers and grass – and even all the buildings and grandstands around the circuit.
F1 attended the Mugello Circuit in September 2020 after a 16 year hiatus. McLaren pit garages.
10.09.2020. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 9, Tuscan Grand Prix, Mugello, Italy, Preparation Day.
Credit: XPB Images
 
When the LiDAR is scanning, it sends out a laser beam which bounces off any surface ...