Simulations

What it is

Simulations is a collection of working models of machines and vehicles. Each one runs on its own physics in the browser, so changing something makes the model respond the way the real machine would. There are two so far: Lewis Hamilton's 2026 Ferrari SF-26 and an overshot watermill.

Why it matters

A 3D model usually shows what something looks like. These show how it works. Every model starts from published sources such as rule books, launch photos, engineering drawings and patents, and nothing is invented where a real number exists. The results are then checked against the real world, and the misses are shown in the model instead of hidden.

What was built

• Ferrari SF-26. A detailed model of the 2026 car with active aero, including the top rear flap that turns over on the straights, and an X-ray of the power unit. It laps 11 real circuits under the 2026 energy rules. Its grip, downforce and drag were fitted to the 2026 pole times at Silverstone, Monza, Suzuka and Spa, and it is tested on seven circuits it never saw. At Silverstone it laps in 1:27.868 against a real pole of 1:28.111.
• Overshot gristmill. Water falls into 36 buckets, and their weight turns a 4.8 metre wheel that drives two pairs of millstones through an 18 to 1 gear train. The simulation tracks the water in every bucket, and the sluice, the grain feed and the gap between the stones can all be changed.
• The index. A Jansen linkage that walks as you move across it, and a chart for each model computed from its simulation when the page was built. Each model can be downloaded as a single file, and the site uses no cookies or tracking.

Product thinking

The interesting decision is to publish the model's errors. The SF-26 page compares its lap time with the real pole on every circuit, including the ones it was not fitted to, and explains the gaps it can. Barcelona's track data still has a chicane that was removed in 2023, and Zandvoort's banked corners are not modelled. That makes the numbers something a visitor can judge instead of taking them on trust.

Credit

The watermill follows MILLRACE by @thebuggeddev. The code is new; the idea is theirs.

What could improve next

More models. The index already shows the next one on the drawing board. The Ferrari's lap model could also close its remaining gaps against real pole times, such as Sepang, where it is 4 seconds faster than the real pole.