How to unlock a competitive advantage through bespoke transmission design

03 Jun 2026

The shift to standardisation

Over the last decade, motorsport has increasingly turned to standardisation as a tactic for controlling spiralling costs. Formula 1 now has a Standard Supply Components (SSC) list, LMDh uses a spec transmission, and Formula E features a common battery and front powertrain. In fact, every motorsport championship is now either a fully-fledged ‘spec’ series or relies heavily on standardised components.

So, with teams now racing largely similar machinery – how can they gain a competitive advantage to win races? We spoke to Ricardo’s motorsport experts to find out.

Redefining performance differentiators

With regulations now restricting development of major performance differentiators such as the chassis and powertrain, engineers have had to shift focus to the non-standardised areas of the car. These typically include dampers, aerodynamic tweaks, cooling systems and in some categories, the gearbox.

The opportunities and challenges of motorsport’s shift to standardisation

‘Teams have no option but to develop components that aren’t standardised by the regulations,’ explains Connor Murray, Motorsport Sales Lead at Ricardo. ‘Consequently, the full focus of the engineers is now on driving as much performance out of these areas as possible, making non-spec parts the new performance differentiators between teams. So, although standardisation may limit the innovation of spec parts, there’s an argument to say it actually drives innovation in these more bespoke components.’

The powerful influence of gearboxes

From faster gear shifts to higher mechanical efficiency and lightweighting, the transmission has a significant influence on the speed and behaviour of a racecar. For example, it takes approximately 20,000 gear shifts to complete the 24 Hours of Le Mans ^[1], so even a 0.01s improvement in shift time equates to a total saving of over three minutes across the course of the race. While in Formula 1, every kilogram of weight is worth 0.03s per lap ^[2], so saving even the smallest amount of mass within the gear assembly and casing can contribute to a slightly faster racecar.

‘Boosting efficiency by reducing losses is another area where the transmission can improve race performance,’ explains Steve Blevins, Head of Engineering at Ricardo. ‘This is particularly important in championships such as Formula E where the efficient use of energy from the battery is fundamental to winning races. We continue to push the envelope of efficiency, but with the series now at such a high level, our focus is on chasing those marginal gains, saving watts of losses rather than kilowatts, but it all adds up.’

As well as being a key performance element itself, the gearbox can also be a tool to improve the performance of other areas of the car. ‘The easiest way to save weight is to have one component fulfilling two jobs,’ says Blevins. ‘That’s why the gearbox casing is typically designed to also be a stressed member and therefore carry mechanical loads between the powertrain and rear suspension.’

‘We can also optimise the shape of the casing to improve underbody aerodynamics and for hybrids, the starter motor can be integrated into the transmission to avoid the engine having to be redesigned,’ adds Blevins. ‘By utilising the gearbox for multiple functions, we can help to reduce the number of components, save more weight and improve the overall efficiency of the car.’

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Developing bespoke solutions the Ricardo way

The transmission’s powerful impact on racecar performance means it is even more critical to exploit every potential performance gain. However, this is only achievable through a truly bespoke design, tailored to each specific application. That’s why Ricardo collaborates closely with customers, from initial concept discussions right through to final quality control and delivery. Ricardo’s engineers dedicate the time to fully understand the problem before leveraging their decades of motorsport experience to develop an innovative solution that meets customer requirements.

Ricardo's in-house manufacturing capability

‘When it comes to non-spec series we are not trying to monopolise championships and supply the entire field,’ highlights Murray. ‘Instead, we want to supply a small selection of teams across the top tiers of motorsport. This approach gives us the time and the freedom to design transmissions that are purpose built for each team.’

‘While adapted solutions can be effective in many cases, our preference is on delivering bespoke, application-specific solutions that leverage each car’s architecture to give our customers a genuine competitive advantage'.

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