History
In 1985, Renault's RE60 F1 car stored information on a diskette which was later unloaded at the pits, giving the engineers detailed data about the cars' behaviour. Later on, telemetry allowed the data to be sent by a radio connection between the pits and the car. The increase of electronic-driven devices on the car allowed the engineers to modify the settings of certain parameters on the car while it was on the track, this being called bi-directional telemetry.
Among the electronic driving aids were a semi-automatic transmission, an anti-lock braking system (ABS), a traction control system, and active suspension. The pinnacle of the automated driving aids was achieved by Williams F1 team on its 1993 FW15C model, which featured them all. This rising trend was put to a halt by the FIA by outlawing them for the 1994 season, considering that it took too much work out of the drivers' hands. Bi-directional telemetry was also forbidden, which was soon reinstated as the FIA found it too hard to analyse the engine programmes in order to search for hidden code that could be found breaking the rules.
Fully automatic transmission and launch control were allowed again from the Spanish GP 2001 onwards, but as of 2004 those are forbidden for the sake of budget reduction of F1 teams.
Read more about this topic: Launch Control (automotive)
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