BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Phys.
Sec. Complex Physical Systems
Engine Sounds Reflect a Racecar Driver's Cognition
Provisionally accepted
Jaskeerat Singh*
Yawer Shah
Lucio Tonello
Glenda CappelloRaffaele Giammaria
Scott Kerick
Bruce J. West
Paolo Grigolini- University of North Texas, Denton, United States
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We analyze the engine noise of racecars to shed light on the interaction between the brains of the drivers and their racecars and also the interaction between the brains of different drivers for the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Formula 4 European Championship (Euro4). The result of this statistical analysis is the evaluation of a scaling parameter that we compare between drivers. We interpret this scaling parameter as a measure of the driver's ability, with 1 representing maximal adaptability and 0.5 representing random or minimal adaptability (less than 0.5 does not exist for the trajectory model we have). The results show that higher values of the scaling parameter, measured in a single qualifying lap, correspond to better performance in their championship. We also study the training process that allows novice drivers to move from values of the scaling parameter around 0.7 to values very close to 1 as they gain experience. We find that more experienced drivers have a larger scaling parameter, and we also explore the effects of competition that can lead to a decrease in the scaling parameter. This is in line with phenomenology theory, despite being temporary. This work suggests that the study of racecar noise can shed light on the difficult issue of cognition. Having in mind the therapeutic applications of music, we conjecture that this discovery may provide a contribution to rehabilitation therapy. We also contribute to the emerging field of human-machine interaction by showing how to transmit crucial events to a machine and detect them.
Keywords: Scaling parameter, complexity matching effect, Ergodicity breaking, Cognition, human-machine interaction, Racecar driver
Received: 22 May 2025; Accepted: 20 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Singh, Shah, Tonello, Cappello, Giammaria, Kerick, West and Grigolini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jaskeerat Singh, jacesingh@my.unt.edu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.