Hope you don't mind I correct you on one point, most F1 designers I know don't carry a big ego. In F1 when you are pushing the boundaries it's only a very small step from clever f****r to mother f***r or hero to zero. Most good designers I know are too busy worrying about the stuff they don't know than not contemplating a failure.
You are correct that computers can't simulate every failure which is why most of the big teams have ways of making sure a part is fit for race and on track failures are very rare.
Usually a safety critical part is created by the designer who will work with a FEA stress engineer to make sure the part will take the loads it's expected to see with certain safety factors. Depending on the load case safety factors can be as low as 1.1x the working load.
Before the components are made there will be quality checks on the materials before anything has been machined or laminated. After machining every single component in a batch will be dimensionally inspected and non-destructive tested by either crack checking, real time x-raying etc and again the material spec will be tested. With laminated composite components these will be ultra-sonically, x-rayed, etc.
Once the first of component has passed inspection it will be proof tested to a load that includes the safety factor. During this test a stiffness tolerance band will be created for each component for a set working load.
After this the component will be fatigue tested to simulate track miles. Taking the example of the front suspension assy a mult-axis corner test rig will simulate 1000's of miles of different loads which would include braking, cornering, bump etc in a very short time span.
Before the ban on in season testing all new component would have to complete a set amount of miles before it could be signed off for race use. Now with the ban on testing the reqirements for in house rig testing would be used as proof the component is fit for race.
When a component is used on the track each individual one will have it's own unique serial number which will allow a record of the miles it has done to be recorded. These components will have a limited total racing life and a service life. During each service it will be tested on the rig to check it's stiffness is still with in the tolerance set during the proof test. They will also be dimensionally inspected again and non-destructive tested to check for any signs of damage.
Hope this clears up your misconception
