The FIA, Formula One’s main controlling body,
has approved the use of new 1.6-litre V6
turbo engines from the 2014 F1
season onwards. The new engines replace the current naturally aspirated 2.4-litre V8. Last week French supplier Renault became the first engine
manufacturer to show its hand in this regard.
The Renault power unit disperses about 560kW in total and uses energy recovery systems that contribute to
that total. Only about 440kW of the
total comes from the V6 itself. The rest (120kW)
is derived from these recovery systems, including an updated KERS.
While to the untrained eye it may appear that 560kW is stunning from essentially the
same size engine as a MINI Cooper or Mercedes-Benz
C180, the trick here is these engines are not built to last as long as
normal cars’. Therefore even though Renault’s F1 1.6 V6 turbo will rev up to 15 000rpm, it cannot even begin to
compete with Renault’s everyday 1.6-litre turbo for of longevity. The latter
should stay with the car for well over
300 000km if taken care of properly. On the other hand, the F1 motor
will only be able to last about 6 to 8
races at a time. Drivers are to be limited
to 5 engines per year from 2014. At the same time, fuel efficiency must
improve by up to 35% compared with
the current 2.4-litre V8s as the cars will only be allowed 100kg of fuel per race.
Among the teams who are currently supplied with Renault engines
are Red Bull, Caterham, Lotus and Williams.
2 comments:
Interesting times for F1
I guess we gong back to the old dayz now of turbos hope they dont break like they used to
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