Mercedes F1 explained how much work was needed to make a “major” upgrade to the 2022 engine.
Although many changes have been seen in cars as a result of new technology regulations, F1 power units are a development area that remains invisible to most people. But Highwell Thomas, managing director of the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrain, talked about the process.
In a new Mercedes F1 video, Highwell Thomas said he was happy with the work he did on the new power unit and that the changes went far beyond the usual “small relocations”.
“I think the team has done a lot of great work, especially when it comes to placement in the car,” Highwell Thomas said.
“Everyone knows how much work was done to put it in the car. The front of the engine is completely different. I think we’ve been talking about the front of the engine for many years, but almost every year we do it. Relocating “
“But this time it wasn’t a small reorganization. It was horribly large!”
Highwell Thomas acknowledged that the work involved was worth it, adding:
“But it doesn’t look like that, right? We all understand.”
“And again, I think it’s one of the items I see every year, and we’re tweaking it here and there, but what’s there is completely different.”
Another area of rule change to influence the process of building new engines is the transition to more sustainable E10 fuels.
“Sustainable factors … change combustion,” explained Highwell Thomas.
“Putting ethanol in the fuel means lower calorific value, which means lower performance from the beginning. Therefore, if the same amount of fuel passes, less energy is needed.”
“This is a problem for us because of the reduced performance. However, the antiknock property of the fuel is also improved. Again, the characteristic of ethanol and drop is that the antiknock property of the fuel is improved. , You can run the engine a little hard. “
“And it’s the task of minimizing one, maximizing the other, and ensuring performance.”
Mike Elliott, technical director of the Mercedes F1 team, agrees that the move to E10 fuel was a “big challenge.”
“The number of candidate fuels we went to, the number of different blends Petronas brought-that was a big part of this year’s development,” said Highwell Thomas.
In addition, the introduction of F1 engine freeze in 2022, that is, the freeze of development until 2025, provided another issue to be considered.
“In addition to other regulations, there is the fact that the engine is frozen,” Highwell Thomas said.
“It will be the PU for the next four years. We didn’t want to exclude anything. We had to pack everything there. All performance ideas, all reliability ideas.”
“That’s why the carried-over parts counter isn’t too far from the aerodynamic team. This is arguably the biggest change we’ve made since this regulation.”
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes