Qualifying 'only' specials (engines).

All that has to do with the power train, gearbox, clutch, fuels and lubricants, etc. Generally the mechanical side of Formula One.
Jolle
132
Joined: 29 Jan 2014, 22:58
Location: Dordrecht

Re: Qualifying 'only' specials (engines).

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Ringleheim wrote:
31 Mar 2020, 18:18
Isn't there an old story about BASF digging around in their filing cabinets and re-discovering materials lost since WWII. It was directions on making, literally, rocket fuel for the Vengeance weapon programs.

I suppose it amounted to getting more oxygen into the fuel once burned. They put that into the BMW turbos at the time and, especially for qualifying, and the rest is history. How much power they really made I don't think anyone knows. Every time you hear this story the power goes up. Now it seems to be somewhere around 1,450 bhp.

A last comment: folks talk about how remarkably reliable the engines are today. That's rubbish. These things are tuned way back to survive, and live nowhere close to the edge.

We used to have frequent engine blow-ups in F1 b/c everything was being pushed to the limit all the time.

But that was when F1 was still F1. Not what we have now.
It’s all about designed life. When they had an engine per race, during a 16 races championship they had 16 races with an engine coming close to end of life. Now with 3 PU’s they only have EOL for three races, or even two if they put PU on Friday practice before EOL.

saviour stivala
51
Joined: 25 Apr 2018, 12:54

Re: Qualifying 'only' specials (engines).

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In formula one racing everything is pushed to the limit and so everything is designed to operate at its respective limit in accordance with rules demands. If an item is allowed by the rules to last only for one race it will be designed to only last for one race plus a safety margin and no more, cost and expense was always of secondary importance in F1. During the 1990 a single driver used at least 3 engines during one race weekend/event. That was because the rules allowed the use of one engine for FP1 and 2, one for qualifying and one for the race. Since race mileage is about 300km plus FP3 the engine only needed to have reliability of 400km, and that was what they were designed for. And the same design criteria applies today eg: design for what the rules demand and not more.