Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i Racecar Engineering

Since I last saw Bloodhound in 2017, accelerating up to 200mph on the runway at Newquay airport, much has changed. The most obvious difference is that Bloodhound has transformed from a blue and orange, rocket and turbojet-powered Land Speed Record (LSR) contender into a white and red one. This new livery symbolises the change in ownership that came about after Bloodhound Programme Ltd entered administration in 2018, and a Yorkshire entrepreneur, Ian Warhurst, stepped in and purchased the project. Now named Bloodhound LSR, and managed by Grafton LSR, the project is based at SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College on the Gloucester Science and Technology Park. The site is right on the Severn Estuary and includes Cavendish Nuclear Laboratories Ltd, Magnavox Ltd, and Green Fuels Ltd – a company developing…

The second of two examples of the 639 F1 built, this car was used for testing during the 1988 season, and also in preparation for 1989 with Grand Prix drivers Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell, along with test driver Roberto Moreno, doing the driving duties. Never raced, it was sold by the factory to an Italian enthusiast in 1999. Then, through Mike Sheehan’s Ferraris Online, it was sold to the current Austrian owner in 2016. Prepared by ex-factory mechanics, it was demonstrated at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, alongside the 640 F1 that is in the same collection.…

When the FIA and Liberty Media were concocting plans for the 2021 Formula 1 rules revamp, there was a drive towards standardisation of components that it was felt didn’t add to ‘the show’. One of the big-ticket items on the standard parts wish list was the transmission, the theory being that teams invest large amounts in their developmentfor marginal performance gains. Ultimately, after resistance from teams across the paddock, spec transmissions were dropped from the new rules package, but not before a request for tender was submitted and work undertaken by potential suppliers. One such company was UK-based Ricardo, which explained to Racecar Engineering what it would have taken to supply the grid with a cutting-edge transmission that met the varied demands of every team. The FIA tender did not…

Ferrari built seven 640 F1s for the 1989 season, and this particular car was used by Gerhard Berger during five Grands Prix. Typically for Berger’s season, this car did not reach the finish in any of those five races, although he scored three podium finishes in another chassis. Following its short active racing career, this car remained a static display until 2011 when it was rebuilt to full running order by Ferrari Classiche. As an ex-Berger car, it is now in the hands of the same Austrian motorsport enthusiast who owns the un-raced 639 F1.…

Formula 1 is a sport of extremes and an example of that is engine combustion technology. During the course of a Grand Prix, each engine will complete 46,000 combustion events during an average lap. Within the blink of an eye, an F1 engine has completed 200 ignition cycles, and over its four-race cycle will complete 37 million ignitions. As motorsport continues to push the boundaries of combustion efficiency (see p8), engineers need to know what is happening within the combustion chamber. But how do you measure parameters in an environment where temperatures exceed 350degC and pressures are over 35bar? Welcome to the world of in-cylinder pressure measurement. ‘We’ve run cylinder pressure sensors in our engine since 2014,’ reveals Andy Cowell, managing director at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. ‘They are…

A fairly open rule book in which engineers can thrive There is some debate among purists as to whether or not drifting constitutes genuine motorsport but, if Formula E can make the cut using batteries as motors, so drifting should be recognised, too. It requires precision, skill and now, thanks to the FIA’s published regulations, it also provides a fascinating technical challenge. These are apparently the first set of technical regulations released by the FIA for drifting, and they offer a fairly open rule book in which engineers can thrive. The FIA has focussed on bringing its stringent safety standards to these regulations, including fire suppression, for example, while also leaving the essential elements of the sport intact. Engine specification and power output remain open and teams can decide their…

What we aspire to do is put those [fuel] droplets in exactly the right place within the combustion chamber Since Formula 1 entered its V6 turbo-hybrid era in 2014, the series’ internal combustion engines have been improving on thermal efficiencies of around 40 per cent at the start of the rules cycle, with the latest now exceeding 50 per cent. Add in the contribution of the hybrid system, and the overall efficiency of modern F1 power units is now at an extraordinary 55 per cent, whilst power output has also increased over the last eight years, now crossing the 1,000bhp barrier. Why has this engineering achievement not been better promoted by teams or F1, particularly in today’s environmentally-aware arena? ‘One of the tragedies of the current formula is that when…

Its influence on Formula 1, and motorsport in general, has been profound Despite the fact that Ferrari has failed to provide much in terms of groundbreaking technical innovation, it would not be correct to say that the team has not been hugely successful. With 16 Constructors’ and 15 Drivers’World Championships, along with 238 Grand Prix victories, Ferrari is the sport’s most successful team by quite a margin. Perhaps because gradual improvement of existing designs was the leading philosophy at Ferrari. One of the main reasons for this was that only very few of the company’s engineers were willing to risk failure, and with it the ire of Enzo Ferrari himself, let alone the entire population of Italy. In a country where church bells ring when Ferrari win a race, taking…

In previous features focussing on suspension technology, we’ve delved into the components of a racecar suspension system and grasped a technical understanding of its objectives, both structural and dynamic. We then built upon this knowledge through exploring the design and development process, with focus on physical R&D methods employed by race teams and component manufacturers to meet their objectives, such as seven-post rigs. The modern research and development process uses a multitude of high technology tools to understand wheel kinematics, spring and damper rates, aerodynamic maps and powertrain controls but, with motorsport regulations almost unanimously demanding passive suspension and aero systems, there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution. This is where we now enter the transient world of racecar set up, explaining what it involves and some of the equipment…