How does a Formula 1 car work and how much does it cost?

All over the world, interest in Formula 1 is at a consistently high level. Fans of competitions are attracted not only by pilots and the fact of the event, but also by cars. How are fireballs arranged, what is under their hood and how much does all this “pleasure” cost?

Engine

Entire research centers of Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and others are working on the design of new and modernization of already produced power units. Progress is inexorably moving forward: German designers recently announced the creation of an engine with a capacity of 1000 “horses” (although BMW already had a prototype in 1986 with 1430 hp). Bench tests were carried out and soon the miracle motor will be installed on a real car. It is worth noting that today cars are equipped with hybrid engines that use electricity for initial acceleration. But the main power is given by the internal combustion engine. Here is an example of the characteristics of one of the "standard" power units:

• ? power - 850 "horses"
  
• ? volume of the 8-cylinder engine - 2,4 l
  
• ? run to "hundreds" takes 1,7 seconds
  
• ? top speed - up to 340 km/h
  
• ? RPM – more than 19000
  
• ? fuel consumption - 75l / 100 km
  

When braking, the pilot experiences g-forces up to 5G. The motor is subject to major repairs after 1000 km of run, and its service life does not exceed 2000 km. The average cost of an engine is about $600 thousand. According to the regulations, no more than 4 power plants can be installed on one car per year. According to Todt, the president of FIFA, a set of engines for a season for a pair of cars costs about 18 million euros.

Turbine and recuperators

The organizers of the competition had an ambiguous attitude towards the first ones: at first they were allowed, but in 1988 they were banned. Reverse turbocharging returned in 2014. Then a new regulation was introduced, limiting fuel consumption per 100 km to one hundred liters. The turbine was designed to compensate for power losses.

The heat exchanger (MGU-K unit) was approved for use in 2009. the system is connected to the brakes and when the pedal is pressed, it is activated, charging the battery. The resulting energy is used for overclocking. There is another interesting node - MGU-H. This is a unit that converts the energy of exhaust gases into electricity. The value of the module is difficult to overestimate - with proper use, it saves fuel and helps to increase speed by 20-30 km / h.

"Motor" prospects

When hybrid turbocharged engines began to be used, not everyone liked it, many were nostalgic for the "aspirated". Pilots and the public compared the whistle of the turbine with the work of a vacuum cleaner, the owners of the "stables" complained about the high cost of motors. Not without scandals related to the design of power plants. Mercedes managed to create a successful hybrid engine in 2014, which cannot be said about competitors. As a result, the cars equipped with French engines, having taken the lead at the beginning of the race, in the second half of the track went out of the race due to breakdowns of the power unit. Similar failures plagued Honda engines. As a result, the result of the competition became predictable, which infuriated the fans. However, progress cannot be stopped and no one is going to refuse hybrid engines. And what about other nodes used in Formula 1 cars?

Transmission

The use of automatic transmissions is prohibited in cars, therefore semiautomatic devices of a sequential type are used. There are 8 ranges in total (there is also a reverse speed): the transition from one to another occurs in a hundredth of a second. The box is directly connected to the clutch made of carbon. It is produced by two leading companies in this field: Sachs and AP. Interesting features of clutches for F-1 cars:

• ? withstand temperature – up to +500 С°
  
• ? it is possible to rebuild the gear ratios (the procedure takes 40 minutes)
  
• ? weight 1,5 kg
  
• ? service life - 6000 km (for 1 season you need 10 checkpoints)
  

Wheels

The front ones are 245/55R13, the rear ones are 325/45R13. Tires are operated at a temperature of +130 C °. Each one costs about $800. For one competition you will need at least 10 pieces, and for the season - from 720 to 760 tires. For pumping, not air is used, but nitrogen. One tire "lives" 90-200 km (the period depends on the compound). The replacement time is 3 seconds.

Тормоза

They, of course, disk and operate at a temperature of 1000 ° C. Their effectiveness is amazing: a car traveling at a speed of 100 km / h is able to completely stop in 1,4 seconds, having traveled only 17 m. The cost of the assembly, which includes a brake disc, caliper, pads, reaches $ 6 thousand. parts, can be up to 5 months. Approximately 1 such knots will be required for 180 season.

Руль

It houses the main controls and controls. This is a lot of buttons, switches and a display. The steering wheel controls 120 car functions. Moreover, some of its settings can be changed on the go. A product weighing 1,3 kg and costing up to $100 (there are also more expensive specimens) is assembled for 100 hours and adjusted to the anatomical features of a particular pilot. When disembarking, the steering wheel is removed.

Wing

One of the main features of F-1 cars is the need to create a lot of downforce. Thanks to her, the car quickly passes through sharp turns that ordinary cars cannot if they try to do it at high speed. It is necessary for pilots to maintain it when entering a turn. In this situation, downforce keeps the car on the track. If you slow down in a turn, the car will “fly away” from the road.

The main element that creates downforce is the wing. Of this, 25% is accounted for by the $19 front part. The rear element provides 1 ton of downforce, which is 35%. There is a rear wing made of carbon fiber and weighing 7 kg, about $ 20 thousand. The remaining percentages “get” diffusers and other elements.

Cooling radiators and exhaust system

The former are made of aluminum and are valued at around $11. For one race, one set of radiators is required, and a total of 20 are needed. Each team has a set of exhaust pipes of various designs. This is due to the fact that, depending on the characteristics of the track, you have to reconfigure the engine. One steel exhaust system costs $13. They will need 54 sets per season.

Modern fireballs

The technical revolution is bearing fruit: for the last two years in a row, track records have been updated. The designers managed to achieve a huge downforce - many turns are performed at full throttle. In 2021, a new regulation was published, where some technical provisions were revised. For example, they banned flaps that generate air flow behind the car, which seriously complicates its overtaking. Also now you can not put deflectors between the radiator and the wheels. In return, they were allowed to use a higher wing, which throws air not at the opponent, but up. They also began to use elements that provide a “ground effect”, which increases downforce due to the “sucking” of the bottom of the car to the road due to the difference in air speed and pressure between the bottom of the car and the track surface.