Turbo Engine in F1- History of Turbo Engine in F1

F1

Formula 1 turbo engine

The saga of the eating engine begins with the very establishment of the championship.

When the International Federation of Automobiles, based in Paris, announced the Drivers World Championship in 1950, the whole competition was named after the volume of engines allowed. As the engine capacity of the compressor was 1,5 liters, the FIA ​​reduced that to Formula One. That's how the glorious competition was born. You will admit, it would sound horny Formula One and a Half.

Thus, in the first year of the competition, the use of a motor with a compressor or a 4500 cc unit with natural, atmospheric suction was allowed. The following season, the FIA ​​allowed Formula 2 cars to participate in the championship, with 2000 cc engines, without a compressor and only 500 cc engines with a compressor. It only lasted a year. The very next year, 1954, Formula 1 returned to its roots, 750 cc engines with a compressor or 2500 cc with natural suction. Finally, in 1966, the FIA ​​found a solution for a longer period - 1500 cc engines with a turbocharger or 3000 cc units, with natural suction. On paper the propulsive, driving force was very similar. But one is theory and the other is practice… It was a time of domination Ford-Cosworth DFV eight cylinder engine.

The first to dare to examine theory and practice was the French Renault. The first tests began in 1975 on the track in Dijon. One turbo engine was built into the test chassis, the two-seater "Alpina 440", with which Jean-Pierre Jabuj won the European Championship, but the results were desperate. The test driver was Jean-Pierre Frog. But the road to that first turbo engine was thorny. When the French took the famous engine "Mahle" to America, to the specialists for the production of pistons and connecting rods, the engine specifications of the engineers were shocked. Nobody has ever made such small pistons (six in total) and connecting rods. The angle between the cylinders was 90 degrees. Andre de Cortans was known as the designer of this engine, although a large part of the work was done by Bernard Dido and Francois Kastang. Director of the automotive sector in Renault it was Bernard Ano at the time. He says Reno's entry into Formula One is very carefully prepared. For the first season of the competition, the budget was 30 to 40 million francs, which was a significant investment at the time.

Turbo engine in F1

Finally, on July 16, 1977, on the Silverston track, the grand adventure of Reno in Formula One began. It was also the beginning of a turbo era. The only driver was Jean Pierre Zabouy. He was 1 in training but dropped out in the 21th lap. He was hurt Turbo charger. The famous Woodcutter Ken Tirel, with specific British humor, called Reno's car a "yellow teapot"! The reason was that "reno" did not have an air intake and was constantly smoking! After two seasons, in 1979 Reno performed for the first time with two vehicles.

The other driver was Rene Arnu. A moment of glory was experienced by the French on June 01, 1979, at the home race of the "Grand Prix of France", on the course "Dijon-Prenois". In qualifying, Jean Pierre Zabuy won the pole position, while second place went to his teammate Rene Arnu. Toad drove the race of life. But the finish of this race entered the annals of Formula One after fighting for second place between Gilles Villeneuve in Ferrari and Rene Arnou in "reno turbo". At one point, they both drove off the track while the runway was empty. How shocking the last lap of this race was, it is evidenced by the fact that it can still be viewed on the You Tube site today.

In the end, the second place went to Vilnius, while Arn was the third and the owner of the fastest lap. After the race winner, Jean Pierre Zabouy said: “To me, this victory is no surprise. This is my third season in Formula 1. Winter tests have shown that we have a winning car, but no one knew when that would happen. My half-position in the third race of the season in South Africa did not deny that moment was approaching. " After this race with two drivers on the podium, no one called the "yellow" teapot a "renov" car.

Thus, Reno was the first to prove that theory was possible in practice.

But then the exaggerations began. Keke Rozberg is known to have reached the 1200-horse limit in a "Williams" with a "Honda turbo" engine. The FIA ​​responded by introducing so-called pop-of-valves, which allowed maximum pressure in turbocharger of 4 bars and limited consumption to 195 liters. Atmospheric engines received an additional 500 cubic meters (3500 cc in total) and no consumption limit. In the late 1988s, specifically in 2,5, the FIA ​​further weakened its turbo engines with 150 bar pressure and a maximum consumption of 1989 liters. Atmospheric engines were banned that year. But the following season, in 1986, the atmospheric engines were re-approved. When asked for an explanation for the move, FIA engineers said they believed the atmospheric engine's resources were not exhausted. And they were right. In the meantime, Renault withdrew from Formula 1 in XNUMX, although it supplied three teams with engines: Lotus, Ligia and Tyrell.

The return of atmospheric engines, again the most willing to welcome "Reno", but now only as a manufacturer of engines. With the victory of Belgian Tiri Butsen at a race in Canada in the Williams-Renault car, the French triumphantly announced their return with a ten-cylinder atmospheric engine, signed by Bernard Dido. From 1989 to 1993, the engines were naturally aspirated, with no fuel consumption. Atmospheric engines were allowed to refuel in 1994. A year later the engine volume was reduced to the original 3000 cc. The dominance of Reno in tandem with Williams and one year in '95. with "Benetton", begins in 1992. From Nigel Mensel, 1992 to Jacques Villeneuve, 1997, all titles went to Reno. With various restrictions, the FIA ​​has managed to restrain the imagination of engineers and aerodynamicists by allowing them to use various "gadgets" such as KERS (conversion of thermal energy into a starter) or a movable rear spoiler. At the time of the economic crisis, there was a shift in the head of the FIA. Sir Max Mozley retired, and in his place came "Little Napoleon", Jean Todd, from Ferrari. He was credited with "hot potatoes" to limit the enormous budgets of powerful companies such as "FIAT", "Mercedes" or "Reno". So in Formula One, there were some teams that really didn't fit. An example is the "HRT" team, led by former F1 driver Louise Perez Sala. The rule on one engine per race was introduced in 2004, and the very next season, one engine had to run two grand runs. Finally, three years ago, the FIA ​​announced that Formula One was switching to turbo-units in 2014. When asked for an explanation for the move, the FIA's response was similar to that of 1989. A turbo engine is much cheaper to produce than an atmospheric one. In addition, the turbocharger has been shown to have the right application in sports and racing cars. The introduction of 1,6-liter six-cylinder engines in the V configuration, with a turbocharger, is closely linked to hybrid technology and cost reductions while maintaining a culture of innovation, which is essentially Formula 1 from the earliest days. The head of the FIA's engine department, Fabris Lom, explains that they see the future of "fastest circus" in 2014 in Concord Square in Paris.

The new turbo engine will have about 760 "horsepower". Expected fuel consumption per race is 100 kg. The weight of the car at the start of the race will be 791 kg. The number of engines per vehicle and one driver will be limited to 5 and in 2015 to 4 engines per season. The new turbo engine will produce more power than last year's V8 engines. When it comes to raw power, there is nothing in common between the V8 engine and the turbo engine, which replaces it. In addition, the new engines will have 35% lower fuel consumption. This is guaranteed by the fact that fuel consumption during the race is limited to 100 kg. Last year’s V8 engines consumed about 150kg of fuel.

It should be said that the life expectancy of new engines will be shorter than that of V8 units, which should be offset by an increase in car mass and freer aerodynamics. Aerodynamics regulations are expected to be harmonized on-the-go.

All this leads to an environmentally friendly Formula One. If "Audi" could introduce a completely new category with diesel engines at the famous "24 Hours of Le Mans" race, which could not happen in the "fastest circus" in the world. Of course, the goal is racing cars with zero exhaust emissions, and that is only possible with the use of electric motors! Can you imagine Formula 1 with a diesel engine or an electric motor? But it is interesting to note that such attempts were made in the earliest days of Formula 1. Namely, in 1952, at the famous race "500 miles of Indianapolis", which was then scored for the F1 Championship, Fred Agabashian won the pole position with the car "kamins" , who had a diesel engine of the same name, but did not really become famous in the race and quickly gave up. So, anything is possible, as long as the show lasts…

Written by: Veljko Petrovic
Retrieved from: www.sportklub.rs


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