How Do You Start A Formula 1 Engine?

Before firing up the engine, engineers check the various parameters of the different components of the Power Unit and the car.

Only once all the parameters are to the engineers’ satisfaction is the engine started and then warmed up.

A strict procedure is followed when starting a Formula 1 engine in order to prevent damage to the rotating parts of the engine and those associated with it.

All heating and cranking are done externally and the engine is cranked to lubricate the parts before firing it into life.

The car has to deliver maximum power at the start to ensure a quick getaway off the line at the all-important race start.

This means retaining the ES of the Power Unit fully charged while using external equipment to start the engine.

After all, a driver would not like to start on the grid with a half-charged ES in the Power Unit which could prove detrimental to a good start in the race.

This means that an F1 engine is fired up only when all the parameters of the various elements of the Power Unit are at their optimum.

Let us take a look at the general starting procedure followed when starting a Formula 1 engine.

Since 2014, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has stipulated that all cars participating in F1 races will use V6, 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injection engines.

Recovery of heat energy from the exhaust and the kinetic energy (when braking) was permitted which helped the car generate more power.

The rpm of a Formula 1 engine, at 15000 rpm, is almost two to two and a half times more than a car that we use on regular roads.

There are six main elements in a Formula 1 car Power Unit among which the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is the main component and connects the chassis to the gearbox.

The second element is the turbocharger (TC) which regulates the density of the air supplied to the combustion galleries of the engine helping it to function more efficiently and generate more power.

Two Motor Generators Units (MGUs) contribute to retrieving the heat and the kinetic energy and supplying the reclaimed power to generate more power for the car.

While the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K) reclaims and stores the energy when a car is braking, the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) recovers energy from the heat of the exhaust.

The energy harvested by MGU-K and the MGU-H is stored in the form of electrical energy in a battery called the Energy Store (ES) and is supplied when the driver requires it.

The Control Electronics (CE) is the last but the most important element of the Power unit and controls all the parameters and functions of the car.

Put simply, the CE with thousands of wires connected to it, is the brain or the CPU of the car and lets the driver control the functions of the various elements of the Power Unit.

When engineers start up the car their computers are connected to the CPU enabling them to monitor the various parameters of the engine and the other components of the car.

FORMULA 1 drivers are allowed to use three each of ICE, TC and MGU-H and 2 each of MGU-K, ES and CE in one season.

Any driver using more elements during a season will receive a grid place penalty in the next race.

Since 2014 with the limitations imposed by the FIA to limit the use of fuel and reduce emissions, constructors have been striving to achieve a target of 1,000 horsepower.

None of the constructors has admittedly reached the target and the power generated by a Formula 1 car is a closely guarded secret.

The weight limitation placed on a Formula 1 car at 702 kg also limits the weight of the engine and therefore its components.

That means the weight of the car’s Power Unit has to be reduced and the lightest possible materials used to construct its elements.
Formula 1 engines use the same fuel that we fill our streetcar with at a fuel pump with the exception that it is a higher octane fuel.

Secondly the rpm limit for a Formula 1 engine is 15,000 whereas our street cars rev around 6,000 to 8,000 rpm.

Reducing the weight of the car allows for more speed and the higher octane of the fuel and greater revs of 15,000 rpm helps the engine generate more torque.

Horsepower is the product of speed and torque which allows engineers to play around with these two relaxed parameters and squeeze more horsepower out of the engine.

Having said that, Mercedes, have stated that in 2017 that they have improved the Formula 1 engine efficiency to 50%.

While keeping in mind that fuel is limited to 100 kg during a race, this is a very big improvement on the 40% efficiency in 2014 when V6 engines were first introduced.

In 2017 an overview of Formula 1 engines reported that a Mercedes Formula 1 V6 engine generated 786 horsepower while Honda V6 engine, 781 horsepower.

Add to that the maximum power of 163 recovered by the Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) of the Power unit and you wind up with a total power of 949 horsepower for a Formula 1 car.

That Formula 1 engines do not last long can be understood from the fact that the FIA allows three engines to be changed per car per season.

The weight of the engine is limited by the need for greater speed more than the limitations placed by the FIA on the weight of the car.

The lighter the car, the greater is the speed reached for a particular torque which forces engineers to use lightweight materials in all the components of the engine.

In order to keep the weight of the engine low, the crankcase and cylinder blocks are made from cast or wrought aluminium alloys.
The crankshafts and the camshafts are made from light weight iron alloys while pistons are machined from aluminium alloys.

Valves made from alloys of iron, cobalt, nickel and titanium are lighter and can withstand more strain and stress.

But in using all these alloys and in reducing the weight of the car, the parts of the engine operating at 15,000 rpm are subject to more wear and tear than in a normal car.

A broken valve, piston or a cracked camshaft or a crankshaft can not only eliminate the driver from a race but also render the engine useless.

That is why Formula 1 teams employ so many highly skilled professionals to maintain a car and take such great care in priming a car for a race.

Once every few races, the beautifully machined pistons, bores and crank shafts, which might look brand new to you, will be scrapped and will be replaced with new ones.

Expect a Formula 1 engine to last a maximum of 12 races with a mileage of about 7500 kms before the engine is scrapped.

In normal street cars the engines have a higher displacement volume and the revs of an engine can be as high as 8000 rpm.

Formula car engines have to generate a power in excess of 700 horsepower while using minimum fuel.

Reducing the weight of the car to achieve greater displacement for the generated torque is one step to increase the horsepower.

The only other means of increasing power of the engine is to increase the rpm of the engine by using shooter piston strokes with a larger bore.

FIA has recognised this and set the revs limit of an Formula 1 engine to 15,000 rpm for Formula 1 engines and that is why the engines rev so high.

Over the years, continuous research on and improvements in the engine has enabled constructors to increase the efficiency of the engines and increase the horsepower generated.

The actual cost of an F1 engine or a Power Unit is a secret that is even more closely guarded than the power generated by the engine.

Although the FIA specifies a cap on the expenses a team can incur during a season, the cap does not cover engine procurement, the single highest cost for a competing team.

An F1 engine is constructed after many months of research and requires a full-fledged manufacturing and precision fabrication and machining facility.

The requirements of the very light materials that are used to manufacture the different components of the Power unit also add to the cost of a Formula 1 engine.

Moreover, these engines need constant attention and maintenance and major commercial car manufactures write off the costs incurred towards promoting their brand.

While regular car engines are produced on an industrial scale, only a few F1 engines are fabricated and assembled for a season adding to the overheads of the Formula 1 engine.

Given the high precision required in fabricating and machining the various spare parts with minimum tolerances for optimum performance, it is no wonder that the cost of an F1 engine is so high.