For the purpose of creating a fair playing field in Formula One, the FIA intended to implement significant alterations to the technical regulations. In the year 2020, the pandemic broke out, which significantly shifted how the stakeholders saw the situation.
The various parties involved met together in March of 2020 and came to the conclusion that the alterations that were supposed to take place in 2021 would need to be pushed back by one year. The consensus among the competing teams was that the postponement would reduce the amount of financial stress they were under.
They came to the conclusion that the same cars that were used in the races in 2020 might be used in the races in 2021.
The FIA technical regulations are going to undergo significant revisions for the 2022 season. According to the advice of the specialist from the better bid auction, the majority of the new regulations were devised with the intention of minimizing “dirty air” and making Formula 1 racing more competitive.
So, what engines do Formula 1 cars use? Formula 1’s existing engine rules require every team to use a four-stroke, 1.6-liter, V6 engine with hybrid electric ancillaries and a maximum RPM of 15,000.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had each won the title of Formula One Drivers’ Champion and Formula One Constructors’ Champion for a record-setting eight consecutive years. The fans felt as though Formula 1 had become too predictable.
2021 was the year that Max Verstappen upset Lewis Hamilton’s apple cart. In that season, he was victorious in the Drivers’ Championship, and Mercedes was victorious in the Constructors’ Championship.
Only the Drivers’ championship was available for Red Bull to compete for, so they had to settle for that. The issue of polluted air was still a source of contention for drivers. Maintaining a close following was nearly impossible.
The FIA has spared the V6 engine that has been utilized since 2014, which is one of the various technical adjustments. However, several aspects of the engine’s effectiveness, as well as its performance, will be impacted as a result of this change.
The power unit will be subjected to a closer level of monitoring. The percentage of biofuel in the fuel that is used in the Formula One car will be increased from what it was in the past.
This article will take a closer look at the alterations that have been made to the technical regulations of FIA/Formula 1 that will have an effect on the performance of the engine.
Table of Contents
What Modifications Will Impact the Performance of F1 Engines in 2022?
The majority of the power that is produced by a Formula One car comes from the engine. However, the power unit also makes a sizeable contribution to the overall power production through the process of energy reclamation.
The increased amount of biofuel that is blended with the gasoline that is used in the engine will necessitate adjustments in the engine and will have an impact on the performance of the vehicle.
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What Modifications Were Made to the F1 Power Unit?
The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), the Turbo Charger, the MGU-K, the MGU-H, the Control Electronics, and the Power Store are the components that make up a Formula 1 Power Unit. In 2014, a brand-new Power Unit was made available with the V6 engine. This power unit was noticeably quieter than the one that had been in use previously.
In order to improve the performance of their vehicles while adhering to the regulations imposed by Formula One, the competing teams altered and improved their power units (PUs).
The requirements for the internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger, multi–groove turbocharger (MGU–H), engine oil, exhaust system, and fuel must be locked down and cannot be changed or upgraded after March 1, 2022. This deadline applies to teams competing in Formula One.
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The deadline for the Energy Store, Control Electronics, and MGU–K has been pushed back to September 1st. This date is considered to be laxer than the others.
After the deadline has passed, the freeze will not be lifted unless there are extenuating circumstances. A team that is trailing its competitors by a significant margin may be eligible for a respite.
Following an appeal by the relevant team, the decision will rest exclusively in the hands of Formula One. The same power unit will be utilized until 2025, but with modifications and upgrades as permitted by the FIA and the Formula One championship.
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What Changes Have Been Made to Fuel Composition?
The FIA is putting a lot of effort in order to fulfill its ambition to become carbon neutral by the year 2030. As a result of the policy, the FIA has raised the maximum amount of biofuel that can be combined with unleaded gasoline.
Up to the end of the 2021 season, Formula One vehicles ran on unleaded gasoline of 87 octanes that was blended with 5.75% bio components. The percentage of the fuel that comes from bio sources will increase to 10% for the 2022 Formula One season.
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In practice, Formula One cars will compete using E10 fuel, which will be stored in their fuel tanks. Ethanol is denoted by the letter E in the identification, and the number 10 refers to the proportion of ethanol that will be blended into the fuel.
Furthermore, ethanol needs to be a biofuel of the second generation that is produced in an environmentally responsible manner. In addition to that, this will bring Formula 1 cars up to speed with the fuel requirements for road cars.
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Who Builds the F1 Engines Now?
There are now four different manufacturers that provide power units that have been homologated to be used in Formula 1.
- Ferrari: The Ferrari factory team is one of only three teams that utilize these engines. These engines are produced at the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. Alfa Romeo and Haas are two more companies that have joined them.
- Mercedes: These engines are utilized by the Mercedes factory team, as well as customer teams such as McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin. Mercedes High–Performance Powertrains is headquartered in Brixworth and manufactures these engines.
- Renault: The present Renault power unit is solely utilized by the manufacturer Alpine, which is owned by Groupe Renault. Renault’s headquarters are located at Viry–Chatillon.
- Honda: Although Honda has officially retired from Formula 1 as a manufacturing effort, the Japanese manufacturer’s engines are still made at their facility in Sakura, and they are being sent to Red Bull and AlphaTauri to be used in the 2022 season. Red Bull’s new engine department, which is being marketed under the name Red Bull Powertrains, will ultimately be responsible for the company’s own engine production.
How Potent Are the Engines that F1 Will Use in 2022?
The Formula One engines of 2022 will produce more than 1000 horsepower, and all of the manufacturers will achieve comparable results.
Because the producers can not provide exact data, the determination of which product is the most powerful is left up to knowledgeable speculation instead of any publicly available criterion that can be measured.
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In spite of this astounding production, the power units consume only about 130 liters of fuel throughout the course of a Grand Prix, which is approximately 300 kilometers.
Because of the power output, Formula One vehicles can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in approximately 2.6 seconds and reach speeds of approximately 380 km/h in the setups with the least amount of downforce that the teams will utilize throughout the season.
The top speed could be significantly larger if the downforce is lowered even further; however, this would be risky for use in any situation other than very specific ones.
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Spectacular Hybrid Powertrains Used in Formula One
Since the traditional regularly produced V8 engines were retired at the end of the 2013 season, the hybrid era has brought about an entirely new strategy for how Formula One cars are propelled by their engines.
F1’s “power units” are no longer simply an “ICE,” which stands for “Internal Combustion Engine;” rather, they are made up of a variety of parts that all contain the ICE at their core.
The term “Internal Combustion Engine” (ICE) refers to the 1.6–liter V6 that generates approximately 700 horsepower on its own.
Turbocharger (TC): The turbocharger is connected to the internal combustion engine (ICE), and it utilizes the very same technology that is available in every other turbocharged automobile now on the market.
Note: The power output is increased as a direct result of the turbo’s ability to enhance the density of the air that the engine sucks in. A turbine that is powered by the exhaust creates additional power for the turbo by utilizing the heat energy that is produced by the engine.
The ERS (Energy Recovery System), which is part of the hybrid component of the power unit, provides able support for these mechanical components.
The ERS is responsible for collecting and storing the energy that is generated by the vehicle while it is moving on the track. It is then capable of redistributing this stored energy as a component of the power unit’s output. The ERS by itself is responsible for around 160 horsepower and can be used for up to 33 seconds of a lap.
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The MGU–H and MGU–K are the primary energy collecting parts found on the ERS. The energy that is collected is then sent to the Energy Store in order to be stored there.
Energy Store (ES): In common parlance, this component is the vehicle’s battery, but one that is marginally more sophisticated than the battery found in a typical automobile. Any energy that is produced by the ERS is transferred to this battery in order to be stored until it is required for re-deployment.
The batteries have the capacity to store up to 4 megajoules of energy every lap, and this is the maximum amount of energy that may be redeployed at any given point during a lap.
MGU–H stands for “Motor Generator Unit–Heat,” and it is propelled by the engine’s exhaust gasses. The MGU-H is able to harvest the energy that is lost in the form of heat as it travels through the exhaust system in order to convert it into usable electrical power.
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When a driver speeds, the engine and turbocharger rev higher, which causes the MGU-H to harvest more energy, which is then sent into the ES in the form of harnessed electricity.
Motor Generator Unit–Kinetic, also known as MGU–K, is a combination of an electric generator and a motor that is linked to the ICE. This energy, which includes the heat generated by the brakes, is stored during deceleration and then used to generate additional force during acceleration.
Control Electronics (CE): This part is the operating “computer” of the ERS, and it is responsible for guaranteeing that all of the systems correctly communicate with one another in order to engage with the mechanical parts of the power unit.
Note: When it comes to the overall performance of a vehicle, each and every one of these parts is absolutely essential. A breakdown in the ERS does not automatically indicate that a car can no longer be driven, but the power loss that results from the failure might cause cascade car troubles, slower lap times, and higher fuel consumption, which indicates that the car is probably to be withdrawn.
Daniel Ricciardo’s victory at Monaco in 2018 is a well-known example of a driver conquering ERS troubles. Regardless of the fact that his MGU-K had failed, Ricciardo still managed to bring his limping Red Bull home in the first place. This is one of the most renowned examples of a driver beating ERS faults.
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What Are F1 Rules Related to the Use of Power Unit Components?
Because every component is required to last for a given amount of time, Formula One car manufacturers can’t just keep adding new parts to their vehicles whenever they want to.
Component allocations for 2022 are listed below:
- ICE: The maximum number of internal combustion engines that can be operated by one driver is 3.
- ES: 2 Energy Stores are allowed for each and every driver.
- TC: It is allowed for each driver to have 3 turbochargers.
- MGU–K: There is a limit of 3 Motor Generator Units-Kinetic that can be used by each driver.
- MGU–H: The maximum number of Motor Generator Units-Heat that can be carried by a single driver is 3.
- CE: 2 Control Electronics are allowed for each driver at their disposal.
In the event that a driver switches teams in the middle of the season, they will be responsible for keeping track of the power unit use numbers for the car they are moving into.
Note: Therefore, if Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ever switched seats at any stage in the race, Hamilton would switch to Leclerc’s stats, while Leclerc would move to Hamilton’s figures.
In the event that a new driver is added at any point throughout the season, that driver will automatically take over responsibility for the power unit parts of the automobile they are moving into.
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For instance, if Colton Herta ever got into Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren, he would be subject to Ricciardo’s usage stats. This would be the case regardless of when or why Herta got into the car.
If a team needs to replace or switch out any of these power unit parts in order to maintain their vehicle operational, they are free to do so as often as necessary; but, if they introduce new parts that are not within the allocation, they will incur a grid penalty.
When a driver uses a new part for the first time that is not within the allowance, that driver will get a 10-place grid penalty. On the other hand, they will only be subject to a grid penalty of five positions for each new instance of that component that is introduced.
It is not allowed for a team to accumulate parts by releasing many instances of the same element throughout the course of a single Grand Prix weekend while only being subject to a single penalty.
In order to cut off this possible loophole, if a team releases, for instance, three out-of-allowance MGU-Ks in one week, then only the most recently provided MGU–K is eligible for usage without incurring any penalties in a subsequent Grand Prix.
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Formula One’s Engine Ban for 2022 Explanation
For the year 2022, the regulations governing the engines were modified in order to make room for the arrival of a more environmentally friendly fuel known as E10, which includes 10% environmentally friendly ethanol in addition to 90% fossil fuel.
Furthermore, a significant adjustment that will take effect in 2022 is the addition of an “engine freeze.” At the beginning of this season, the manufacturers were forced to hand in the final version of their power units, and they were not allowed to make any additional performance-related advancements.
Even though there is a rigorous procedure in place, manufacturers are nevertheless allowed to make modifications to their products in order to accommodate reliability or safety updates.
The guidelines have been made more stringent in order to make certain that manufacturers are unable to choose the path of merely claiming to be faulty in order to implement improvements.
Manufacturers who want to alter the architecture of their engines can submit a request to the FIA’s Technical Department along with a justification for the modification. It is necessary to provide proof of study into the matter along with the concept, and the FIA will then distribute this demand and the documents to the other producers.
In the event that the other manufacturers concur that the request is reasonable and it can be demonstrated that the principle behind the change is rational, then approval will be given. Yet, the allowed adjustments are still on the somewhat moderate side.
Conclusion
In spite of the significant modifications that have been made to the aerodynamics and other components of the F1 car, the engine itself has remained substantially unchanged. It is not intended to replace the engine but rather to make the one that is currently being used more efficiently.
However, alterations in the standards for the power units and changes in the composition of the fuel will have an impact on the performance of the engine. Before the start of the season, the teams will have a difficult time getting their engines to their peak performance levels.