Ground effect cars have revolutionized the F1 circus in 2022. Here’s what fuels the engines of these engineering jewels use.
Wing cars have been reintroduced to Formula 1 after 40 years. The innovation, on the chassis level, was total. They immediately made previous hybrid cars age. Aesthetically they are wonderful, although very large and heavy. For this reason no heated battles were seen on the track and the DRS has retained capital importance.
Dominating the scene was Red Bull Racing, designed by Adrian Newey. The Milton Keynes-based team celebrated victories and world championships in spades. The farewell of the English designer will mark the end of an era.
The drink team’s winning cycle is not destined to last beyond 2025. The loss of the Honda Power Units and the absence of a top figure in the team, in the engineering sector, will mark a new beginning. The current engines are the same as the previous generationsqueezed to the last horse.
These are V6 hybrid Power Units that exceed 1000 HP. Even Max Verstappen doesn’t know the exact technical data. These are engines that guarantee top performance and reliability that has never been seen before. In Formula 1 many things have changed in recent years. Once upon a time, drivers could push to the limit from the first to the last lap. Today, however, the teams are forced to warn the drivers of the continuous degradation of the compounds, in addition to the general savings that the cars require.
F1 fuels
From 2026 there will be engines with half electric and half thermal parts with particular fuels. Some classic dispensers already have the E10 writing on the gun. That 10 stands for 10% ethanol which is a biofuel.
F1 single-seaters use E10 petrol for a few years and starting from 2026 every wing car on the grid will use 100% sustainable fuel. Compared to fossil fuels, sustainable fuels will guarantee a 95% reduction in CO2 emissions and the fuels produced for F1 will be usable by all road vehicles from 2026.
F1’s goal is to reach zero emissions by 2030. We’ll see if the impact turns out to be decisive. The current mixture has already guaranteed a large reduction compared to the past with a figure of 2.7 km/litre. Before each challenge the cars are overloaded with 100 kg of petrol.
The drivers must be careful not to push too hard so as not to find themselves running out of fuel in the final part of the race. In 2021, in Hungary, Sebastian Vettel was disqualified for using too little petrol. Here’s how much an F1 steering wheel costs.
By eliminating refueling during stops, the technicians have predicted that the current cars must contain the entire quantity for the entire duration of the race. The tanks have increased dramatically. Refueling, introduced in 1993, represented an unknown factor in Grand Prix racing.
To make the challenges more spectacular and give the various teams more strategic possibilities, the risks were considerable in the pit lane. There were several incidents where cars were doused in petrol. One in particular concerned SuperMax’s father, Jos Verstappen. The current GPs are less spectacular than those of the past, having a similar interpretation between the various teams. The future is a blank page waiting to be discovered.
