Racecar Engineering F1 2020 Preview

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F1 2020 preview

>> Technology controversy Mercedes DAS explained

Dark secrets of oil burning

Managing Pirelli’s 2020 tyres

Advance Technology to engineer a fast changing future www.ycom.it

F1 2020 | COMMENT

CONTENTS SEASON PREVIEW

4 TESTING REPORT A challenging year ahead, but not a predictable one

2020 TYRES

14 LOOKING FORWARD Same shoes this year, new mules for 2021

RESOURCES

22 2020 VS 2021 When will teams make the switch?

OIL CONSUMPTION

30 BURNING QUESTION How are teams meeting the new, reduced oil allowance?

T

he 2020 F1 season kick-off was initially rather uninspiring. There were fewer public team launches than ever before, and when the first shots of the ‘new’ cars were released, you needed a trained eye to spot the differences. It seemed that 2020 could be a boring year.

A week later, at pre-season testing however, that all changed.

Day one at testing is always exciting because it’s the first time media get to lay eyes on the real cars, with teams such as Haas, Renault and Alfa Romeo all revealing their 2020 contenders.

By day two, the teams’ test programmes were in full swing, the media frenzy had started to settle and the paddock began to fall into the usual rhythm of pre-season testing.

However, just before lunch, Mercedes’ onboard flickered onto the screens in the media centre. The media was typically hypnotised by the seamless driving of the six-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton as he weaved in and out of the corners, the Mercedes W11 dampening every load, bump and vibration. But hang on… Hamilton seemed to be pulling his steering wheel towards him on the straights and pushing it away in the corners. And so, the Mercedes Dual-Axis Steering (DAS) system made its worldwide debut (see p4).

Since then, the 2020 season has taken many twists and turns before we have even reached a race weekend. Unsurprisingly, following testing, the legality of the Mercedes DAS system was scrutinised. The FIA announced it was legal, but went on to tweak the 2021 rules to ban such a system in the future.

Then on the last day of testing, F1 released a cryptic statement revealing the FIA and Ferrari had reached a ‘confidential settlement’ regarding the Italian marque’s 2019 power unit.

As many of the teams had accused Ferrari of cheating through either manipulating the fuel flow meter or burning oil in the combustion chamber for additional horsepower (see p30), it was no surprise to then see all seven non-Ferraripowered teams simultaneously release statements formally objecting to the settlement, and threatening legal action.

The FIA responded, defending its approach and justifying its integrity, but this row is far from over as teams continue to push for transparency.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak has already affected the race calendar with governments in several countries restricting travel and cancelling major public events. The Chinese Grand Prix has already been postponed. Bahrain has banned fans from attending its Grand Prix, while Ferrari was forced to cancel its second 18in Pirelli tyre test at Fiorano (see p14).

With Northern Italy, the home of the largest European coronavirus outbreak, currently in lockdown, the effect on the Italian teams such as Ferrari and AlphaTauri, as well as suppliers such as Pirelli and Brembo, could be disastrous. But what happens if they miss a race? Should these races be cancelled? Will F1 fund chartered flights? Who will pay for the teams that have already made it to the track?

At the time of writing, F1 was not only trying to defend its championship from a global outbreak of coronavirus, but also the attack of seven of the 10 teams in the wake of the Ferrari engine controversy.

Maybe the 2020 season will be fascinating after all, though not necessarily for the right reasons.

Maybe the 2020 season will be fascinating after all

Gemma Hatton Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 3

F1 2020 | TESTING REPORT

Testing times If you thought the 2020 Formula 1 season was just going to be biding time before the ‘all-new’ 2021 rules come in, think again.

By Gemma Hatton

Unlike last year, Williams hit the track on the first day of testing, along with the rest of the field

4 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

T

he 2020 season was set to be the calm before the storm, with 2021 marking the beginning of a new era in Formula 1.

Yet despite stable regulations and this year’s crop of cars looking very similar to their predecessors, there have been some fascinating developments on both the technical and political fronts.

Not only are teams fighting for this year’s championship, they also need to focus on developing next year’s car to get themselves ahead in 2021. Add in a hectic, 22-strong race calendar (with the added complications of the coronavirus outbreak), a Pirelli 18in tyre testing programme and the forthcoming 2021 budget cap, and 2020 could be the most challenging season yet for the teams.

‘It’s always one of the big questions – when do you start work on the new car?’ says Pat Symonds, F1’s chief technical officer. ‘Between 2019 and 2020 it has been relatively easy because we have had less regulation changes, so the 2020 cars are very much an evolution of 2019.

‘The teams have been working with us on [their 2021] cars for over a year now but, like all learning, you have a steep curve in the early days and then it levels out. When you switch over [to the new car] is also a function of where you are in the championship, and how much money you’ve got.

I think there is going to be a good fight at the front Pat Symonds, F1 chief technical officer Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 5

F1 2020 | TESTING REPORT

The Racing Point RP20 (above) shares many similarities with last year’s Mercedes W10

Seven teams united against Ferrari and the FIA 6 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

‘Remember, the budget cap doesn’t come in until 2021, so teams can spend a lot this year. If a team dominates at the start, they can probably afford to switch a little earlier, but I think there is going to be a good fight at the front, which I hope will stop some of the teams getting on with their 2021 cars, whereas the teams at the back may need to put more effort into 2021.’

The regulations this year have remained stable, with only a few minor tweaks.

These include a 2kg increase in car weight, without fuel, to 745kg and an extra MGU-K unit, meaning drivers now have a total of three for the season, matching the allowed number of Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H elements.

The brake ducts now qualify as ‘listed parts,’ which means the teams have to

Brake ducts are now ‘listed parts’, which means teams have to own the IP to these components. Here’s the front brake duct of the MCL35 at pre-season testing (left) and the MCL34 at the 2019 Mexican GP (right)

hold the intellectual property of these parts and design them themselves, rather than buying them in.

Another rule change is that the leading 50mm of the front wing end plates must now be made purely of carbon fibre.

Any metal fasteners or inserts used for attaching the end plate to the wing profiles are only allowed 30mm rearwards from the leading edge. This has been implemented to further reduce the likelihood of tyre damage during contact.

The clutch paddles now need to be pull-type, opening the clutch when the paddle is pulled towards the driver.

Furthermore, the regulations state: ‘When commanded by the driver, the amount of clutch engagement will be expressed in the FIA ECU as torque at the rear axle by applying a gain of 4500Nm / 90% to the clutch paddle position between 5% and 95%’, meaning drivers will now have more control over their starts.

Also, the allowable amount of fuel that can be kept outside of the fuel survival cell (tank) has dropped from two litres to 0.25l to prevent the teams from utilising this fuel for any potential gains.

Oil change Arguably the most interesting rule changes, however, surround engine oil.

This year only one auxiliary oil tank (AOT) is permitted, which is defined as a ‘singular vessel connected to the engine whose sole function is to hold engine oil for the replenishment of the engine lubrication system.’ Its volume, along with its connections, must be no greater than 2.5l.

Meanwhile, oil consumption has also reduced to a maximum of 0.3l per 100km of running (see our feature on p30).

This is in response to Ferrari’s potential oil-burning trickery, upon which the

FIA has recently and controversially reached a ‘confidential’ settlement.

Essentially, there was a lot of speculation around Ferrari’s 2019 power unit, with many theories on how Ferrari had gained a power advantage either through leaking cooling fluid or oil into the combustion chamber and / or manipulating the fuel flow sensor (with two now stipulated for 2020 and a standardised fuel system introduced for 2021).

Against this backdrop of speculation, it was subsequently announced that ‘an agreement’ had been reached between the FIA and Ferrari, and that ‘Scuderia Ferrari have agreed to a number of technical commitments that will improve the monitoring of all Formula 1 power units for forthcoming championship seasons, as well as assist the FIA in other regulatory duties in Formula 1 and in its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels.’

In other words, it appears that the FIA could not find enough evidence to sanction Ferrari but, if the Italian team worked with the FIA to help amend the regulations to deter other teams from doing something similar, its secret would be safe. This has proven to be somewhat incendiary.

At the time of writing, seven teams (not including Ferrari and its customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas) united against Ferrari and the FIA, formally objecting to the power unit settlement.

Simultaneously, all teams released statements on March 4 stating that the teams will ‘pursue full and proper disclosure in this matter’ and that they ‘reserve [their] rights to seek legal redress, within the FIA’s due process and before the competent courts.’

It’s been some time since a decision from the FIA has caused such a united reaction, and it will be fascinating to

It is likely the system aims to dynamically change the toe of the front wheels see how F1’s new commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, alongside F1 and the FIA, deal with this.

Was ist DAS? Another interesting technical story to emerge from pre-season testing, though, was that of the Mercedes Dual-Axis Steering system, otherwise known as DAS. Now, it’s important to acknowldege that until Mercedes reveal the exact details of the system, we can only speculate. However, it is likely the system aims to dynamically change the toe of the front wheels.

‘We have a system in the car, it’s a novel idea,’ confirmed James Allison, technical director at Mercedes. ‘We’ve got a name for it; it’s called ‘DAS’ and it just introduces an extra dimension of the steering from the driver that we hope will be useful during the year, but precisely how we use it, why we use it, that’s something we will keep to ourselves.’

Toe is defined as the angle between the direction the tyres are pointing relative to the direction the racecar is pointing when viewed from above. Zero toe is when the tyres are both parallel to each other and the racecar. Toe in or positive toe is when the tyres point towards each other, and toe out or negative toe is when the tyres point away from each other.

Whenever you introduce any form of toe, the tyres are then travelling at an angle relative to the direction of travel, which Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 7

F1 2020 | TESTING REPORT

This year’s MCL35 (left) features a narrower nose compared to the MCL34 (right), which can present challenges when passing the FIA crash tests. The former ‘nostrils’ have also been removed

means an area of the tyre is being dragged along the track, or ‘scrubbing’. Although this increases wear, it can also be a clever way of generating tyre temperature.

On a straight, zero toe is preferred because it reduces aerodynamic drag on the wheels and maximises cooling, whereas during cornering, toe-in can be beneficial because it can help increase the steer of the loaded outside tyre, rotating the car more and increasing grip. However, toe-in can also introduce instability during both corners and straights.

Overall, the teams have found that they gain more grip from minimising this instability, despite the rotation compromises of the car during a corner.

This is why teams conventionally run with 2-3mm toe-out at the front and 2-3mm toe-in at the rear. On the second day of pre-season testing, just before lunch when the track condition and temperature were optimal, Lewis Hamilton was seen: 1) Pulling the steering wheel towards him on the straight. This could result

‘It was time to take a risk, and I think we’ve taken a very, very big risk’ Andrew Green, technical director at Racing Point 8 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

in increasing front toe-in to straighten the wheels from their base toe-out set up, reducing drag on the straights.

2) Pushing the steering wheel away from him under braking, which could be increasing toe-out to reduce instability, whilst scrubbing the tyres and generating tyre temperature just before corner entry.

3) Pulling the steering wheel towards him on corner exit, potentially increasing toe-in to revert back to the base set up.

If all this proves to be correct, the ‘DAS’ system could allow Mercedes to run more toe-out in the corners, which could increase tyre temperature, without suffering the drag penalties on the straights.

The exact reasons why Mercedes are doing this are yet to be revealed, but we do know that on straights the front tyres cool down significantly, and on some circuits, in some cars, the tyres can fall out of their optimal operating temperature range, which is difficult to recover from. Maybe this system is a way of igniting the temperature of the front tyres just before the corner to increase grip? Or to keep tyres constantly within their working range, which could improve their longevity during a race?

Pink Mercedes Another talking point that peppered the testing paddock was the ‘pink Mercedes’ of Racing Point, with the new RP20 looking remarkably similar to last year’s Mercedes W10.

‘It shares some resemblance in some areas, like lots of cars look like other cars up and down the pit lane. I don’t think ours is particularly any different to anybody else’s in that respect,’ defends Andrew Green, technical director at Racing Point.

‘It was clear that if we carried on the route we were going, we were going to end up at best where we finished the championship last year, and to us that just wasn’t acceptable.

‘We have one more year left in these regulations, so we thought it was time to take a risk and I think we’ve taken a very, very big risk.’

With Racing Point running a Mercedes power unit since 2009, and gearbox since 2014, this year’s RP20 also features some Mercedes outboard suspension components, too. So it is a logical step that Racing Point has converged its underlying Mercedes architecture to a more Mercedes-esque solution.

‘We have been trying to develop the ‘Red Bull philosophy’ of the high rake concept, and it became increasingly difficult with a Mercedes gearbox as they are a different philosophy – the lower rake philosophy – and the only one on the grid,’ continues Green.

‘It’s difficult to try and develop around a different philosophy from the underlying architecture you have. So we decided to take a risk, and that risk was basically to tear up what we’ve done in the past few years and start again from scratch.’

Of course, this risk-taking approach was only available to Racing Point because of the huge investment injected into the team since it entered administration in 2018.

Yet the uncanny similarities between RP20 and last year’s Mercedes raised questions as to whether Racing Point had received any additional support from Mercedes.

To counter this, Green confirmed the developments have been purely based on information available to everyone, saying ‘All we’ve got is what we see.’

F1 2020 | TESTING REPORT

The rear end of the MCL35 has had a major re-work, with much tighter packaging of the power unit, gearbox and suspension components

‘Packaging is a massive exercise between the chassis group and the systems group’ Jody Egginton, technical director at AlphaTauri

Left: Alfa Romeo has changed its cooling concept, running a more conventional A-shaped roll hoop, compared to the ‘blade’ last year, to better re-distribute cooling between the sidepod and the centre of the car

There is a lot a trained eye can gain from the thousands of high resolution spy shots the teams receive each race weekend, but to successfully copy another team’s design, it first has to be fully understood. Racing Point looked strong in testing, but whether the team fully understands the engineering behind its new concept will determine how long it can retain this stronger performance.

‘I don’t think what we’ve done is particularly new as far as taking a team’s

‘If you’re worried about cars looking the same, then you might want to look at the 2021 regulations’ Andrew Green, technical director at Racing Point 10 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

concept and doing it ourselves,’ says Green. ‘My question would really be why hasn’t anyone else done this before?

When we look back on it, I think crikey, this is something that maybe we should have done earlier, but unfortunately we didn’t have the resources earlier, or the funding to support this sort of project.

‘But if you’re worried about cars looking the same, then you might want to look at the 2021 regulations.’

Packaging With stable regulations, a lot of teams have had the opportunity to refine the packaging of the rear of their cars. ‘We’ve focussed on further optimising the power unit packaging, and with a tighter package you can really shrink wrap the bodywork around everything,’ explains Jody Egginton, technical director at the newly-named Red Bull Junior team, AlphaTauri. ‘It could be something as big as a radiator, or something as small as an electrical loom.

All these things can stick out, and you

effectively want to shrink wrap it all. But you need to make sure you’re still hitting the cooling targets because it’s pointless having a fantastically well packaged car if you’ve got to have giant cooling exits.

Packaging is a massive exercise between the chassis group and the systems group.’

It is a similar story for McLaren.

‘We have changed a few areas. The bodywork is following a trend, with a very narrow sidepod, which is quite an exercise in packaging,’ confirms James Key, the team’s technical director.

‘We’ve done a similar exercise with the gearbox to match that philosophy on the rear. Part of that has been working on the suspension too so, from the cockpit backwards, it is a very different approach to what we had before.’

S-duct changes Other tweaks teams have been making to their 2020 cars have included the inlet and outlets of the s-duct. The airflow coming off the front wing and supporting

Lawrence Butcher

F1 2020 | TESTING REPORT

Flowviz helps visualise the behaviour of the airflow around aerodynamic devices. Here is the RB16’s intricate new nose design

pillars is turbulent and, to avoid that flowing downstream and affecting the performance of the underfloor, teams ingest this airflow through small inlets on the tip of the nose, as well as NACA ducts on the side of the nose. Channels within the nose structure route this air to an outlet at the bridge of the nose where it is released on top of the chassis.

In this way, turbulent air is prevented from travelling downstream and re-located to the already turbulent cockpit area. By re-

locating this ‘loss’, the overall aerodynamic efficiency of the car is increased.

‘This s-shaped duct is just a slightly more elegant way to drive the air we are catching at the inlet of the nose and blow it where we think it’s important to be blown,’ confirms Jan Monchaux, technical director at Alfa Romeo Racing.

‘For sure, some teams are using [the inlets] as an s-duct feed, but in other instances it could just be something as boring as a feed into the cockpit as there

are similar advantages in cockpit cooling,’ confirms Egginton, continuing; ‘there are a range of approaches. Some cars run the inlets just inboard of the pillars, while others run the NACA ducts along the underside of the nose and some from the shroud. We had those last year for instance. So there are a range of places you can grab that air and throw it out a slot further along the nose structure.’

Of course, incorporating channels into the nose structure is no easy task.

However, the fact eight out of the ten teams run such a device suggests there are significant gains to be had.

The 2020 season is set to be truly fascinating

The s-duct inlets have been a subtle area of modification for teams. Pictured is the AT01 from pre-season testing (bottom) and the STR14 from the Mexican GP (top)

12 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

‘It’s quite a challenge for the structure as you still need to crash the nose, and that crash test is not inferior,’ highlights Monchaux. ‘So clearly, when you have some exotic internal ducts that are eating space that you would like to have to put some structure, it makes life a bit more complicated for the guys in design.’

Overall then, the grid for 2020 is a mix of evolved concepts, new approaches, revolutionary systems (Mercedes’ DAS) and subtle tweaks to aerodynamic devices.

The way things look right now, the 2020 season is set to be truly fascinating.

Teams will push hard for the opening few races because a successful start will enable them to switch to 2021 earlier.

Then the rate of development will drop off during the latter half of the year, allowing the smaller teams to catch up.

F1 2020 | TYRES

Leaps and bounds Pirelli had its 2020 tyre rejected by teams and so has raised pressures to adapt its 2019 rubber to meet increased speeds

By Gemma Hatton

14 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

Teams unanimously agreed to stick with 2019 rubber for the 2020 season

Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 15

F1 2020 | TYRES

Pirelli set the minimum starting pressures, to which teams have to stick. You can imagine the frustrations when these change throughout a race weekend

F

or the first time ever, Pirelli has carried over the same specification tyres from one season to the next, but this wasn’t the original plan.

Usually, as teams continue to push for performance, each year the speeds of the cars increase and the tyres are subjected to higher loads. Consequently, Pirelli tweaks the design and characteristics of the construction, profile and compound to develop a new spec for the next season. The teams are then given the opportunity to trial this new rubber at the Abu Dhabi test the year before.

‘The 2020 tyres were designed with a different concept and a different profile based on the idea of increasing the level of integrity of the tyres so they could be run at lower pressure,’ reveals Mario Isola, head of F1 and car racing at Pirelli.

‘Considering the increase in performance of the cars this year, being quicker means you put more energy into the tyres, and therefore [currently] the only tool we have is to raise the pressures.’

Reduced overheating and increased grip… were the targets 16 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

Raising tyre pressure increases the stiffness of the sidewall, which in turn makes the tyre more robust (and less likely to fail) under high loads. However, higher pressure reduces the contact patch area, and consequently grip, which gives teams a new challenge.

Teams have therefore been using every set-up trick in the book to try and lower tyre pressures to increase grip. This is why Pirelli enforces prescriptions before every test and race event, including minimum starting pressures. These are initially based Mario Isola from Pirelli with the 13in (left) and 18in (right) tyres

on simulated data, but then on the results from relevant telemetry channels supplied by all teams after the first day of running.

Under pressure Pirelli analyses that data and then decides whether to increase or reduce minimum starting pressures for the rest of the event before distributing this information to the teams.

The problem is that this analysis takes time, and usually Pirelli reaches its conclusions during or after teams have

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F1 2020 | TYRES

With increased pressures, we can expect a higher level of thermal degradation and overheating

refined their set-ups. So you can imagine the frustration to then be told starting pressures should be increased, and consequently running pressures. To avoid this scenario, Pirelli wanted to introduce a new specification tyre for 2020.

‘The profile, especially of the rear tyre, was quite different in the sidewall area,’ says Isola, ‘and the sidewall was wider compared to 2019. That means [the teams] would have to adapt the floor and some aerodynamic elements in the rear of the car.’

The new spec was initially tested in the first practice session of the American Grand Prix last year. However, the unusually cold temperatures at the event made it difficult for Pirelli to judge whether the

The Pirelli prescriptions that are issued to the teams before every race and test event

Grand Prix of Australia 15-17/03/2019 (19R01MEL) Compound C2 C3 C4 INTERMEDIATE WET Cross-Over time

FL FR RL RR 2A1 2A2 2A3 2A4 3B1 3B2 3B3 3B4 4C1 4C2 4C3 4C4 33G 35G 37G 39G 34F 36F 37F 39F WET > 119% > INT > 113% > DRY

Mandatory race tyres C2 C3 Q3 tyre C4

MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURE, BLISTERING SENSITIVITY, CAMBER LIMIT Front (psi)

Slicks Intermediate Wet

Rear (psi)

22.5 20.5 19.5

19.5 19.5 18.5

FE EOS Camber limit

RE EOS Camber limit

-3.75 °

-2.00 °

FE Blistering sensitivity

RE Blistering sensitivity

Medium

Low

new profile had reduced overheating and increased grip, which were the targets.

At the Abu Dhabi test late last year, the new spec was trialled again in more representative conditions.

This allowed teams to complete backto-back comparisons between the 2019 tyres and the proposed 2020 tyres for both long and short runs.

However, some drivers and teams commented that there was not a clear improvement compared to the 2019 tyres.

‘Essentially [the teams] would have to re-open the design process of the 2020 car in order to optimise the rear end to work with the new 2020 profile,’ explains Isola. ‘This is difficult to do in the short time frame [available], so they came back to us saying they would prefer to stay on the 2019 tyres as the 2020 cars had already been designed.’

Of course, the consequence of sticking with the same spec tyre but an increase in performance means teams will have to cope with those higher pressures.

This was first demonstrated at preseason testing in Barcelona, where Pirelli increased the minimum starting pressures by 1.5psi on the fronts and 2psi on the rears, compared to the previous year.

‘From our side it was no problem to stay on the 2019 tyres, but the teams have to accept the fact that, because of the increased performance, we have to raise the pressures,’ continues Isola.

‘And with increased pressures, we can expect a higher level of thermal degradation and overheating.

‘These are the consequences of staying with the 2019 tyres, and teams are aware of that.’

A lot of noise TYRE HEATING STRATEGY (TREAD&SIDEWALL) Temperature

0

40

60

100 (°C)

80

Slicks (front axle)

storage

max. 3h

Slicks (rear axle)

storage

max. 5h

(max. temp = 80°C)

max. 30'

(max. temp = 80°C)

Intermediate

storage

max. 2h

Wet

storage

max. 2h

max. 2h

(max. temp = 100°C)

(max. temp = 60°C)

(The time limits refer to the period leading up to the start of the session in which the tyres are intended for use).

(The temperatures referred to above apply at all times during the event).

GENERAL NOTES Teams are kindly reminded that the following parameters will be subjected to FIA checks during the event: - Starting pressure.

- Camber at maximum speed.

- Maximum blanket temperature.

- Tyre swapping.

Tyre Notes ● Not permitted to switch tyres from their originally allocated position. ● Do not subject tyres to large deformation or heavy impact. ● Do not leave fitted tyres exposed at an air temperature lower than 15°C and/or any UV emission. ● Revised prescriptions could be issued during the race weekend in accordance with TD/007-16.

18 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

● All temperature limits apply to the actual tyre surface temperature, measured with the IR gun detailed in TD029-15. ● STORAGE temperature is the recommended temperature the tyre can stay in blankets without time limit. ● BLANKET HEATING TIME for each temperature range to be counted from the moment the blanket control unit is set to reach its targeted temperature within its correspondent interval.

Consistency was another factor that encouraged teams to stay on 2019 rubber, especially those who had a good season.

James Key, technical director at McLaren, says: ‘We were always a supporter of what Pirelli did last year. There was a lot of noise at the beginning of the year where there seemed to be a little bit of variability in getting the tyres to work, but it wasn’t an issue particularly for us.

‘In fact, they seemed very repeatable and robust. So for us it made sense to continue with something we knew, rather than throwing a different scenario into the equation and finding that different issues could pop up.

‘It also gives teams who did struggle the time to work with the same tyres again.

‘From a technical point of view, we are comfortable that inevitably speed will increase, and Pirelli will compensate that with pressures, which

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F1 2020 | TYRES will lead to challenges. But I think this decision for us was a sensible one.’

Despite the teams rejecting Pirelli’s 2020 offering, the tyre manufacturer’s effort was not wasted, as Isola explains: ‘We also tested a new family of compounds and new materials, as well as the profile, and it showed us an interesting direction for the future.

‘I cannot say we wasted our time developing the 2020 tyres because clearly the 13in tyre is quite different to the 18in tyre, and some of the ideas behind [the 2020 tyre] we can also use in 2021.’

Another reason teams were reluctant to opt for the new spec of tyres was because they are busier than ever this year. Not only do they have a recordbreaking, 22-race calendar to contend with (although at the time of writing, China has been postponed due to the coronavirus

What will be more difficult to evaluate… is the impact of the new [2021] aerodynamics package

Renault kicked off the 2021 18in mule car test programme at Paul Ricard in September 2019, using an adapted 2018 chassis. This year, all 10 teams will take part in the 2021 test programme 20 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

outbreak, with Vietnam also a concern), but also have to develop their 2021 cars as early as possible, whilst running mule cars for the Pirelli 2021 tyre tests.

‘Last year we had three [mule car test] sessions with Mercedes, McLaren and Renault, and it was good to be able to analyse the data over the winter to then make some modifications to the profile and construction,’ says Isola. ‘Honestly, the feedback from the 18in tyre tests has been good and consistent from all the drivers so far.’

Mule tests One reason for the consistent feedback is this year’s mule cars are more representative than those used in previous tests. A similar programme conducted in 2016 where 96 prototype tyres were tested across a total of 24 days to help develop the wider 2017 tyres yielded less useful information because the large jump in downforce and performance of the 2017 cars was almost impossible to replicate accurately on the adapted mule cars.

Furthermore, with only three teams providing mule cars, the tyres were not subjected to the differing performance levels of all the cars across the grid.

Pirelli also had the added complications of sporting equity.

This year, however, it is a different story, because all teams have committed to providing mule cars for the 18in tyre testing programme.

‘What is important for us is that we don’t have exactly the same car [as 2021], but the performance is in line with what is expected for next year,’ highlights Isola. ‘The good news is all 10 teams have accepted to make a mule car. For the smaller teams, it is a challenge to not only develop their 2021 car but also adapt a car to test the 18in tyres, so we are very grateful.

‘It is a good opportunity for us to make a tyre that is the best compromise for the entire grid.’

With all teams taking part, the endof-season test at Abu Dhabi will allow Pirelli to focus on evaluating its test tyres under race conditions too, something which has previously proven difficult.

‘In Abu Dhabi, after the race all teams will be testing the 18in tyres on their mule cars, which will really help us to understand what is likely to happen in 2021. This could have been a problem if one or two teams were not in a position to supply a mule car because the other teams would gain an advantage,’ notes Isola.

‘What will be more difficult to evaluate during the test is the impact of the new [2021] aerodynamics package,

which could minimise the effect of the slipstream. Maybe in Abu Dhabi, where we’ll have 10 cars running at the same time, we’ll be able to test the tyres in race conditions, but when we test with only one car this is impossible.’

Outwash effect With the F1 2021 regulations aiming to change aerodynamics and reduce the outwashing effect of the wake, whilst manipulating this wake to flow up and over the following car, the hope is the car behind will be able to follow more closely in the corners. The consequence of this, however, is that on the straights the following car will not experience as much of a reduction in drag and so the slipstream will no longer be as effective.

Therefore, the usual tyre and brake overheating issues that occur when a car is close behind another should be reduced.

‘Another big factor to consider is the heat transfer from the brakes to the rims,’ highlights Isola. ‘If the brakes are much smaller, then the space between the brakes and the rim is larger and so heat transfer will be a lot less. This will have a different impact on the temperature of the air inside the tyre, and there could be a bigger difference between the surface temperature and the carcass temperature.’

Consequently, Pirelli may have to opt for softer compounds for 2021. These are usually better at generating their own heat and, with the risk of overheating reduced due to less turbulent wake from the car in front, this may be the direction Pirelli decide to choose.

Alternatively, despite the increased reliability of the 2021 mule car tests, Pirelli may go conservative and opt for stiffer, more robust tyres until the full effect of the 2021 aero package is understood.

Significant value So why would a team add to its workload and agree to be involved in these tyre tests? With restrictive regulations governing the adaptation of mule cars, there is very little opportunity for the teams to test any hardware that is not directly associated with the tyres. However, the fact that even the small teams are investing in mule cars suggests they see significant value in conducting these tyre tests, which could help their 2021 campaigns.

‘It’s a difficult thing in this competitive arena. Can you gain a competitive edge from some prior knowledge? How much money does it cost? And how much effort do we have to invest in it?’ says Rob Taylor, chief designer at Haas F1. ‘But we’ve made a commitment and we’ve ended

All teams have committed to providing mule cars for the 18in tyre testing programme up making [a mule car], and again we have had some help along the way from Ferrari. So, it’s not as big an overhead for us as it would be for Ferrari to do.’

In addition to the three-day test in Abu Dhabi, Pirelli has another 25 days of 18in tyre testing scheduled for 2020. Ferrari kicked off the first test this year in Jerez in February, where long running helped Pirelli validate a baseline tyre. The data for this tyre was planned to be released to the teams at the end of February, helping them with their 2021 car development.

Now, Pirelli’s focus for the remaining mule car test sessions is to fine tune the construction and range of compounds.

As tyre testing goes, the 2021 effort is so far the most representative, so we can be hopeful that next year’s tyres will lead to fascinating strategies, drivers on the limit and overall exhilarating racing.

Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 21

F1 2020 | CHANGES

Flick of the switch With Formula 1’s 2021 ‘all change’ regulations looming on the horizon, teams have an added complication to their 2020 strategies; when to make the switch

By Dieter Rencken

I

t is a truism of Formula 1 that the sum of the different answers to a specific question is at all times directly proportionate to the number of teams competing in the sport at any one time.

So it is no surprise that the 10 current teams have adopted totally different approaches to the challenges of transitioning from 2020’s (relatively) stable technical and sporting regulations to Formula 1’s ‘new era’ rule books.

The only common thread is that technical directors agree that they will transition when the cost and effort of upgrading their 2020 packages for a rapidly diminishing window exceeds the expected gains. As always in F1, timing of the switch will be dictated by real world economic factors, rather than by engineering ideals.

Although F1 has not released details of the sport’s post-2020 revenue structure, sources have revealed a bonus table based on 10-year rolling championship performances will apply.

That means it will be critical for teams to score maximum points this year, as championship classification will influence payouts for the next decade.

Equally, a lacklustre 2020 could make it commercially attractive to switch focus to next year’s car sooner as that may provide a better long-term pay off.

‘How much will the 2020 catch up affect the 2021 [project]?’ asked Ferrari team boss, Mattia Binotto, rhetorically when questioned by Racecar Engineering about the current car’s disappointing testing form. ‘That’s certainly a good point.

It is a fine balancing act for teams with finite resources 22 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

‘I think it’s a compromise we need to find out. We are very early in the season, and you cannot compromise the entire season. So at the beginning, we certainly keep pushing on 2020 as much as we can, because it’s time for us to understand the car and its weaknesses.

‘Hopefully, it is things we can address as soon as possible. If I see after a few races – and we still understand the gap is too big – then maybe it’s a consideration we can take into account.

‘For the moment, we should keep our plan as it was for 2020 / 2021.’

Clearly then, Ferrari is keeping its options about the crossover point open, as Binotto reiterated in another interview session: ‘Of course, if things get bad after a few races, we could bet on 2021,’ he said.

Crossover conundrum The Swiss’ comments succinctly sum up the conundrum faced by all teams, but the overall decision is complicated by the fact that no definitive regulatory package yet exists. There is only a revised set of technical regulations that were distributed during pre-season testing in Barcelona, ahead of a Technical Working Group meeting during the first week in March.

In addition to fine tuning of the wording and various rule clarifications, a number of changes are expected, including revised crash structures and modifications to aerodynamic surfaces, all of which will take the minimum weight up to 775kg.

Taken individually, none are major issues, but collectively they pose additional workloads just when teams are setting their sights on the opening rounds of the 2020 season.

While the $175m budget cap - albeit with generous exclusions such as driver salaries and top three executive

remuneration packages – is due to kick in from 2021, the grid enjoys spend freedom before that date, and the trio of teams at the sharp end – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull – are able to split resources between the two projects, then switch full focus to 2021 at the last possible point. It is a luxury that is not open to the rest.

Those who have a successful start to 2020 will be able to switch their focus to 2021 earlier

XPB

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With a completely new rule set for next year, the big question will be when teams switch resources to their 2021 campaigns

Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 23

F1 2020 | CHANGES

Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal

Still, it’s not all plain sailing, even for the likes of Mercedes. Team boss Toto Wolff believes the rule changes pose ‘a massive challenge, that balancing your allocation of resource will be crucial in terms of how much of it you’re switching into the 2021 car.

‘Obviously, the learning and development slope is much steeper at the beginning. So, if you get it wrong and you’re months behind, you might be half a second behind.’

Hey big spenders Nevertheless, Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, has voiced concerns about the advantages enjoyed by the major players: ‘I think we’re getting substantially out-spent and if you look at the grid order, it pretty much lines up by who spends what.

2021 is very much a clean sheet of paper for the teams, and will require a lot of resources to design, test and optimise these new concepts

24 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

‘It’s going to take a couple of years for the cost cap to take effect because people are going to be spending now for 2021. I think it’ll be 2022 or 2023 before you see any real impact.’

Brown’s comments are endorsed

by Claire Williams, whose eponymous team placed 10th (and last) the previous two years: ‘We can’t afford to run parallel programmes, so we’re going to – at some point – make that decision to transition over [from 2020 to 2021] and put the full resource behind the [new] FW44. It’s not easy.

‘With hindsight, which is a wonderful thing, I wish we had brought the cost cap in for this year so we didn’t have this issue with the top three teams being able to spend as much as they possibly can going into 2021.

‘It’s going to be a piece of financial management from all of us to manage those resources going into next year, and just being able to do the best job we can,’ Williams concluded.

Despite the apparent funding deficit, McLaren is adamant the orange squad will extract every possible ounce of performance during the current campaign,

with team principal Andreas Seidl saying; ‘For us it was a case right at the beginning that we don’t want to sacrifice 2020 to get a better start for 2021.

‘It was always important that we remain fully focussed on this to make the next step in ’20 as a team, with the car and in the way we operate as a team. We want a strong start into the season because that might make it a bit easier to switch some resources [to 2021] at an earlier point.’

The trick will, of course, be to know when to fully flick the switch, and that is a fine balancing act for teams with finite resources.

Plan a, b and c ‘You need a plan a, [but] you need a plan b and c as well under these circumstances,’ says James Key, McLaren’s technical director. ‘It’s a tough balance, and I think every team faces this to a certain extent.

‘We’ve got this sort of funny mix of wanting to continue the positive momentum from this year, but keep a very close eye on what is happening in ’21 as well. We’ve planned around that.

‘We know what we plan to do, and would like to do. And we’ll adjust that a

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F1 2020 | CHANGES

How customer teams are supplied with components will change in 2021. The Alpha Tauri AT01 features the RB15 gearbox, as well as Red Bull Racing rear suspension and some front suspension components.

‘It is a huge challenge, of a scale that is probably unprecedented in Formula 1’ Marcin Budkowski, Renault F1 executive director The top teams are already heavily focussed on 2021, with some mid-field teams switching 40-50% of their resources to 2021

26 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

little bit depending on where we are. But you know, there’s nothing to carry over from this year to next year. It really is a blank sheet of paper. So you have to very finely balance that through the season.’

Marcin Budkowski, Renault F1’s executive director, and a man who was intimately involved with the regulatory process during a previous posting with the FIA, agrees.

‘Finding the balance between the 2020 and 2021 car projects will be a huge challenge, of a scale that is probably unprecedented in Formula 1,’ he said in Barcelona. ‘You always try to start new cars as early as possible, but it’s even more valuable when you have a big change in regulations, and the 2021 regulations are nothing short of a revolution.

‘Our ambition is to have a good 2020 season, but we are aiming to transition to 2021 as early as possible as we expect the slope of development for the new car to be very steep.’

According to Christian Horner of Red Bull, F1’s third largest team in budget terms, the team has already begun the transition; ‘Of course [there’s] that balancing act this year because we’re pushing as hard as we can on [current car] RB16, but RB17 is a very different car, to new regulations.

‘So a lot of [chief technical officer, Adrian Newey’s] focus is already on RB17. You’ve only got a certain amount of resource, and so it’s all about how you carve that up without compromising current performance.

‘We’ve got, I think, enough focus on both campaigns at the moment, but there will gradually be a transition over after the first third of the year,’ he added.

Secondary challenge However, Red Bull faces another challenge, not unlike that faced by its peer group.

In common with the two teams ahead, it supplies a secondary team, AlphaTauri, with componentry and technical services such as wind tunnel operations, as provided for by the regulations. Mercedes and Ferrari have similar deals with Racing Point and Haas respectively.

The major teams and suppliers currently share last year’s technology with their customers, such as AlphaTauri’s AT01 for example, which unashamedly uses a complete rear end and selected front suspension components from last year’s Red Bull. For operational and commercial reasons that will not be possible to the same extent under 2021’s ‘all change’ scenario.

In each instance, both parties will be forced into compromises; the main team into finalising its designs earlier, the secondary outfit into receiving its componentry later than ideal.

There are, however, workarounds, although the situation will still impact on both teams’ modus operandi at some point.

AlphaTauri technical director, Jody Egginton, explains; ‘It does [complicate matters], but if you are left with the decision [of whether or not to do more of the car ourselves] then the most likely scenario is that the rear end, gearbox and hydraulics will be supplied by Red Bull – and they will find a way to manufacture the stuff with minimal compromise – and we take full ownership of the front end.’

As it happens, AlphaTauri has commenced concept work on the 2021 design already. ‘We’re still in the iteration phase,’ said Egginton. ‘We have a future car group, a bunch of guys who are always looking at next year’s car [and] they’ve been on it for an awful long time.

‘They handed over this [year’s] car six or eight weeks earlier because it was an evolution, and then have got on with [development on ] the new car.’

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas who pioneered the so-called

‘There’s nothing to carry over from this year to next year’ James Key, McLaren technical director

‘listed parts’ model – components teams need to hold the intellectual property to while being free to buy in the rest – sees the biggest challenge being the expanded listing brought about by the new regulations. The list is ‘similar’, he says, ‘but not exactly the same.’ He then goes on to add; ‘There are a few changes coming, but they are not big, which reduces the potential for collaboration.’

His estimate of the reduction in listed parts is around 25 per cent.

‘It’s a mix of major and minor parts, so is very difficult to define. A major part could be a small part but one that has a big effect on the car.’

Racing Point’s Andrew Green believes the crossover point for his team will be the end of April, with development on the ‘pink’ Mercedes – so called

Despite spending currently being uncontrolled, both wind tunnel and CFD testing remain restricted under the Aerodynamic Testing Period (ATP) regulations

Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 27

F1 2020 | CHANGES

Teams are faced with three distinctly different design challenges due to its striking similarity with the 2019 championship-winning silver car – ceasing totally at mid-season.

‘The change is a massive challenge, the biggest I’ve ever experienced,’ he says, adding that Racing Point already have ‘40 or 50 per cent of resource on the 2021 project.’

18in rule As though the 2021 regulations do not represent enough of a change across the board, the much-vaunted adoption of 18in

wheels has further increased workloads for teams (see p14). So significant is this change that all are committed to running so-called ‘mule cars’ to test the new, larger diameter rubber, with each team having been allocated two ‘dry’ test days.

Additionally Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull share five ‘wet’ days, with postseason testing in Abu Dhabi for mules only. These are 2018 / ’19 cars designed to deliver consistent test results to Pirelli, while providing an insight into the characteristics of the new tyres. To keep this in check, teams are not permitted to develop mule cars for testing anything other than tyres, so any 2021 suspension and brake designs are banned, as are any front end / wing specifications that replicate expected downforce levels.

The larger wheels increase ride height by 300mm, with false (flat)

floors providing prescribed ground clearance. Minimum vehicle weight is 775kg, as per 2021 expectations.

Although the mule car modifications are minor in F1 terms, they represent an additional distraction during the sport’s most populous – pre-coronavirus – season. Effectively, teams are faced with three distinctly different design challenges: racing the current car in the knowledge that few (if any) upgrades will be carried forward into the new car; designing 2021’s car to as-yet incomplete regulations; and adapting obsolete cars to mule specs for end of season testing.

So there you have it: ten teams, ten business models and ten different approaches to the 2021 challenge, but just one single verdict; it is the biggest ever challenge faced by any of Formula 1’s current teams.

Transitional thinking Which team is F1’s transition king? The answer is Mercedes, which has won all six double titles since Formula 1 switched to hybrid engines in 2014. The Brackley team was simply better prepared on the powertrain front, endowing the team with momentum that continues through the final season of the current formula.

However five years earlier, Brawn GP, which arose from the ashes of Honda’s F1 project, operated from that same address and dominated both 2009 championships, despite being compromised by a late switch from Japanese power units to Mercedes engines.

Formula 1 had just undergone massive change after the FIA mandated swingeing rule changes that affected tyres, aerodynamics

(recall those gawky cars?) and KERS, but Brawn discovered loopholes in the regulations that permitted double-deck rear diffusers, which provided a downforce advantage. Rather than Honda taking advantage, it was as Brawn that the team won.

When Toto Wolff said in Spain in February of this year; ‘This [change] is a challenge we have embraced in the past through two regulatory changes, and we love that one,’ he did so with some justification, albeit failing to mention that the chief architect behind both transitions was in fact Brawn.

The grid should be relieved that Brawn is now the man in the boardroom responsible for F1’s changes, rather than a team boss…

XPB

The famous double deck diffuser of the Brawn BGP001 seen in 2009

28 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

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F1 2020 | OIL CONSUMPTION

Ferrari’s 064 power unit fitted in the Haas VF19. Note what appears to be an auxiliary oil tank just below the plenum

Conspicuous consumption

Engine oil can be used for something other than lubrication, but the FIA is trying to prevent the practice

By Lawrence Butcher

A

t the launch of the 2020 Ferrari SF1000, team principal, Mattia Binotto, remarked that the cars power unit had undergone a redesign of its combustion chamber to account for new regulations regarding oil consumption.

The 2020 season should mark the end of a long-running controversy surrounding excessive oil use in Formula 1’s current hybrid engines, or at least the FIA hopes so. From the start of the year, teams were only permitted to use a maximum of 0.3 30 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

litres of oil per 100km of running, the capacity of cars’ auxiliary oil tanks is limited to 2.5l and only one tank may be fitted.

This is a further reduction from the 0.6l permitted in 2018-’19 and a significant drop from the 1.2l allowed in 2017. So how have teams reached this point?

The paddock rumour mill was working overtime in 2017, with suggestions that engine manufacturers were leveraging engine oil to improve the performance of the combustion system, circumventing rules that dictate a strict 100kg/h fuel

flow rate. (It should be noted that, since 2013, the rules have specifically forbidden the use of oil as a combustion enhancer, though what the rules say and how they are interpreted is the playground in which engineers tend to operate).

Concerns around the use of oil to boost combustion performance had been present almost from the beginning of the hybrid era. For example, during the 2015 Canadian GP, the FIA conducted an extensive analysis of the oil in both Mercedes and Ferrari cars, following

Lawrence Butcher

Ferrari’s 064 power unit removed from the Haas VF19.

The locating bracket and pipework for the tank shown previously can be seen to the right of the plenum

suspicions something was amiss. From that point on, there has been a constant game of cat and mouse between the power unit manufacturers and regulators, with the FIA placing ever stricter constraints on oil consumption and how that oil is handled, and the powertrain engineers finding ways of circumventing them.

Of course, none of the engine manufacturers will admit to any form of oil burning, but from the constant reactions of the FIA it is clear this has been an active area of development.

This begs the question, what is to be gained from introducing oil to the combustion process, and what are the most likely ways it is achieved?

Advantages There are several potential benefits to be had from introducing oil into the combustion chamber. Normally – and particularly in highly boosted engines – oil contamination of the combustion chamber is not desirable, as it can create an unstable burn and induce damaging

Concerns around the use of oil to boost combustion performance had been present almost from the beginning of the hybrid era Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 31

Lawrence Butcher

F1 2020 | OIL CONSUMPTION detonation. But in the case of Formula 1, where the engines are effectively energy limited via fuel flow, ingesting oil, provided it is done in a controlled manner and, most importantly, the oil is formulated in such a way that it enhances combustion, can bring performance gains.

As Andy Cowell, who heads up Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains and oversees Formula 1 engine development, notes: ‘In a naturally-aspirated engine – so from the 2013 era – with no fuel flow limit, you didn’t want oil in the combustion chamber because it doesn’t burn as well as the free gasoline you had available.

‘With these engines, and a fixed amount of gasoline, having a baggy [oil control] ring is good for friction and not bad for combustion performance.’

There are potential mechanisms by which oil can aid combustion. One is by simply increasing the calorific value of the mixture entering the combustion chamber.

While this is a feasible motive, it is likely that any power increase from burning oil is also linked to the introduction of additives to the combustion chamber, via the oil, that are not permitted in the fuel.

Regulations surrounding the chemical composition of fuel are tight, with test samples taken at regular intervals through a season to ensure compliance.

Oil is less tightly regulated, and there is scope for its make up to be tailored for purposes other than simply lubrication.

This statement comes with the caveat that any such additions must be justifiable in terms of being able to prevent damage if oil is ingested, rather than to blatantly increase power. (As an aside, in drag racing lore, there are stories of racers in the ’70s adding a small amount of nitromethane to engine oil, then routing the crankcase breathers into the inlet.

This would fall under the ‘blatant’ heading in Formula 1, but shows there are few totally original ideas in motorsport).

Knock control Honda’s 2019 RA619H power unit, as fitted in the Red Bull RB15. Red Bull has been one of the most vocal critics of oil burning, suggesting it is not something Honda has been able to fully exploit

Having a baggy [oil control] ring is good for friction and not bad for combustion performance 32 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

For example, what if additives could be introduced via the oil to help prevent the undesirable situation known as knock?

The current engines run exceptionally lean, with air / fuel ratios likely above 20:1, and compression ratios around 18:1. To achieve such extreme running conditions reliably, mixture control is absolutely critical, not least in terms of the air / fuel mixture’s distribution within the combustion chamber.

As Cowell puts it; ‘You are looking for a fast, controlled burn. Fast and uncontrolled can damage engines [otherwise known as knock].’

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F1 2020 | OIL CONSUMPTION

F1 Technical/www.Italiazakka.co.jp

Above: Piston crown detail of the Ferrari part, showing the attention to detail in crown geometry

Below: Note the use of three piston rings, and how abruptly the deposits around the top of the piston stop at the top ring, indicating how effective the ring seal is

F1 Technical/www.Italiazakka.co.jp

A piston and con rod assembly allegedly from a 2014-spec Ferrari, which bears many similarities to the units used in Porsche’s 919 LMP1 car

In the context of harnessing oil, engine designers face something of a dilemma To achieve this fast, controlled burn, considerable effort is dedicated to ensuring that the mixture is precisely distributed across the combustion chamber at the point of firing. This requires a deep understanding and mastery of a host of factors including, but not limited to: injection timing (there are multiple injection events during each firing stroke); the size and distribution of fuel droplets fired from the injector nozzle; inlet air tumble; swirl; pressure and temperature, as well as cylinder wall and piston crown temperature.

34 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

The aim is to run the mixture very lean, and then ignite all of it as close to simultaneously as possible, hence the use of systems such as Mahle’s Turbulent Jet Ignition (MJI or TJI), and other prechamber combustion methods.

Much has been talked about Mahle’s system, but it is not the only means of achieving what has been trademarked as Jet Ignition. For example, Porsche’s 919 LMP1 hybrid used a pre-chamber ignition system, but the injector was external to the chamber and fuel was drawn in passively, rather than having both the

injector and spark plug located in the pre-chamber. Of course, there is more to it than simply having a clever injection system, and piston crown and combustion chamber geometry, among a myriad of other factors, also affect the burn.

Running to the limit of stable combustion is a tricky balance to strike on every firing event in the engine, particularly one running at 11,500rpm. It is easy to see why the introduction of an additive to push the knock limit and improve combustion stability would be attractive as it would improve the reliable power output.

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F1 2020 | OIL CONSUMPTION

Detail of the commercially available version of Mahle’s Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI)

One final note on the benefit of adding oil to the combustion chamber, particularly past the piston ring, is that it could have a cooling effect, or at least be used to help stabilise temperatures in the chamber, avoiding the generation of hot spots from which pre-combustion can propagate, again helping achieve the goal of consistent, stable combustion.

Chamber of secrets There are two routes oil can take to enter the combustion chamber, either through the inlet port or up past the

Adding oil to the combustion chamber could have a cooling effect 36 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

piston from the crankcase. It was the former path that the FIA dedicated most of its initial efforts to closing down.

Up until 2018, the rules required all excess crankcase gasses be fed back into the combustion chamber, in much the same way as on any modern production car. The gas mix that builds up in the crankcase consists of a mix of oil mist and any unburnt fuel that may make its way past the piston rings. As such, if a team wanted to feed a volume of oil back into the combustion chamber, there was a ready-made route.

Some form of control valving would allow the crankcase vapour, rich in oil, to be introduced at the most opportune moments. For example, during periods of peak load, the mixture could be enriched with oil, without any being wasted during times when it is not needed. This approach would work both

if the oil was being used purely for its calorific value and also as a fuel additive.

Of course, none of the F1 teams admitted doing this ‘blatantly’ for performance gain, but in mid-2017, the FIA announced there would be a ban on any active valves linking the crankcase and the inlet, a clear indication that such practices were occurring.

Vapour trail From 2018 onwards, all crankcase vapour had to be vented to the atmosphere, via a pipe exiting behind the rear axle. The regulations stated: ‘All power unit breather fluids may only vent to atmosphere and must pass through an orifice which is positioned rearward of the rear axle centre line and less than 400mm above the reference plane and less than 100mm from the car centre plane. No breather fluids may re-enter the power unit.’

Detail of Mahle’s injector and spark plug set up for its TJI

But this is racing. Just because the easy route to the cylinders had been shut down didn’t mean manufacturers stopped trying to replicate the gains they had clearly found. Beyond feeding the oil / gas mixture from the crankcase into the

inlet, there have been suggestions – as yet unconfirmed – that more creative ways were used to get oil into the combustion chamber. The main two being leaking oil past the seals on the compressor stage of the turbocharger and a controlled leak

into the intercooler (which Ferrari were accused of ). Both of these approaches are definitely feasible, but far harder to control than a valve between crankcase and inlet.

With the tightening of regulations in 2018, power unit manufacturers are Racecar Engineering • F1 2020 season preview 37

F1 2020 | OIL CONSUMPTION

Getting every last bit of oil vapour out of the air side is a challenge left with only one viable route to get oil into the combustion chamber, past the piston rings. ‘A key area of oil burning in high performance engines is past the ring pack of the piston. We all aim for the least amount of friction between the piston and the liner. That is why we run baggy rings,’ explains Cowell.

However, as noted, the benefits of running a loose ring pack in the current engines is not limited to friction reduction.

Lords of the rings It has been reported that engine manufacturers moved back to a threering piston design (rather than two ring) with the arrival of the hybrid engines.

The use of three rings relates to the much higher cylinder pressures – in excess of 35bar – experienced with these engines.

However from a friction perspective, this is far from ideal. It is noteworthy that Honda, and possibly others, experimented with single-ring pistons in the early 2000s. In Honda’s case, the single ring saw a 10kW increase in power due to lower friction, but the attendant oil consumption of around 30km/l was unacceptable for race use, so it was only used in qualifying-spec engines

Mercedes has dedicated much effort to reducing oil loss in its power units, seen here fitted in the RP19

38 F1 2020 season preview • Racecar Engineering

in 2002. In 2003, the swapping of parts between qualifying and race engines was banned, bringing an end to the practice.

The detail engineering that goes into the ring pack of a Formula 1 engine is phenomenal. The shape, material, surface finish and coating of each ring and corresponding ring groove will be subject to many iterations, all geared towards optimising the interface between ring and cylinder liner.

Taking just the piston ring material, high alloy steel is one of the more likely choices for rings, but this is far from a given, and in the V8 engine era engine manufacturers tried a host of different material combinations. Honda, for example, developed a titanium ring, with a tungsten carbide coating and a DLC-coated expander ring (the pistons featured a separate expander to push the ring against the cylinder wall, an approach that is now common practice).

In the context of harnessing oil in the combustion chamber, engine designers face something of a dilemma.

They need the piston ring to be a oneway valve, allowing an amount of oil past on the inlet stroke, yet containing the exceptionally high combustion pressures on firing. Here, Cowell makes the following observation regarding changes to the 2020 Mercedes engine to account for lower oil consumption limits: ‘It is not so much a combustion chamber change as a ring pack design change. Some of that is ring tension, a lot of which is the fine detail of the way the ring is energised

and the edge detail to make sure they are sitting the right way as they run.

‘There is a huge amount of expertise at the ring suppliers that everyone can reach for. That, married with the top detail of the piston, typically determines the oil consumption of the engine.

‘Then there is a little bit involved with oil itself and how it interacts with the ring pack.’

Suffice to say, controlling oil ingress to the cylinder using the piston rings to bring benefits during specific running conditions is far from straightforward, and certainly far more complex than simply engineering one for the best sealing and minimum friction.

However, with the 2020 rules, even the siphoning of oil past the rings may be history as the new limit on oil consumption is so tight there simply isn’t the oil to spare.

Challenges ahead As Cowell highlights, all race engines use some oil, and not just that consumed by the engine. ‘There are other areas of the engine that can affect oil consumption, for example any leaks into the floor of the car. Racing engines tend not to be completely dry at the end of a race.’

He points out that even the 2018 cut to 0.6l/100km forced a re-think on oil recovery within the power units. ‘Last year we had to be careful, and this year even more so. Now it is getting to the point where a racing engine could lose 300ml of oil from external leaks, a leak from a pump that is running across the floor for example.

I know we should have lovely, dusty, dry engines, but occasionally there are leaks.’

Separating oil from the crankcase breathers has also come in for review, with scavenging back every drop now a necessity. ‘By regulation, we have to send [the crankcase gasses] overboard. That is the gas that has come past the ring pack from the top of the piston, into the crankcase and therefore gets mixed with all of the oil at the bottom of the crankcase, and then further in the scavenge pumps.

‘We need to separate out the oil, either in a swirl tank or with a centrifuge.

We use a centrifuge, which we think is a very efficient way of separating the oil and air, but getting every last bit of oil vapour out of the air side of that is a challenge, so there is a risk that you do just throw it overboard.’

So in 2020, simply ensuring there is enough oil to keep the engines alive is now a challenge in itself, but will any manufacturer still try to find a legal way of burning it? If there is a performance gain to be had, you can be sure they’ll give it a go.

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