F1 RACING JANUARY 2020 47as tight as possible, andthe ducts can be as small
as possible, forthe benefitof the aerodynamics- which is king,given theevolution of the
regulations of thepast few seasons.
“It’s rare that wesay ‘There’ssomethingwe’d
like to do but we can’t fit that in this year’s car’.
Occasionally it happens butit’s rare. One in ten
of those ideas haveto wait. And generally those
ideas need quite a long time to develop – ifyou’re
tearing thesystem up that much it willtypi cally
take untilnext season to make sure thatthe
idea will really make the carquick.Engineers’
first calculationsnever quite match upwith the
reality of wha t you actually seeon the dyno oron
track. Our heads work with avariable scale –we
ignore the inconvenience of mass and volume
sometimes,when we have thesewild dreams...”
While Mercedes’ long-term commitment to F1- along withthat of its rivals– remains in doubt
beyond 2021 (see Insider), there’s little evidence
“WE GET A LOT OF PAIN WHEN
LEWIS COMES ON THE RADIO
AND SAYS ‘I NEED MORE POWER’.
YOU’VE GOT IT ALL, MATE!”
of activityat Brixworth scaling back. Quitethe
opposite: the recently built Hybrid Technology
Centre includes a four-wheel drivedyno fo r
future projects includingthe Mercedes-AMG
One, a limited-edition1000bhp monster with an
electrifiedfront axle. Productionisdue to begin
this year,and theheadcount at Brixworth will
expandas t he design and engineering effort shifts
towards manufacture of the powertrain.
F1’s forthcoming budget capwill also have an
effect, since it mandates reduceddyno activity
and ERSrunning.But Cowell cautiously suggests
that mighthavea beneficial effect on development
rather than curtailing it.
“Talking tothe guys who haveexperiencedthis
sort of regulation on the windtunnel, they’ve quite
enjoyed the journey,”hesa ys. “Youhave to think
more before you start, make sure it’sgood quality.
That’s healthy,good productivity stuff.
“So I don’t think itwill slow down our rate of
development. It may improve because thequality
of the tests we do will bebetter. The accuracyof
thedata will have finer resolution. Our upfront
computer-aided engineering will have to be
stronger such that it is closer to reality. It’sa
changeweneedtomakeoverthenext13months.”
Although pushing the boundaries of engine
developmentwithin stable regulationsis “bloody
hard”, Cowell reckons Brixworthcan carry on
unlocking performance and efficiency. After all,
we now takethe 50%thermalefficiency of F1
enginesfor grante d. Ten years agoit was viewed
as unobtainable and 40% was thought to be
overly optimistic. Mercedesbega n 2014 with44%.
While these figuresdon’t necessarily trigger
visceralexcitement among non-engineers, they
suggest anything is possible given time,ingenuity,
investment,and the right working practices.
“Engineeringis a creative business,” adds
Cowell. “To innovate and be apioneer you have
to be braveand bold and sit in a sandpit wearing
a Hawaiian shirt with fluffy creativity all around
you. But to prove somethingis good forracing,to
do the analysis when there’sa failure, youneed
to be process-orientedand robotic. Don’t tell me
what youfeel – whatdoes the data say? Don’t give
me an adjective, give me numbers.
“Let’s not assume there are boundaries to what
we can do in terms of combustion speed, friction
reduction,managingthe energy flow s throughthe
power unit. Let’s assume there are no boundaries
and just keep on innovating.
“In some industries it’s allabout improving
the cost. We’vegot the purity of improvingthe
science. It’sa ni ce reward...”