The Virgin team have announced the introduction of a technical partnership with McLaren, which will see the young team which first joined the Formula 1 field in 2010, given access to McLaren facilities including simulators and wind tunnel.
Virgin were the only team in the field to not use wind tunnels to some degree, instead opting to use only CFD (computational fluid dynamics), but the team decided that significant changes were required if they were to acheive the targets they had set themselves.
The team parted ways with designer Nick Wirth, but purchased the Wirth Racing Technologies business to use as an operational base.
The team are expected to continue using Cosworth engines, despite Williams' announcement that they are to move to Renault motors from next year.
A partnership such as this is not unheard of in the sport, with McLaren currently assisting the Force India team, in a move which moved the Silverstone-based squad from perpetual back-markers to regular points contenders in a short space of time.
Whether the same can be acheived with Virgin remains to be seen, but the commitment from both parties is surely positive.
For more on this, visit www.virginracing.com
Attempting To Predict The Results Of Every Race Of The 2011 Formula 1 Season
Showing posts with label Cosworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cosworth. Show all posts
Monday, 4 July 2011
Williams Reunited With Renault
The Williams team confirmed today that from 2012 onwards, they will switch to using Renault engines, as opposed to their current Cosworth powerplants.
This will be considered great news by many nostalgic fans of the team, as the British outfit won several World Championships as Williams Renault, from 1989-1997. This fruitful period included Drivers Championship crowns for Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, who were all present at the Williams HQ when the news was announced.
Team boss Frank Williams warned that this was a statement of future intent from the team who will "not allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past."
This news means that - as it currently stands - Renault will provide the most engines to Formula 1 teams next season (five), whilst Cosworth will now only provide engines to the two smallest teams, Virgin and Hispania.
For more on this, visit www.williamsf1.com
This will be considered great news by many nostalgic fans of the team, as the British outfit won several World Championships as Williams Renault, from 1989-1997. This fruitful period included Drivers Championship crowns for Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, who were all present at the Williams HQ when the news was announced.
Team boss Frank Williams warned that this was a statement of future intent from the team who will "not allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past."
This news means that - as it currently stands - Renault will provide the most engines to Formula 1 teams next season (five), whilst Cosworth will now only provide engines to the two smallest teams, Virgin and Hispania.
For more on this, visit www.williamsf1.com
Monday, 27 June 2011
Why Engine Suppliers Protested 2013 Plans
The FIA announced last week, that due to the arguments posed to them by many - including teams and engine suppliers - that they would not enforce the intended four cylinder turbo-charged engines from the 2013 season.
The new decision is that from 2014, engine sizes will be reduced from the current 2.4L V8 designs, to a 1.6L V6 layout, although the new engines will be turbo-charged as originally planned.
To put it into context, a fairly high spec Ford Fiesta might run a 1.6L, four cylinder engine. Admittedly though, the engine in your Fiesta wouldn't be turbo-charged to 750bhp!
So why were the engine providers against the planned changes?
There are currently four engine providers in Formula 1, all charging a fixed fee for their services.
Ferrari provide the engines to Scuderia Ferrari, Sauber and Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Mercedes provide McLaren, Mercedes GP and Force India.
Renault provide Red Bull Racing, Renault and Team Lotus.
Cosworth provide Williams, Virgin and Hispania.
In a recent vote, only Renault backed the FIA's proposed changes to the four cylinder units.
Many manufacturers use Formula 1 (as well as other motorsports) as an advertising platform on which to present their brand and their cars to the wider World.
Ferrari's road cars run primarily V8, V10 and V12 engine designs, and they therefore felt that a four cylinder design would not accurately reflect what they stood for as a manufacturer.
Mercedes do make some city cars with four cylinder engines. However, their AMG sports range, which is aimed directly at motor racing enthusiasts (including some cars produced in association with McLaren) features primarily V8 engines - although some may be larger.
Cosworth's road car production is currently limited to the Impreza STI CW400. This car features a turbo-charged 2.5L, four cylinder motor, which produces almost 400bhp. Funnily enough, this engine is not too dissimilar to the engines suggested by the FIA, yet Cosworth still chose to object to the plans.
This may, however, have been due in part to the large costs which would no doubt be incurred by changing the designs so dramatically. For the newest engine provider in particular, they may have felt that their money could be better spent developing their current design.
Renault's primary market is the family-friendly car. Even their RenaultSport range rarely features engines larger than 2.0L, and only the rare RenaultSport Clio V6 has more than four cylinders. It is therefore not too surprising that Renault chose to back the FIA's plans and encourage the reduction in engine size.
Many, including Bernie Ecclestone himself, have claimed that they are not too bothered about the actual engine itself, as long as the noise is still there!
The new decision is that from 2014, engine sizes will be reduced from the current 2.4L V8 designs, to a 1.6L V6 layout, although the new engines will be turbo-charged as originally planned.
To put it into context, a fairly high spec Ford Fiesta might run a 1.6L, four cylinder engine. Admittedly though, the engine in your Fiesta wouldn't be turbo-charged to 750bhp!
So why were the engine providers against the planned changes?
There are currently four engine providers in Formula 1, all charging a fixed fee for their services.
Ferrari provide the engines to Scuderia Ferrari, Sauber and Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Mercedes provide McLaren, Mercedes GP and Force India.
Renault provide Red Bull Racing, Renault and Team Lotus.
Cosworth provide Williams, Virgin and Hispania.
In a recent vote, only Renault backed the FIA's proposed changes to the four cylinder units.
Many manufacturers use Formula 1 (as well as other motorsports) as an advertising platform on which to present their brand and their cars to the wider World.
Ferrari's road cars run primarily V8, V10 and V12 engine designs, and they therefore felt that a four cylinder design would not accurately reflect what they stood for as a manufacturer.
Mercedes do make some city cars with four cylinder engines. However, their AMG sports range, which is aimed directly at motor racing enthusiasts (including some cars produced in association with McLaren) features primarily V8 engines - although some may be larger.
Cosworth's road car production is currently limited to the Impreza STI CW400. This car features a turbo-charged 2.5L, four cylinder motor, which produces almost 400bhp. Funnily enough, this engine is not too dissimilar to the engines suggested by the FIA, yet Cosworth still chose to object to the plans.
This may, however, have been due in part to the large costs which would no doubt be incurred by changing the designs so dramatically. For the newest engine provider in particular, they may have felt that their money could be better spent developing their current design.
Renault's primary market is the family-friendly car. Even their RenaultSport range rarely features engines larger than 2.0L, and only the rare RenaultSport Clio V6 has more than four cylinders. It is therefore not too surprising that Renault chose to back the FIA's plans and encourage the reduction in engine size.
Many, including Bernie Ecclestone himself, have claimed that they are not too bothered about the actual engine itself, as long as the noise is still there!
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