xpb Williams with Renault engines?
21.06.2010
I n its foundation, the Cosworth engine is four years old old. When it came on the market in 2006, the eight-cylinder was a sensation. The Cosworth V8 was the first Formula 1 engine to break the 20,000 rpm barrier. Even before Mercedes, Renault or Ferrari. But then the engine builders from Northampton ran out of money. The end of 2006 was locked.
Cosworth had problems restarting
The FIA has revived Cosworth. In order to become more independent from the automobile works, the world association Cosworth helped back into Formula 1. Ten engineers brought the Cosworth V8 from 2006 up to date over the winter. That meant: Reduction of the speed from 20,000 to 18,000 rpm, Reduction of gasoline consumption, doubling of service life to over 2,000 kilometers per engine. With a leasing fee of 5.5 million euros per team, the Cosworth engine is the cheapest engine in the field. The units from Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault cost nine million euros per season.
The restart began with difficulties. Behind the scenes, the Cosworth-Kientel reported a sharp drop in performance beyond the 1,500 kilometer mark, high fuel consumption and a performance drop at 14,000 rpm, which was a handicap, especially in the early stages of a Grand Prix. With full tanks and high weight, the area is driven more often than in a qualifying lap and minimal fueling.
Will Williams switch to Renault engines?
The French car magazine 'Auto Hebdo' wants to know that Cosworth's most important customer, Williams, is planning to jump to Renault because of disappointing results Cosworth manager Mark Gallagher denies that: 'We have a three-year contract with Williams and no indications that Williams wants to terminate this contractual relationship.' On the contrary: Cosworth would like to have a fifth customer in 2011 alongside Williams, Lotus, VirginF1 and Hispania. Gallagher said: 'With one exception, all applicants for 13th place in the field asked us. We have the capacity to supply five teams with engines.'
The exception among the applicants is ART. It is believed that Nicolas Todt's racing team is toying with Ferrari engines. According to the current status, however, an exception would be required. According to the request of the FIA, manufacturers should supply a maximum of three teams. In addition to itself, Ferrari already has three customers: ToroRosso and Sauber.
Cosworth is takingOpinion on auto-motor-und-sport.de
Mark Gallagher commented on the criticism of his engine in a conversation with auto-motor-und-sport.de. First of all, he refers to the stability factor: 'So far, we have unwound 30,000 kilometers with our four customers and have not had to complain about a single damage. Our teams had to stop the engine twice because the engines were running too hot due to the loss of cooling water.' Gallagher admits the problem of drivability in the range of 14,000 rpm. 'Barrichello helped us a lot. His feedback was incredibly important to us. With his experience, he knows many engines and is good at making comparisons. In his opinion, we are in the range of last year's Mercedes engine in terms of top performance. But he has us warned early on that there is a power hole in the middle speed range, which is very annoying. We have now remedied this by reprogramming the maps. And our customers have also helped to solve the problem with a different gear ratio. '
The loss of performance beyond the 1,500 kilometer mark is also under control, according to Gallagher. Allegedly, older Cosworth engines lost up to 50 hp. 'It is true that the engine performance was impaired above 1,500 kilometers. We have found the cause, brought a proposed solution to the FIA and now we have given permission to change the relevant component.' It is assumed that it is about the piston rings.
Gasoline consumption has improved
According to Gallagher, Cosworth has also improved significantly in terms of gasoline consumption. 'You will see that at the next race in Valencia, a track that has a strong impact on fuel consumption.' Gallagher praises its partners: 'BP and Castrol have done a good job with developments in the gasoline and oil sectors.' Williams technology guru Patrick Head protects Cosworth when it comes to gasoline consumption: 'Over the winter, Cosworth mainly worked on tuning the engine back from 2006 to 18,000 rpm. There wasn't that much time left to worry about fuel consumption. Mercedes 'Because of the halt in development, Renault Ferrari was able to deal much more intensively with the issue of consumption.'
According to Gallagher, Cosworth is right on schedule: 'After a three year break, we lacked track experience. We are making up for that step by step. When I look at the top speeds, I have to say that we are doing well of the music. '
