Fuelling performance in 2007

Philippe Girard, responsible for Elf’s F1 programme, explains how the petrol company, partner of the ING Renault F1 Team, can help find power and reliability during the 2007 Formula One World Championship.

The design of the 2007 engines has been frozen since 15th December 2006, the deadline for the teams to supply the FIA with their blocks for the following season. On 1st March they have to submit an engine complying with this specification for final homologation. Given the rev limit of 19 000 rpm the engineers’ aim was to optimise the V8s rather than giving them an in-depth revision. However, despite the technology freeze the power race is not necessarily over.

“Over the past few months the engineers from all the teams have been working on the technical modifications submitted to the FIA for the homologation of the V8s. During the season they’ll work on the V8’s engine mapping as well as the performance of the accessories: improving the efficiency of the oil and water pumps for example would be a way of freeing up a little power. Finally, the fuel companies will also have a role to play in 2007

“First of all by supplying fuel that suits the new engine characteristics. In 2006, the working temperatures of the Renault R26 were very high, which triggered the evaporation of the light constituents of the fuel and thus had an impact on the combustion quality. We found an answer to the problem so that the mixture was able to burn at speeds up to 20,000 rpm without difficulty. It’ll be the same in 2007. As the revs will be limited to 19,000 we can concentrate on power delivery at low and mid-range revs. We can actually make quite a big contribution in this area.”

“By limiting friction you reduce energy loss. To begin with we’ll use our 2006 base to guarantee reliability. After that we’ll start development and we’re hoping to have two evolutions homologated during the year. Each one could increase power output by around 3 to 4 bhp".