The Return of Formula One
It’s hard to believe that sixty-five years have passed since the first Formula One season back in 1950. Those were the days of its infancy, back when privateers were welcome on the racetrack but seldom succeeded. For those of you who never looked into the history of the sport or simply don’t care, the 1950 season consisted of seven normal races and six Grand Prix races held in Europe.
Each car was fitted with a small 1.4 liter or 4.5 liter engine. It wasn’t until 1952 that the first regulations were enforced. The season ended with twenty car makes in competition and one death, which occurred during a practice run at the Masaryk Circuit in Czechoslovakia. Alfa Romeo driver, Giuseppe “Nino” Farina, won the inaugural title, overshadowing Juan Manuel Fangio, another skilled driver who would go on to win in the championship in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 with five different manufacturers.
Since then, a lot has changed. Car components are heavily regulated to keep the drivers safe and the cars evenly matched. They operate using a 1.6 liter turbocharged V6 engine, which runs in sync with a single exhaust pipe and an Energy Recovery System (ERS) to keep the environmentalists happy. With a rev limit of 15,000 rpm and fuel limit of 100 kilograms per hour, the standard F1 engine produces around 600 bhp. However, that’s not the car’s only source of power.
Two motor generator units (MGU) convert mechanical and heat energy into electrical energy and vice versa. The first unit, the MGU –K, converts kinetic energy under braking into electricity, which is pumped into the device and pushed into the crankshaft, helping to propel the car. The second unit, the MGU-H, is connected to the turbocharger and converts heat energy from exhaust gasses into electrical energy, which can be used to power the device or stored for later use. Though power helps, it’s not the only thing that helps win races. That’s often left in the hands of the drivers.
In case you can’t remember, last season (or have chosen to forget) it was a big one for Mercedes, who won their first World Constructors’ Championship after taking a 1-2 finish in Russia. Their driver, Lewis Hamilton, won his second World Drivers’ Championship after a season-long battle with teammate, Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Racing came in second place, after losing Sebastian Vettel to retirement and having Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix. Williams came in third, having started the season strong, but unable to pull ahead. Ferrari finished fourth, McLaren took fifth, Force India sixth, Scuderia Toro Rosso seventh, Jean-Eric Vergne eighth, Marussia ninth, Sauber tenth, and Caterham eleventh. It was a memorable season with plenty of excitement, and with the 2015 preseason tests ending today, there’s plenty more on the horizon.
Today was a big day for Formula One fans. It marked the end of the preseason races and the beginning of the 2015 season, which will commence on March 14th with the Australian Grand Prix. If today’s test times are any indication, this season should be interesting. Valtteri Bottas finished with the fastest lap time of 1 minute and 23.063 seconds, followed by Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1 minute and 23.469 seconds.
Jenson Button finished the day with only thirty laps due to a sensor issue that required his crew to remove the Honda power unit. Pastor Maldonado also had a bad day with only thirty-six recorded laps and was the first crash on the four-day test. Lotus was unable to fix his car in time to get him back out on the track. Daniel Ricciardo suffered an ERS problem but still managed to get seventy-two laps in.
Max Verstappen rolled to a stop at turn 12 due to engine troubles, but got back out for the final ten minutes and ended as the fourth fastest. It was a thrilling four days to say the least, and with only two weeks left until the first race of the season, that leaves little time to work out all the problems. With fans and journalists alike already claiming victory for Mercedes, we’ll have to wait and see if Williams, Ferrari, and their drivers are up to the task of defeating last year’s victor.
by: Josh Pedersen
