Mercedes AMG Petronas Reveal their new 2016 car: #W07
Stable regulations challenge engineers to dig deep and find “mini revolutions” for the F1 W07 Hybrid chassis and PU106C Hybrid Power Unit
- Tyres, safety and sound all feature on short list of rule changes for the coming season
- Ironing out errors during a record-length season the core focus for Mercedes-Benz
- PETRONAS fuel and lubricants central to progress in both performance and reliability
- Paddy Lowe: “Our objective is excellence in all areas”
- Andy Cowell: “These Power Units are incredible feats of engineering”
2016 Technical Briefing with Paddy Lowe –
Executive Director (Technical), MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
Mercedes has set the standard so far in the hybrid era. Where has the focus been over the winter to maintain that level of performance?
AC: It’s been more of the same. To get the performance out of this new generation of Power Units, you need to chase efficiency. That’s both combustion efficiency and efficiency in the various energy transition steps – i.e. MGU-H, MGU-K, turbocharger, power electronics and batteries. We’re constantly working on every single piece of the puzzle to improve performance at the crankshaft, while also seeking to ensure we don’t suffer any of the problems we had last year with reliability. So, it’s about getting down to the root cause of issues and making sure that everything is robust across our whole process, as much as extracting performance.
The technology in these Power Units is a story which has perhaps not been told as well as it could have been so far. Just how impressive are they?
AC: These Power Units really are incredible feats of engineering. We’re now running at more than 47% thermal efficiency and producing historic highs of power – and all with an ICE restricted to consuming fuel at a rate of just 100kg/hr. The old-fashioned, naturally aspirated engines peaked at 29% thermal efficiency during the V8 era – while the last time we saw these levels of power in Formula One was back in 2005, with a V10 that guzzled fuel at a whopping 194kg/hr. To halve the fuel flow rate for the same amount of power is quite something.
There are 32 tokens available to spend across the winter and during in-season development. What areas have been the focus of your development?
AC: 32 tokens is quite a lot, so we haven’t had to restrict any of our development activity to a specific area. Anything which could yield a decent efficiency improvement – and therefore a decent performance improvement – has been explored and we’re now working to make sure our package is sufficiently durable in time for Melbourne.
An extra two races on the calendar means an increased Power Unit allowance for the season ahead. How will this affect your approach to the season?
AC: On the face of it, an increased allocation of Power Units would seem to give manufacturers an advantage, in that each unit is required to complete fewer races, thereby putting less pressure on the life cycle of different components. But the reality is that our durability targets have remained the same. Our target is to make sure that each Power Unit can last for at least five races, meaning that theoretically we only need to use four per driver, across the season. We believe this gives us a good opportunity to react if we have a reliability problem – or potentially to use the extra units to our advantage for a performance enhancement at key races.
With in-season development for 2015 only confirmed late in the day, HPP were able to pull forward 2016 development work into the experimental engine introduced in Monza. How beneficial has that proven to be for all the teams running the Mercedes-Benz Power Unit in 2016?
AC: The upgrade that we introduced in Monza last year took a huge amount of effort from the factory at Brixworth and we only had enough resource to supply the works team with the latest spec at that time. However, that is now paying off for every team with Mercedes power, as we’ve managed to build on that development work through the autumn and winter period. Now, all our customers are getting an improved package that is exactly the same specification as the works team. All eight Mercedes powered cars will have exactly the same hardware and performance potential come Melbourne – which is a good step for everyone.
Fuel and lubricants were central to that development step. But how central will the role of PETRONAS be in finding yet more performance from the Power Unit?
AC: The rate of development from the Power Unit over the past two years has been very impressive. Many people thought that there was not much opportunity to move things forward – but that has not been the case. There have been significant new advances – and fuel and lubricants have been one of the main focus areas. Our 2015 mid-season update incorporated a sizeable step in fuel performance from PETRONAS. Then, later on in the year, we also introduced a new lubricant. We’ve made further progress in the way we’ve designed the combustion system and also enhanced the properties of the lubricants to reduce friction in the engine. PETRONAS are a key partner for us. They’re not just branding on the car – but a deep-rooted technology partnership. Anybody who designs engines knows that good fuel and lubricants are key to performance – and we’re very fortunate to have such a close and productive working relationship with PETRONAS.
Noise has been a hot topic since the new Power Unit formula was introduced in 2014. What’s changing in 2016 to pump up the volume and will this have any effect on performance?
AC: We’ve been conscious since the start of the Hybrid era in 2014 that the volume has diminished for those up in the grandstands as well as those watching at home. This is down to both the nature of a turbocharged engine and the recycling of waste energy in the exhaust system. The FIA therefore undertook an interesting and thorough investigation to analyse noise in the tailpipe and investigate what could be done to increase noise without impacting performance or efficiency. What they spotted is that the waste gate fed into the tailpipe. So, when the waste gate is not open, it’s a dead end. It then becomes a side branch resonator – or effectively a silencer – on the tailpipe. That design has now been removed, so we are left with a nice clean pipe without any silencing points, which should improve the noise of the Power Unit.
2016 sees a new face on the Mercedes-Benz Formula One customer roster – Manor Racing. How has that relationship been developing so far?
AC: Manor Racing is a new customer team for us this year. They’re a small team but a very efficient one, with a very pragmatic approach. We have a very detailed integration manual with instructions on how to fit the Power Unit, how best to use it and likewise what’s not recommended, so we’ve been working closely with them to ensure a seamless integration. They’ve been great to work with and we’re looking forward to seeing their progress through winter testing and into the season.
PETRONAS – Breaking Through Limits
PETRONAS began the race for the winning formula 20 years ago and, since the beginning of its Formula One partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team in 2010, has tested over 200 PETRONAS Primax fuel candidates in addition to 100 PETRONAS Syntium engine oil and PETRONAS Tutela functional fluids.
Close collaboration from the very beginning the Hybrid Formula One development process has proven invaluable, as PETRONAS played a crucial role in powering the team to consecutive World Championship titles in 2014 and 2015. And the push for progress doesn’t end there. The F1 W07 Hybrid will also benefit from the latest in fuel and lubricant technology:
- Performance: New PETRONAS Syntium engine oil with CoolTech for the 2016 season has been reformulated to better fight excessive engine heat – building upon learnings from two previous incarnations of Syntium engine oil introduced at the 2015 Australian and Russian Grands Prix
- Efficiency: Continued Use of the PETRONAS Primax fuel with Advanced Energy Formula for superior fuel economy and acceleration, which helped fast track the introduction of a development Power Unit at the 2015 Italian Grand Prix – several months ahead of schedule.
- Reliability: Continued use of the PETRONAS Tutela Energy Recovery System (ERS) cooling fluid introduced at 2015 Canadian Grand Prix – formulated using learnings from development of PETRONAS Syntium with CoolTech engine oil – to fight the build-up of heat in the ERS.
With the current generation of 1.6 litre, turbocharged, direct injection internal combustion engines sharing many characteristics with contemporary road cars, learnings from the Hybrid Formula One era introduced in 2014 have allowed PETRONAS to develop PETRONAS Primax 95 and PETRONAS Primax 97 fuels with Advanced Energy Formula.
Introduced in Malaysia during 2014 and 2015 respectively, these cutting edge fuels were followed by the launch of PETRONAS Syntium engine oil with CoolTech in Asia and Europe during 2015, with Syntium 7000 becoming the factory fill for a growing range of Mercedes-AMG turbocharged direct injection road-cars.
Mercedes-Benz F1 W07 Hybrid Technical Specification
Chassis | ||
Monocoque: | Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb composite structure | |
Bodywork: | Carbon fibre composite including engine cover, sidepods, floor, nose, front wing and rear wing | |
Cockpit: | Removable driver’s seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, Sabelt six-point driver safety harness, HANS system | |
Safety Structures: | Cockpit survival cell incorporating impact resistant construction and penetration panels, front impact structure, prescribed side impact structures, integrated rear impact structure, front and rear roll structures | |
Front Suspension: | Carbon fibre wishbone and pushrod activated torsion springs and rockers | |
Rear Suspension: | Carbon fibre wishbone and pullrod activated torsion springs and rockers | |
Wheels: | Advanti forged magnesium | |
Tyres: | Pirelli | |
Brake System: | Carbon / carbon discs and pads with rear brake-by-wire | |
Brake Calipers: | Brembo | |
Steering: | Power assisted rack and pinion | |
Steering Wheel: | Carbon-fibre construction | |
Electronics: | FIA standard ECU and FIA homologated electronic and electrical system | |
Instrumentation: | McLaren Electronic Systems (MES) | |
Fuel System: | ATL Kevlar-reinforced rubber bladder | |
Lubricants & Fluids: | PETRONAS Tutela | |
Transmission | ||
Gearbox: | Eight-speed forward, one reverse unit with carbon fibre maincase | |
Gear Selection: | Sequential, semi-automatic, hydraulic activation | |
Clutch: | Carbon plate | |
Dimensions | ||
Overall Length: | 5000mm | |
Overall Width: | 1800mm | |
Overall Height: | 950mm | |
Overall Weight: | 702kg |
Power Unit Specification | ||
Type: | Mercedes-Benz PU106C Hybrid | |
Minimum Weight: | 145 kg | |
Power Unit Perimeter: | Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K) Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H) Turbocharger (TC) Energy Store (ES) Control Electronics (CE) |
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Power Unit Allocation: | Four Power Units per driver per season (increased to five if calendar exceeds 20 races) |
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Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) | ||
Capacity: | 1.6 litres | |
Cylinders: | Six | |
Bank Angle: | 90 | |
No of Valves: | 24 | |
Max rpm ICE: | 15,000 rpm | |
Max Fuel Flow Rate: | 100 kg/hour (above 10,500 rpm) | |
Fuel Injection: | High-pressure direct injection (max 500 bar, one injector/cylinder) | |
Pressure Charging: | Single-stage compressor and exhaust turbine on a common shaft | |
Max rpm Exhaust Turbine: | 125,000 rpm | |
Energy Recovery System (ERS) | ||
Architecture: | Integrated Hybrid energy recovery via electrical Motor Generator Units | |
Energy Store: | Lithium-Ion battery solution of 20 kg regulation weight | |
Max energy storage/lap: | 4 MJ | |
Max rpm MGU-K: | 50,000 rpm | |
Max power MGU-K: | 120 kW (161 hp) | |
Max energy recovery/lap MGU-K: | 2 MJ | |
Max energy deployment/lap MGU-K: | 4 MJ (33.3 s at full power) | |
Max rpm MGU-H: | 125,000 rpm | |
Max power MGU-H: | Unlimited | |
Max energy recovery/lap MGU-H: | Unlimited | |
Max energy deployment/lap MGU-H: | Unlimited | |
Fuel & Lubricants | ||
Fuel: | PETRONAS Primax | |
Lubricants: | PETRONAS Syntium |