Formula 1 Engine from Mercedes with over 50 Percent Efficiency

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Since Formula 1’s switch from 2.4-litre V8 naturally aspirated engines to 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines for the 2014 season, engine manufacturers have significantly increased efficiency. Mercedes has now announced that more than 50 percent efficiency had been achieved in dynamometer testing on the Mercedes-Benz F1 W08 EQ Power + racing car’s engine.

Based in Brixworth, Great Britain, Daimler’s Formula 1 engine developer and subsidiary, Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, estimates that 44 percent efficiency was achieved for its first engine from 2014 when fundamentally new technical regulations were introduced. Ferrari had recently confirmed the use of lean-burn processes in Formula 1 at the 2016 Vienna Motor Symposium and cited a thermal efficiency of up to 45 percent for Formula 1 engines.

Increased overall efficiency

In order to further increase overall efficiency, in particular, the company cites advances in electrical energy conversion as playing a key role, besides developments in combustion processes and reduction in friction. In addition to braking energy recuperation, an electrically assisted turbocharger is used to recover exhaust gas energy. 

The achievable rated power of the powertrain could thereby be increased by 80 kW compared to 2014. There is no official data on overall engine performance; however, experts estimate that current Formula 1 engines can deliver more than 735 kW, thereby generating more power than the 3.0-litre V10 naturally aspirated engines last used in the 2005 season.