A Look At A Formula One Car
Date: Aug 4th, 2007 7:20:54 am - Subscribe
Mood: fast and furious
We all know that the fastest cars on the planet are found on the tracks of Formula One racing. Surely the engines of these cars are products of precision engineering. So let’s take a look at a Formula One car being used this season. And what car would be more interesting to look at than the ones used by McLaren Mercedes. After all, the team is the leader in the constructors’ championship standings and the team’s drivers are first and second currently in the drivers’ championship standings.
The team currently fields the MP4-22. The MP4 stands for McLaren " Project 4. The said car was unveiled in testing at the Circuit de Valencia in Spain on the 15th of January. According to the team’s site here are the engine specs for the MP4-22:
Type: Mercedes-Benz FO 108T
No. of cylinders: 8
Fuel: Mobil 1 Unleaded
Lubricants: Mobil 1 products
Engine: 95kg
Bet you were expecting for some more information about turbocharging and such but of course, these data are what McLaren feels is safe to share with the rest of the world. And if you really are looking for turbocharged engines in Formula One, you won’t find one because the FIA has banned the use of that technology. The engines being used by Formula One teams today are four-stroke V8, naturally-aspirated reciprocating engines.
I bet someone out there is thinking that Formula One engines have at least a bigger engine than that, something with twelve cylinders or so. But in spite of that, these engines are designed to produce so much power that propels them to astounding speeds.
As for the tranny of the MP4-22, here’s what the team’s site has to share:
Gearbox Speeds: Seven forward and one reverse
Semi-auto: Yes
Driveshafts: McLaren
Clutch: Hand-operated
The MP4-22 is a result of long-term planning. How long-term is this long-term? Here’s what the team has to say about that: “Its development period commenced before its predecessor the MP4-21 had even turned a wheel. Initial sketches of aerodynamic concepts and discussions over the design of the clutch and gearbox took place back in December 2005. During the design process, each of the car's 11,000 components were reviewed in meticulous detail in the quest for improved performance, reliability and efficiency.”
The time spent in the development of the MP4-22 allowed their two drivers to lead all drivers after ten races this season. The next race will be this Sunday and if you want to see the MP4-22 in action, I suggest you watch it on live TV. 
