How Does F1 Get 1,000 HP From a V6 Engine?

In this week’s email:

• How Do Teams Produce 1,000 HP?: The secret is thermal efficiency

• Aussie GP Chaos: Red flags cause final laps drama

• Audi Acquiring Talent Rapidly: Poaching competitor talent

• Standings: Aston Martin is a point machine

• Meme of the Week: Sorry Carlos

How Do Teams Produce 1,000 HP?

The engines keep getting smaller but HP remains high

Have you ever wondered how Formula 1 cars achieve such high speeds? In short, they have over 1,000 HP propelling them around the track, powered by a 1.6L V6 engine….yes a 1.6L V6.

That’s small, but one thing they excel at is thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency is the ratio of how much energy is used versus the amount wasted. In simpler terms, it's the amount of fuel a car uses compared to the amount wasted in the exhaust. While normal cars have a thermal efficiency between 20-40%, F1 cars achieve an impressive 50%.

Formula 1 cars also have the benefit of two electric engines on board to accompany a turbocharger. When you combine all of these components with a car that weighs just 1,759 pounds you achieve top speeds of 220 mph or more under perfect conditions, like Bottas going 231.5 mph in Mexico.

The history of how engines have changed over time is fascinating.

• Early years (1947-1953): Naturally aspirated engines dominated, with 1.5L supercharged or 4.5L unsupercharged options.

• 2.5-liter era (1954-1960): Engine displacement limited to 2.5L, leading to lighter, more agile chassis designs.

• 1.5-liter era (1961-1965): F1 engines reduced to 1.5L. Switched from front to mid-engined cars.

• 3-liter era (1966-1986): 3L engines introduced, with Cosworth's DFV dominating.

• Turbo and naturally aspirated era (1987-1988): Turbocharged engines peaked, with the BMW M12/13 producing 1,4000+ HP. Limits were put in place.

• 3.5-liter era (1989-1994): F1 returned to naturally aspirated 3.5L engines, featuring advancements in electronics and engine management systems.

• 3-liter V10 era (1995-2005): 3L V10 engines became standard, with high-revving power and iconic sounds.

• 2.4-liter V8 era (2006-2013): Power reduced with 2.4L V8 engines, but reliability improved, and KERS (also called regenerative brakes) was introduced.

• Hybrid era (2014-present): 1.6L V6 turbocharged hybrid power units introduced for efficiency and sustainability.

• 2026 onwards: Internal combustion engine output of 570 HP down from the current 750 HP and increase the electrical energy to 460 HP.

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Aussie GP Chaos

The homeboy gets his first F1 points!

Race weekend started off with Max securing pole position and the two Mercedes right behind him on the starting grid (are they back?!). Checo struggled throughout practice and ended up crashing in Q1, which sent him starting from 20th.

The race was nothing short of absolute mayhem. George Russell managed to get an excellent start and took the lead going into Turn 1. Leclerc wasn’t as fortunate, spinning out on Turn 3 and ending his race early.

Lap 3 Albon slams into the barrier, sending gravel all across the turn, while Nico narrowly avoided the crash. This triggered a safety car. The optimal play for Mercedes was to pit with Russell leading and change to softs. Hamilton voiced his concerns about being left vulnerable for not pitting. Then everything totally changed as an unexpecting red flag came out sending the cars to the pit. This put Russell and Sainz at a huge disadvantage since they were the ones to pit during the safety car. Then, Russell’s car caught fire and his race came to an abrupt end. His day went from good to bad, then worse.

Hamilton was soon overtaken by Max, who increased his lead significantly throughout the race. Just when it seemed the drama was over, K-Mag loses a wheel. Race Control opted for another red flag with only two laps to go. Now I don’t know about you, but nothing gets me more juiced up than seeing a standing start with all the cars bunched together going into a turn.

On the restart, Max successfully defended his position against Hamilton. Then absolute chaos beaks. Sainz clipped Alonso, Sargeant runs into De Vries, Perez went off on Turn 1, Stroll out-braked himself, and the two Alpines crashed into each other. Another red flag comes out. Race Control mulls over multiple options and ultimately chose to restart but in the order they started the last restart with. So Alonso gets his place back. Sainz gets crucified with a penalty of 5-seconds because of the incident with Alonso. 5 seconds usually isn’t the end of the world, but when you have one lap and it’s behind the safety car, you’re dead. No car is going to be over 5 seconds behind you and you’re going to finish last. Sainz goes from 4th to 12th. Formula Bone does a nice job breaking it down.

Australian native Oscar Piastri secured his first career points with a P8 finish. Perez fought back to finish P5. Alonso claimed another podium with P3. Hamilton’s back to his usual form with a P2, and Max took home another win.

Audi Rapidly Acquiring Talent

Audi gearing up for 2026 debut

Recently, Audi Sport shared an update on its preparations for a strategic partnership with Sauber. The team has embarked on a hiring spree, already transferring 200 Audi Sport staff members into Formula 1 roles. As newcomers to the sport, Audi aims to accelerate their learning by poaching talent from future competitors to bridge the gap. To date, they have made 50 technical hires.

As you may remember, Audi announced in January that they were acquiring a minority stake in the Sauber Group. Currently, they hold a title sponsorship with Alfa Romeo, which is set to expire in 2023. This situation can make the naming arrangement confusing at times.

Standings

Max extends his lead over his teammate, but the championship is still up for grabs. Any driver could potentially win the Championship this year. If Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari can close the performance gap with Red Bull, we may witness a competitive race. Throughout this season, we've seen several drivers fail to finish races. Max and Checo have faded any trouble with the car in the first three races.

Meme of the Week