On its own, the internal-combustion engine generates 830 horsepower, which is an incredible amount for such a small engine. Equally amazing is the fuel efficiency of these powerplants. For safety, F1 cars are not allowed to refuel during a race, meaning they must carry enough fuel to last for about 250 miles.
A Formula 1 car is slightly more impressive, with a 62.9-cubic-inch V6 motor capable of 1,050 horsepower.
So it's official. A Formula 1 car is faster than a V8 Supercar and a superbike. A lot faster. In the ultimate race of the fastest machines on four and two wheels, the Formula 1 car, driven by Aussie ace Mark Webber, destroyed the V8 and bike in a head-to-head battle at Sydney Motorsport Park today.
It is a 2.2-litre V6 that uses twin Borg Warner turbochargers. Apart from this, there is an Empel MGU hybrid motor, Skeleton supercapacitors, and an ECU from McLaren Applied Technologies. The result is a total power output of more than 800 hp. The gearbox on duty is an XTRAC six-speed unit with paddle shifters.
F1 cars accelerate from 0 – 60mph in roughly 2.6 seconds. This might seem slow given their top speed, however as a lot of their speed comes from the aerodynamics (which works better the quicker the car is going), they can't unleash full power from a standing start.
The modern F1 car can reach speeds of roughly 220mph on average when bombing down long straights. The fastest speed ever recorded in a race was from Valtteri Bottas's Mercedes in the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix when he reached a startling 231mph, though certain conditions have to be met for that to happen.
Formula One fuel would fall under high octane premium road fuel with octane thresholds of 95 to 102. Since the 1992 season onwards all Formula One cars must mandatorily utilize unleaded racing gasoline fuel. F1 Blends are tuned for maximum performance in given weather conditions or different circuits.
How much does a Formula 1 car cost today? If these figures are taken into account, it is possible to deduce that a Formula 1 racing car from the 2023 season is worth between 12 and 15 million dollars. Even the display or scale units of the single-seaters have extremely high prices.
Why F1 banned V8? To add to this, the V6 Turbos were starting to become a more favorable alternative to the old-school naturally aspirated V8s due to their efficiency. As a result, it made all the sense in the world for F1 to switch to a more efficient V6 Turbo than the V8s we had at the time.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
Unsurprisingly, the engine is the most expensive component. A singular turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engine is worth approximately $10.5m (€130.3m), with teams allowed to use three of them throughout the season. The chassis is also notably pricey, costing around $700,000 (€663,285) to manufacture.
Formula One currently uses 1.6 litre four-stroke turbocharged 90 degree V6 double-overhead camshaft (DOHC) reciprocating engines. They were introduced in 2014 and have been developed over the subsequent seasons.
The Lamborghini Urus is the brand's first SUV, and it's no slouch when it comes to performance. Under the hood, you'll find a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces an impressive 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque.
Under the current regulations, since 2014, Formula 1 cars have eight forward gears and one mandatory reverse gear. The new mandate has pushed for an increase of one gear; before that, the cars used to have only seven gears.
Bugatti is faster than F1 cars regarding top speed; the Bugatti Chiron 300+ achieved a top speed of 304,77 mph. The fastest speed of an F1 car ever recorded is 256,75 mph. However, when it comes to acceleration, F1 cars are faster than Bugatti due to their power-to-weight ratio advantage.
But it's not long before the rear-wheel drive F1 comes shooting past. The F1 car ultimately crosses the quarter mile first, recording 9.6 seconds. Meanwhile, the Tesla is barely a hair behind, crossing the finish line at 10.8 seconds.
Expert drivers in a manual gear system car take between 500ms to 1 second to shift between vertical gears. The time taken to shift between horizontal gears is 1 to 2 seconds. An F1 car driver may execute more than 3800 gears shifts during a Grand Prix race.
Formula E cars can go from 0-60 seconds in slightly under 2.8 seconds whereas F1 cars accelerate from 0-60mph in around 2.6 seconds, making them the quicker car of the two off the line.
Formula 1 engines are designed to last for plenty of races but since racers are allowed three changes per year, teams have to devise their strategies accordingly. That means, since there are 23 races on the calendar, a single engine can be used for 7 to 8 races weekends.
Lamborghini returning to Formula One is unlikely at best. It costs $200 million to just get in. The sum is split equally amongst the current teams. You'd also have to budget for building a brand new car and powertrain from scratch.
WILLIAMS FW14B
With ABS, traction control, computer-controlled active suspension, and a semi-automatic gearbox, even today the 3.5-litre V10 FW14B is one of the most advanced F1 cars ever, taking Nigel Mansell to his one and only F1 title.