Alvin's Formula One Blog

You've read this before. An F1 car vs a road car. There is really no match here. But still the facts are staggering in the least. So to whet your appetite for the second race of the season, here is an infographic of an F1 car against a road car. If you enjoyed this posting, please do share it with your network so more people can enjoy it as well. Also, check out my Lewis Hamilton inspired designs at my online shop. Unique, personal Triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton inspired designs for the loyal Lewis Hamilton fan. Support Lewis this season by owning this collection. Get yours now! 1. Hamilton Tees (fixed designs) - http://shop.spreadshirt.com/hamiltontees/ 2. Lewis Hamilton T-shirt (design your own) - http://lewishamiltontshirt.spreadshirt.com/ Thank you for your support. May you enjoy it with this new season and your favorite team/driver wins! Here is a sample.

Hello everyone. It's been some time since I posted. Been busy and had nothing worthwhile to write about. Too many rehash news to bother. The new season is upon us and some exciting things happening. One of it is that Magnussen is back. The underated Dane didn't have such a good time at McLaren but he may have a second chance to show what he's made of. If it doesn't work out, he can always form a retro 80s boy band. He certainly has the hair for it. To explain about his potential we have a guest writer this time, Joshua Mason speaking about the Dane. The Young Viking Returns 1000 years ago the Vikings crossed the seas to pillage our lands and create kingdoms of their own. While those barbaric times are over, the modern equivalent battles, of high end Sport, are experiencing the same thing. Kevin Magnussen of Denmark has returned to Formula 1 and after failing to impress Mercedes enough, he has been given a lifeline in the form of Renault’s return. Will they ...

At the end of 2013 F1 bid farewell to its normally aspirated V8s and embraced brand new power units that combined a hybrid V6 turbo engine with two energy recovery systems - the MGU-K that works under braking, and MGU-H which harvests energy at the exhaust. Monza 2014 offered an ideal opportunity to compare and analyse the performance of modern low downforce-spec F1 cars with their previous counterparts. The recent Grand Prix emphasised an important point: the 2014 regulations have greatly enhanced the cars' efficiency while maintaining - and even increasing - their level of performance. Renault takes a look and explains the differences and improvements made so far. A two-second gain in a single year 2013 saw F1 cars fitted with normally aspirated V8s delivering around 800bhp (that's 590kW without the extra 60kW provided by the KERS). Monza's speed traps recorded single-seaters clock around 340kph, with pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel posting a lap of 1:23.755 in quali...

This article was is re-produced from F1Technical.net in its entirety . It is an excerpt from Renault F1 Q&A. Enjoy. A throttle has come to be associated with any part that controls the power of an engine – such as the accelerator pedal – but in actual fact it is a hydraulically operated mechanism used to increase or decrease inlet gases to the engine. In a V8 there are eight throttles on the top of the engine unit that control the amount of air that enters each of the engine cylinders from the airbox. When the throttles are open, air enters the engine unit. Fuel will be injected just before the inlet valve and hence the combustion chamber, and the spark plug will ignite the fuel and oxygen content in the air. The throttle therefore dictates the amount of fuel burned on each cycle to produce efficient power. When the throttle is closed, no air enters the engine and the combustion process is temporarily suspended. All the throttle valves are controlled via the accelerator ped...

How do you get attention nowadays in a world full of Tweets, status updates, news flashes every tenth of a second? Well, you do something bonkers. Like the Renault Twizy F1 Concept. Renault has applied F1 KERS technology to its electric city car, the Twizy, to come up with a really bonkers one-off concept. The Twizy Renault Sport F1, to give it its full name, has an F1 KERS unit in place of the usual rear seat and is capable of 0-60mph in 6.0s. The Twizy is also fitted with an F1-style steering wheel, front and rear wings, sidepods and slick tyres from a Formula Renault 2.0 car. Slightly less impressive is its top speed of 68mph. When KERS is activated it offers an extra 80bhp for 14 seconds on top of the 17bhp from the Twizy's standard electric motor. Just like in an F1 car, the driver has a KERS button on the steering wheel and can choose between harvesting and deploying power. The KERS unit adds an extra 30kg in weight but it more than makes up for it with the extra power....

Even though we have yet to start the 2013 season, most teams are already looking forward and preparing for 2014 in earnest from now. They have been preparing since it was announced that in 2014 the engine formula will go through a drastic change - from a V8 to a V6 turbo. It is a huge change that will change the whole car, its behaviour and driving characteristics. Which in turn will change how drivers have to drive the car, how teams manage their strategies and ultimately how we enjoy our race as fans. Here is a Q&A with Rob White , Deputy Managing Director (Technical) at RenaultSport F1. He outlines the challenges they faced as engine suppliers and the end of an engine line that is the RS27 which has been in service for 8 years. With 2013 being the last year of the V8 engines, what remains to be optimised on the RS27? 2013 will be the last year of the V8 engines that, after eight years of service, will be retired at the end of the season to make way for the V6 in 2014. ...