PETRONAS proves crucial to MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team’s win
MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team emerged as the big winner during the 2014 Formula One season after facing the greatest technical challenge of all time in 19 captivating Grand Prix.
Working in perfect harmony, the team succeeded in adapting to the innovative new regulations, while PETRONAS fuel and lubricant products set new benchmarks. However, as soon as one season is over, the next one begins – there is no such thing as downtime in motorsport. MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team and its partner PETRONAS have worked tirelessly through the winter months to continuously improve their performance.
The transition from the previous 2.4-litre V8 induction engine to the all-new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engine was eased through close cooperation with PETRONAS in developing the PU 106A Hybrid Power Unit. “Quite simply,” said Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff, “PETRONAS is the lifeblood of our Mercedes-Benz technology on track.”
In addition, the engineers were tasked with pulling off a technological balancing act, the likes of which had never been achieved before. The nature of the 2014 Power Unit required products that act as coolants on one hand, whilst reducing friction and optimising performance on the other. And all that with significantly reduced quantities of liquids compared to the previous Power Units.
The experts at PETRONAS took on this task and designed over 100 candidate fuels and more than 50 candidate lubricants for the PU 106A Hybrid Power Unit within three years. “Like we designed every nut and bolt of the power unit, PETRONAS scientists developed a new fuel molecule-by-molecule,” said MERCEDES AMG High Performance Powertrains Managing Director, Andy Cowell.
Consisting of more than 30 individual components, the PETRONAS Primax Fuel is perfectly tailored to the demands of the new Power Unit, which allow for a maximum injected fuel quantity of 100 kg per race and a maximum fuel flow rate of 100 kg/h. “These limits mean that every single drop of fuel has to contribute to performance,” says Cowell. As such, efficiency is the key to success. “And this is a new thing in Formula One,” added Lowe.
Cooperating closely with PETRONAS, the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team has managed to master this challenge and improve power efficiency by 30 per cent. “We set some very big targets for the start of the 2014 season and met them,” said Cowell. And that despite the amount of Syntium Engine Oil in the Hybrid Power Unit being reduced by more than half, from seven litres for the V8 to less than three litres for the V6, which PETRONAS countered with an innovative mixture of oils.
“They have developed oil that is thin at low temperatures and thick at high temperatures – an incredible technical challenge and achievement,” said Cowell. “It is a precisely balanced mixture of advanced, thinner synthetic base oils to help cooling, and a polymer viscosity booster which kicks in at higher temperatures to thicken the oil.” All of this was achieved within 992 days. “Therefore, it is justified to talk about a PETRONAS advantage in this new Hybrid era,” said Wolff. “But we keep working, as Formula One is about constant improvement. You cannot stand still,” added Lowe.
“PETRONAS makes the team go further and push boundaries,” confessed F1 Driver Nico Rosberg during the press conference held on 25 March 2015 at Dewan Filharmonik, Suria KLCC .
The Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix 2015 will be held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) from 27 until 29 March 2015.
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