POWER UNITS | THE FUTURE OF ICE
Formula 1 is entering a new direction for its powertrains. Dieter Rencken takes us through the thought processes of the series and its competitors as the sport considers how to become more environmentally aware
Power politics
C
onsider the plight of the FIA when formulating future power unit regulations for its various international series. Where once power units were restricted to internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels and the only options, apart from ignition – spark (petrol) or compression (diesel) – were reciprocating or rotary pistons, configuration and two or four strokes, the choices have of late multiplied exponentially. Indeed, the FIA’s secretary general for sport, Peter Bayer, runs out of fingers as he lists the number of potential options: fossil or synthetic-fuelled spark; compression or rotary internal combustion engines (ICE); ditto with hybrid elements and / or powered by hydrogen or CNG (compressed natural gas); and purely electric motors, in turn energised by one of three variants, namely battery, hydrogen fuel cell or range-extended battery charged by any of the ICE types listed above. That potentially makes for 10 basic power unit alternatives, each with at least one suboption. It is, as Bayer freely admitted during the FIA’s annual member club conference in Monte Carlo earlier in 2021, something of a power unit jungle out there, with none of the options on the table providing a universal solution, whether for sporting, transportation or commuter applications.
Road relevance Consequently, the FIA, which holds global responsibility for both motorsport and mobility disciplines, elevated road relevance to the top of its agenda, and has plans to 44 F1 2021 • Racecar Engineering
formulate motorsport regulations that ultimately benefit global four-wheeled mobility in all its forms. The electric vehicle (EV) boxes are, of course, ticked by Formula E and various battery-powered tin-top series, while the 2022 Dakar sees Audi enter a range-extender concept. That said, it became abundantly clear during the FIA conference that electricity is not the only alternative for future mobility,
and that the internal combustion engine will be around for decades to come, regardless of what ecologists and politicians preach. If for no other reason than the world simply cannot generate sufficient affordable electricity and deliver it in sufficient quantities to charging points across the globe. In addition to this, Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) CEO, Chris Aylett, believes that, although consumers are being dictated
