Engine manufacturers have had to adjust their power units to suit the different turning characteristics of the 2022 cars, as well as having to deal with the fuel switch, from E5 to E10 .
Basically, the 2022 aerodynamic package means that this season drivers will approach the corners in a different way to previous years and therefore power unit suppliers have had to make changes to ensure optimum power delivery .
Hywel Thomas says that Mercedes engine managers have done a lot of their homework together with the chassis team at Brackley , but are prepared to make more changes after the first tests with the new cars at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“The 2022 car is very, very different,” Thomas said in a team video. “We already know that the aerodynamics are different.”
“And from all the things we’ve been told and all the work we’ve done with the team here at Brackley, we think the car will do slightly different things, and the driver requests will be different this year in terms of cornering. .
“We’ve completed simulations, we’ve done all our calculations and we’ve tweaked the engine and the way it works to be ready.”
“And we will be able to react when the driver puts the power in maybe a slightly different way, maybe at a slightly different time.”
“Of course we are absolutely desperate to get to the first track test so we can see if those simulations are correct. Hopefully they are.”
“If not, we’ll be ready to adjust the power unit as needed to make sure the driver gets exactly what he wants when he asks for it.”
A 2022 Mercedes, concept
Thomas added that the new rules have given Mercedes the opportunity to rethink packaging and optimize engine installation to also benefit the work of chassis designers.
“Every year we take a look at the power unit and the way it is installed within the chassis to give us the best lap time,” he explained.
“Because in 2022 there is a completely new chassis, what that means is that we have the opportunity to see everything again.
“There are areas in the car that are going to be very sensitive to lap time. And there are going to be others that are less so. What we’re trying to do with the power unit is make sure we stay as far away from the sensitive areas as possible to give the most flexibility possible to the designers of the car and to pack the parts of the power unit in areas where there is less sensitivity”.
“That requires working hand-in-hand with the chassis department and all those engineers, to make sure the power unit fits exactly where it’s needed, to make sure we can make the car faster overall.”
Thomas insisted that the engine performance freeze, which will last until 2025, is another challenge.
“The power unit has a frozen performance spec. And what does that mean? It means from the start of 2022 to the new one, which we expect to come in 2026, the performance of the engine is frozen.”
“And since the middle of the year, the electrical systems are also frozen from a performance point of view. So what that means is that we will not be able to introduce performance updates during the year. Only reliability updates will be possible.”
“And with the new fuel, the freezing of power unit performance over the course of the season, and a completely new car, completely new aerodynamics and fitting of the engine within the new chassis, there is a big challenge for all the drivers. involved in the team, and especially for those in charge of the engines.
