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Inside The 2014 Renault F1 Engine With F1 Technical Expert Craig Scarborough: Video

If you’re anything like us, the new Formula One cars seem like impossibly advanced, incredibly confusing pieces of machinery. Between the more complex turbocharged V6 engines and the state-of-the-art energy recovery systems, it seems like you’d have to be an MIT grad to even begin to understand them. But thanks to some animations released by Renault F1 and some explaining from F1 technical expert Craig Scarborough, you don’t need an IQ score of 200 to understand how 2014’s F1 cars work.

The new cars have two types of Energy Recovery Systems, ERS-H and ERS-K. ERS-H is a generator unit which is attached to the turbo fan. While the turbo fan spins, energy is recovered and stored in a battery to be used in the powertrain for a power boost. The energy stored from ERS-H can also be used to spool the turbo up before accelerating out of a corner to reduce turbo lag.

ERS-K is much like the KERS system from last year’s car, providing a momentary boost for the driver at the touch of a button. However this year’s systems are much more powerful, providing an additional 160 horsepower for 33 seconds, in comparison to last year’s 80 horsepower boost, which was available for a maximum of 6.67 seconds.

Anyways that’s enough of us trying to make sense of it. Check out the video below for the full run down on the most efficient Formula One cars ever.

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