Mercedes wraps off the new F1 W05

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AMG Petronas Formula One Team today unveiled the F1 W05Mercedes-Benz F1 W05Germany, 2014 > 2014, its 2014 challenger, at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took the wraps off the first all-new Silver Arrow to hit the track since 1954. Designed from the ground up this new car marks an historic milestone in a landmark year when Mercedes-Benz celebrates 120 years of Motorsport and the 80th anniversary of the Silver Arrows.

The 2014 Formula One season marks the biggest change in regulations in the sport’s history and the F1 W05 has been designed to meet the challenge of this technical revolution. The result is the new F1 W05 and, at its heart, the PU106A Hybrid Power Unit, both designed to meet the challenge of a fundamental change in the philosophy of Formula One. The introduction of a demanding maximum race fuel allowance of just 100 kg per race, coupled with a maximum fuel flow rate of 100 kg/hour, have focused the efforts of the sport’s engineers on delivering performance with a set of innovative new technologies that achieve an efficiency gain of more than 30%.

“For 2014 we have probably the greatest change in regulations in Formula One history and the start of a new era for our sport,” continued Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe. “From a technical and also a racing perspective, this is an incredibly exciting time for Formula One. We are introducing technologies that are new not just to racing but to the wider automotive world as well. The headline is that of improved efficiency and the fact that we will be completing races with advanced Hybrid systems on just 100 kg of fuel sends a great message about the technology that Formula One can deliver.”

“The new car is an elegant but aggressive design and, as is often the way, its beauty is much more than skin deep; the internal engineering of the car is extremely innovative and intelligent. Our team can be justifiably proud of its work so far – but none of us are under any illusions about the amount we still have to do before the first race in six weeks’ time,” continued Lowe.

The Power Unit

The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) at the heart of the new Power Unit has been down-sized to a 1.6 litre V6 configuration and down-speeded to a maximum of 15,000 rpm. To achieve high power delivery and therefore efficiency from the ICE, a pressure charging system has been introduced, in the form of a single stage turbocharger and compressor. The new Hybrid Energy Recovery System (ERS), which incorporates electric motors capable of recovering both kinetic and waste heat energy, presented a ten-fold greater challenge than its predecessor, KERS, which was pioneered by Mercedes-Benz in 2009. This advanced Hybrid system is integral to car performance and marks a significant step forward in both system performance and durability.

The Power Unit has been designed for optimum installation in the F1 W05 chassis. This new car is the product of an aggressive development philosophy targeted at optimising the packaging of new on-car systems, such as the increased cooling demands of the Power Unit, in order to give the team’s aerodynamic group maximum freedom to respond to a significantly different regulatory framework.

Driver lineup

Mercedes will be the only team this season that will keep its driver lineup. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, together with their respective technical staff will remain with the team giving continuity to a project which has the main goal to bring the Silver Arrows back to the top of F1.