Let’s focus on understanding how much energy is used in a Formula 1 race car. The fuel tank can hold 110 kilograms of fuel. That’s an astonishing 5104 mega joules of energy or 1417 kwh - for comparison a Formula E car uses 54kwh in a race, 26 times less.
Hydrogen is the chemical energy fuel source that has the most energy per kilogram (120 MJ/kg) but is the least dense - weight - gas we have. That means in terms of weight H2 is an awesome energy source but it takes a lot of space. The solution for this extra space problem is to compress H2 into crazy pressures. For a regular H2 road car the pressure is maximum 700 bar - that’s 700 times the atmosphere pressure at sea level or 713 kg per square centimetre or basically an elephant standing at your forehead. Lets assume F1 goes crazy and store H2 at 1000 bar.
At 1000 bar we are able to squeeze 2.5 kwh of H2 per litre. To reach the current energy required of 1417 kwh, we would need 566 litres. That’s almost 5x the current size considering we need the same energy. But we don’t. We will not combust the hydrogen and lose all that energy in heat. Or will we?
Are we going to combust the H2 and then use super complicated energy recovery systems like the current KERS or will we use a H2 fuel cell and an electric motor? Let’s examine the options:
If we combust the hydrogen like we current do with fuel, we will assume similar energy efficiencies therefore we will need all those 566 litres of H2 stored at 1000 bar. But we will have the race car noise and all that (included some of the NOX, nitrous oxide pollutants). Plus we will need KERS to recover some of the energy in braking. The total energy efficiency of this system will be around 35-40% percent. (566 litres fuel tank is not an option, just in case you are considering)
Second option: Hydrogen fuel cells convert the H2 into electric current directly and this runs an electric motor. No combustion means much more efficiency, actually near double efficient. So we need nearly half of the hydrogen. That means around 350 litres of fuel tank, still a lot, but better. The total energy efficiency will be around 60-70%.
So, looking only at the true underlying most important physical characteristics of the fuels, gasoline and hydrogen, without the complications of cooling, storing, safety, transporting etc, even at the best case scenario, it is clear that a race car with a 3x fuel tank size is not an option for performance. Therefore even if the other problems are solved with technology, physics is the ultimate decision maker in this case: it is almost impossible to build a car with such a huge fuel tank for similar energy output.
We will not see a high performing Formula car run on hydrogen anytime soon… not even with fuel cells!
Efficient, yes, but fuel cells give out puny power as well. iirc the Mirai is the same weight as an EV and similar range but nowhere near the power.
Frankly for good racing we would be better to go back to a very light multi cylinder high revving petrol engine for the cars, put a limit on the weight of freight the teams can ship around the world and use a grown-up marketing statement explaining how much more fuel you have saved doing that, since the actual races use about 1 Jumbo load of fuel per season, rather than f*cking the racing.
It won’t happen, too many people getting very rich at the moment would stop doing.
Wife is considering an electric Taycan. Didn’t @f1eng get one? Any advice.
She is wavering over a Range Rover though, to pull a horse box!
Sports car v shed.
I have one, the best car overall I’ve driven.
It is too heavy to be a true sports car IMO but it hides its weight well.
I have the Cross Turismo, an estate car version with space for a Labrador in the back. It is quiet and comfortable as well as having extremely sporty suspension and throttle response settings for the hooligan moments.
No towbar is available though.
This is the sensible thing. Unless you’ll be competing every other weekend the thing will sit in a field gently rotting away. And the one day you do decide to use it the lights won’t work and the wheels will have seized.
I know this to be true.
She has one already! To be fair, it just walked the mot and the garage want to buy it (for what she paid about 3 years back).
Her idea is to move to a towable box, which severely limits the choice of car that can pull that weight, almost ruling out electric only.
My idea is to get a nice car and hire the thing when needed. My idea is right, but she is the one making the decision…
Thought I’d do a summary of the i4 since we got it mid December 2022…
Positives
-Over the winter, we were regularly getting ~230 miles range, and when its been a bit warmer 250-260 miles.
-Overall had 3.2mi/kWh and since its been 10degrees or more reliably in the 3.5mi/kWh range. Pretty happy with that.
-Very comfortable, both the seats and generally the ride (save for the Oxfordshire potholes).
-Supprising space in the boot & rear seats, dloing tip runs, collecting large speakers etc.
-General build on the interior is excellent, materials feel nice and solid even if its a bit dark even with the sunroof.
-One-pedal driving in ‘B’ mode is excellent, I’m a real convert and makes driving in traffic just a breeze
-HUD is superb (save for a small gripe) and like that you can customise the size/info etc.
-Latest gen i-Drive is excellent, really like having that rather than having to use touchscreens while driving.
Negatives
-Infotainment overall is great although the native Spotify App sometimes shits the bed and just crashes for a few days.
-As part of the options they came with 19" wheels, on balance (I’d prefer 18s or even 17s) but being BMW, you can’t option down.
-Turning circle is dire
-The ‘upgraded’ HK stereo is OK, not amazing but would not say its miles better than the demo car we tested.
-Having the ‘upgraded’ HK stereo means there is no real space under the boot for the charge cables and they only just fit in the boot side pockets meaning it generally looks untidy.
-We optioned it with the M-Sport Pro pack but in reality, not really had it out of Comfort on Suspension and Comfort on Steering. Occasionally put steering into Sport which is nice for spirited driving but not sure it’s worth the extra cost.
-When switching between sport/comfort mode you get a silly cover screen telling you the mode (that takes up the whole central screen) for what feels like 10seconds or more. Just annoying. Sport mode brings up a pointless ‘power’ sliding indicator on the HUD which is pointless and can’t turn off.
-Similar to above the ‘economy’ info screen shows you a front or rear 3/4 of the car, why do I need to see a mini view of my own car?
-Not a huge fan of the front end but when optioned with black trim and in a dark colour its far less in-your-face. And I don’t have to look at it while driving so thats a bonus.
