When designing an internal combustion engine there are three different designs to choose from. Each and every one of them has its own pros and cons.

Inline Engines where all cylinders are being placed next to eachother. This design is not used in F1 since the 60s, as the engines tend to be long thus needing up the need for a heavy cranckshaft.

Boxer engines where there are two cylinder rows opposing eachother. It is like having a V Engine with a 180° angle. This engine has been very popular during the 70s, as it helps a lot in lowering the center of gravity, before they would be replaced by V-angle engines as they where having trouble whitstanding the car's G-forces during cornering.

The engine is the heart of every racing car. It is the part that can't be without, and one of the more complicated ones, if not the most complicated.

In Formula 1 the engines have passed through all steps of evolution and they have been constantly changing through evolution or regulations change

An F1 engine consists of more than 5000 parts, with 1500 of them being moving ones. The regulations limit the total cubism of the engine to 2,4 liters and allow only V8 engines. The total horsepower output of these engines today is more or less around 750 BHP.

This weekend we have watched another race. It was a race just like most races we have been watching lately. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. The pole owner pulled off and finished first, followed by his teammate, and behind them all other teams according to their performing status.

The problem is that the last years we see no in track fighting. The best team wins, the others follow. Why is this happening?

This year, Toyota celebrated its 50 year long existence in the motor sport field. It has achieved remarkable achievements at Rally championships and other kind of racing championships. Within our field, F1 racing, Toyota achieved… absolutely nothing.

Back in 1999, when the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Hiroshi Okuda, announced that Toyota would be entering F1, everyone expected the giant to show his teeth.

A new term is being introduced in Formula 1 aerodynamics, one of the most important things to be taken into consideration when designing an F1 racing car. “Transient Aerodynamics”, which describes the way a modern racing car behaves while turning.

It is a part of aerodynamics that is being neglected, at least by the smaller F1 teams. The basic principles of modern aerodynamics are being determined by testing the racing car on straight road. The target there is to get the maximum aerodynamic load with the least possible resistance, thus attaining the best aerodynamic efficiency (load / resistance ratio).

Interlagos racing track is a track with contrasting demands. First of all there is a bumpy surface which has been resurfaced in 2004 and again in 2007. This fact combined with the anti-clockwise run of the circuit, create a great physical challenge for the pilots racing there. Also the track combines one of the longest straights with many slow turns along with some fast curves. Overtaking is possible especially during the braking for the first chicane after the long straight. So there is a great demand for top speed in order for a pilot to climb up some places. Let’s see an analytic review of the various demands of this track: