The hidden power of heat exchanger placement in Formula 1

A vital component within the mechanics of a racing car, the intercooler serves the purpose of swiftly lowering the temperature of the compressed air flowing into the engine. The effectiveness of the heat exchanger (intercooler) holds paramount importance for the vehicle’s cooling efficiency and its overall performance. In this article, we investigate the different solutions adopted by the top Formula 1 teams arrived at for the 2024 season.

By Matteo Beretta, F1ingenerale.com

At the time of writing this article, the F1 2024 season has just kicked off to a blinding start in Bahrain. While the standards and specifications for cars remained unchanged compared to 2023 season, the teams are still within their rights to make strategic choices in designing their cars innerworkings, all within acceptable limits.

Upon the initial investigation into the cooling system strategies, what immediately stood out is the diversity among the choices made. Each team has gone in its own direction. However, the most innovative one seems, once again, to be Red Bull who has chosen to thoroughly overhaul its cooling system.

What is a water/air intercooler?

Also known as a liquid-to-air intercooler, this form of heat exchanger is more complex than air-to-air formats but highly efficient and increasingly popular in motorsport. Cool air enters the turbocharger which is then compressed and heated; the hot air is passed through to the intercooler which rapidly cools it before entering the engine. At the same time, a hot coolant also circulates through the intercooler and then to the radiator which sends cold coolant back to the intercooler to assist further cooling.

Red Bull RB20 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.
Red Bull RB20 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.

Red Bull RB20: the most extreme on radiators

The engineers in Milton Keynes have thought out of the box with the placement of the intercooler on the RB20, which resulted in it resting on the lower part of the sidepod. This solution helps to lower the center of gravity and compensates for the higher placement of the water and oil radiators. The latter are now raised and tilted more forward with respect to last year’s car.

Furthermore, the size of the central radiator placed above the Power Unit has been reduced.
Therefore, Red Bull has paid a lot of attention to the cooling system to find its optimal packaging. In addition, it is very interesting to see how each opening of the RB20 is designed to feed a specific area of the car.

The new vertical intake brings flow to the intercooler. The sidepods inlet brings air to the water and oil radiators. The airscoop cools the center radiator while the innovative inlets on both side of the headrest feed the radiators located under the engine cover outlets.

Ferrari SF-24 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.
Ferrari SF-24 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.

Ferrari SF-24: continuity with last year

In Maranello they decided not to implement major changes from the SF-23. However, some upgrades were still visible. In fact, the radiators now have a Red Bull-inspired curved geometry.

The intercooler on the SF-24 is in a completely different position than seen on the RB20. Ferrari has indeed chosen to take advantage of the shaping of the chassis to place the intercooler in front of the power unit. Red Bull seems to have dared a bit more in their choices but that does not automatically mean they are better. The SF-24 seems to focus more on reliability.

Mercedes W15 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.
Mercedes W15 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.

Mercedes W15: goodbye to all past solutions

The German team has decided to abandon all the concepts of the last two cars, which is also reflected in the position of the radiating masses. As a result, Mercedes has taken a step back, returning to a standard placement.

The W15 appears to be, among the top F1 teams, the most “classic” in radiator area. Mercedes engineers have worked to seek maximum cleanliness under the sidepod. Many times, simplicity pays off more than complex solutions like those seen on the W13 and W14.

McLaren MCL38 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.
McLaren MCL38 racing car. Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale.

McLaren MCL38, daring to try to close the gap with Red Bull

The British team wanted to distinguish itself from others, starting from the sidepods’ inlet. The MCL38 is the only car with a small entry section that is not horizontally developed. McLaren’s idea is to create a much wider undercut to have more flow towards the floor.

This choice forced to raise the position of the water and oil radiators, slightly compromising the car’s center of gravity. The central radiator is still positioned on the power unit.

In conclusion, there is no clear technical convergence. As we have seen, each single-seater has its own outstanding solutions. Certainly, there are teams who have tried to innovate more but only the track will give the verdict on performance.

Matteo Beretta

About the author

Matteo Beretta is an Italian engineer with a master degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Currently, he works as a CAE engineer in the automotive industry. Matteo has been writing technical articles and news for f1ingenerale.com since 2022. He has also been accredited to different categories such as F1, WEC and GTWC.

About this Featured Story

This Featured article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of Heat Exchanger World. If you enjoyed this piece, you’ll love what we have in store for you.
 

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