By Huw Alban
May 7 2002

According to an expert the altitude conditions at Zeltweg present unusual problems for the engine technicians. In the Arrows pre-GP press release team Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, stressed that engine power was at a 'premium' at this circuit and Cosworth will be under pressure to deliver. The team are due to get the new upgrade to the Cosworth V10 this weekend, having put it to good use at the Spanish Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago. Arrows had the chance to play with it again at last weeks Silverstone test as Coughlan explains. "Engine power is at a premium at the A1 Ring as it is one of the highest full throttle races on the calendar. We were able to run the new engine spec for two days at Silverstone, completing well over race distance and we were very pleased with its performance."

The A-1 Ring, which will play host to this weeks Grand Prix, is located at an altitude of 700 metres above sea level where there is a significant lack of oxygen. This results in a reduction of engine power, but with adjustments that deficit can be made up. An engine technician for a rival engine manufacturer has revealed some of the secrets to overcoming these problems.

"In an engine, the oxygen present in air combusts with the petrol and this process produces heat," the technician has been quoted as saying. "The more oxygen you get into an engine, the more power you generate. At altitude, however, the density of the air is lower, which means that for a given amount of air, there is less oxygen. That in turn means less power since engine speed is constant, as is the volume of air taken in.

‘At sea level, atmospheric pressure is approximately 1,000 millibars. At the A1-Ring, it is just 930 millibars. The loss in terms of engine performance is therefore about 7%. It is then that the electronic control unit plays it part by adjusting the settings for a compromise-mapping programme. The engine's electronic management system takes the data it receives into account so that the necessary overall corrections are made and to ensure that the engine performs correctly.

"This is a circuit where engines are at full throttle for 60% of each lap, although it must be said that you don't get the high temperatures that can be an additional aggravating factor as far as engine performance is concerned."

Over to you Cosworth....