Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA
Alex Albon, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR14, George Russell, Williams FW42 and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90
Prime
Analysis

Why F1 cars have all gone size-zero

When the V6 turbo hybrid engines were first introduced in 2014 the cars had to go up a size or two to accommodate them and cope with their cooling demands. That's changed over the years and the class of 2019 is slimmer than ever

Motorsport.com's Prime content

The best content from Motorsport.com Prime, our subscription service. Subscribe here to get access to all the features.

One day we'll all live in a world where smartphones and tablets will be as thick as a sheet of paper. With the rise of nanotechnology in the electronics sector, components now are so tiny you can't see them with the naked eye - sending heavy, unwieldy consumer products to their deaths.

In a largely mechanical sense, Formula 1 has followed a similar path. Designers and engineers alike are joined in pushing current technology to its limits, making components smaller, lighter and more powerful. Over the past 20 years F1 cars have become increasingly shrink-wrapped, especially around the engine cover, as the internal components are arranged with the same intricacy as a Swiss watch.

Previous article Vettel surprised by extent of Mercedes upgrades
Next article Sainz: Ferrari/Red Bull can go "much faster" than my benchmark

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA