SPORT Formula 1®: What Happens in a Minute Inside an Engine?

At TAG Heuer, our passion for Formula 1® runs deep — it’s part of our DNA. Welcome to this special series where we share what every true enthusiast should know about this thrilling sport.

To the naked eye, a Formula 1® car rushes by in a blur at over 200 miles per hour, a wild beast constantly needing to be tamed by its driver to stay on the limit, second after second, lap after lap.

But an F1® car is paradoxical by nature, because within, it is designed to perfect precision. Every part plays its role, no matter how big or how small. Deliberate, calculated, controlled. Like a TAG Heuer timepiece.

This comparison is best illustrated by a Formula 1® car’s most complex component: its power unit.

As the F1® driver dances on the throttle, defying physics to wrestle their car around the track, a feat of engineering excellence is playing out behind their seat.

The mechanical calm of an F1® power unit amid the chaos of a GRAND PRIX is akin to the controlled purposefulness of the master watchmaker’s creation, bringing tangibility to time through the wrist of its wearer, in a world where time is often considered nothing more than a construct.

By comparing the ultra-fast world of Formula 1® to the ultra-precision of a TAG Heuer timepiece, the true value of time can be grasped, and the study of an F1® power unit demonstrates that time is not merely an abstract concept; it is alive, intense and essential.

Inside a minute, equal to just under a lap around the Red Bull Ring — the home circuit of TAG Heuer’s partner, Oracle Red Bull Racing — the internal combustion engine (ICE) within a Formula 1® power unit, which can naturally reach up to 15,000 revolutions per minute (RPM), is turbocharged to spin up to and over 125,000 times.

Capable of over 1,000 horsepower, the engine has six cylinders; its pistons organized in a V-shape. At 15,000 RPM, each cylinder completes 7,500 combustion cycles each minute. Across all six, that is 45,000 small, controlled explosions every 60 seconds.

During which, at a 1.6-liter capacity, the engine can burn through several liters of fuel and reach temperatures of over 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Therefore, during a minute, over 50 liters of coolant and oil are circulated through the power unit to regulate the extreme temperatures, protecting the engine from overheating.

There is no margin for error in a Formula 1® engine. If even the slightest of issues arise, the reliability of the entire power unit could be compromised.

To monitor the performance and health of the engine, hundreds of sensors collect thousands of data points every second. 

These readings allow engineers to monitor temperatures, pressures and vibrations within the engine with pinpoint accuracy in real time, tweaking settings instantaneously to maximize performance.

Part of what makes the modern-day Formula 1® power unit so complex is its hybrid nature. These two distinct but complementary elements work in conjunction with the engine to increase efficiency and power output. Both are recovery systems; they reclaim energy lost through braking and heat, respectively.

The Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H) draws energy from the turbocharger’s exhaust heat, turning it into electricity, which is then directed to either the power unit’s battery — or energy store (ES) — or it is used to reduce input lag from the turbocharger itself.

It can also direct the energy it has harvested straight to the Motor Generator Unit — Kinetic (MGU-K), which also extracts energy from the car braking, acting as an electric motor to deploy another 120 kW (or 160 hp) of power for up to 33 seconds per lap.

It is a system so complex there is a built-in electronic control unit (ECU) that also monitors performance, adjusting output and other power unit delivery where necessary, lap-by-lap and minute-by-minute.

As the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1®, TAG Heuer understands the parallels between an F1® car and a timepiece.

Both with a beautiful, deliberate exterior, and both ornate, precise and expertly controlled within.

As the Formula 1® car roars around the circuit, powered by its engine, the timepiece is performing its own elegant dance. Every spring and gear in its intricate assembly serves its purpose with the same intent and dedication as the F1® power unit.

In a minute, a Formula 1® car and its engine will have travelled almost the entire distance of the 2.688-mile Red Bull Ring, whilst the second hand on a TAG Heuer timepiece will have moved fractionally. Whilst very little appears to have changed on the watch face in a single minute, the Formula 1® engine shows that everything has — over and over. And yet, an F1® power unit must operate with the same consistency as a TAG Heuer chronograph.

Every element of its function must offer that same precision, because it also lives — and thrives — in a world measured by milliseconds, where mere fractions of a second can be the difference between elation and despair. TAG Heuer knows time is more than an abstract concept, and the journey of a Formula 1® engine over the course of a minute shows it to be alive and intense.