Magneti Marelli motorsport director Roberto Dalla believes technology within the FIA Formula E championship could help achieve the return of 1000 horsepower turbo-engine cars in Formula 1, as was seen previously in the 1980s.
With experience in the area through their plans of building motors for teams in next year’s season of the all-electric championship, Dalla believes Formula 1 could use technology within Formula E to increase the cars horsepower in the future.
“The challenge we are taking onboard with Formula E is to develop a high-tech race solution of a 300kw electric motor,” said Dalla to Autosport.
“In the future, Formula 1 could have the need to have a bigger motor, a bigger ERS, not only 120kw as today but eventually 300kw if you want to have 1000 horsepower engines.”
Dalla revealed that with the introduction of Formula E technology, the ‘electrical architecture’ of the car has been redefined, and should this be added to Formula 1, it could be to the benefit a championship that has seen many criticisms about its engine culture during the past twelve months.
“Considering that we maintain our approach to Formula E to develop the best we could have done from the technical point of view in a sustainable environment, the two areas are not too far,” said Dalla. “We believe tomorrow, this kind of solution will be used in Formula E and help the future direction of Formula 1.
“Formula E, more than Formula 1, will give us the possibility to redefine the electrical architecture of a car – the voltage, the device, etc. I’m sure Formula 1 will use this kind of experience and I’m pretty sure sooner or later hydraulics will disappear from a F1 car.
“So what we are learning from Formula E can be used not only for the motor but in general for the electric architecture of the car.”
