A Formula One car generates a lot of thrust through its exhaust gases because of the sheer speed of the engine involved, and it would be a total waste not to use it on the track. As well as being incredibly speedy, the exhaust gases also come out at a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius or a point where copper starts to melt. So, to harness it would require some expert level engineering.
So, a device named MGU-H does that and it converts the high thrust into power for the car to use. These Youtuber engineers Jimmy de Ville and Greg Foot take us on an amazing quest to find out how it works and just how much power we are looking at. Here is their demonstration:
So apparently, a Formula One car can generate as much thrust as 750 rocket crackers strapped to a wheel and that too constantly. So, as Jimmy points out, it is a big opportunity for the Formula One cars to maximize their fuel efficiency and have a lower number of pitstops as well. But, the system needs to be as light as possible since sudden bursts of acceleration are very important for the Formula One competitors when they need to get ahead in short spaces.
