Primal SCREAMERS
Classic & Sports Car|April 2023
Paying tribute to the naturally aspirated V10, soundtrack to F1's greatest modern era and one of the finest units the sport has produced
PAUL FEARNLEY
Primal SCREAMERS

Formula One's banning from 1989 of forced induction in favour of 3.5-litre naturally aspirated engines was expected to reignite the V8 versus V12 (up to 180°) firefight that had raged long before and for some time after - the turbos whistled in at the end of the 1970s. Honda and Renault, however, chose the relatively unexplored V10 route, seeking a better compromise between fuel economy and revs, punch and packaging. They would sweep the board in qualifying - it helped that Ayrton Senna was on board - and win 12 of that season's 16 Grands Prix.

Others followed: prescient independents Ilmor and John Judd's Engineering Developments were picked up by Mercedes-Benz and Yamaha; Peugeot joined in 1994, having twice won at Le Mans using a V10. The trickle became a flood. Though Honda, after 1992 and two seasons with a V12, and Renault (1997) departed the scene but kept their hands in via offshoots Mugen and Mecachrome - the 1998 F1 grid was chocka with V10 blocks, and the fact was made regulatory from 2000. BMW, in 2001, and Toyota, in 2002, having planned a V12, then mixed in.

Ford and Ferrari had stuck to their V8s and V12s - nomenclatures and noises that had forged their brands - until after the post-Ayrton concept for the new regulations. How best to package car and engine: total chassis stiffness, aerodynamics and agility. Before turbos, teams had mainly been private, without the resources of a major manufacturer, so they used a well developed V8 by Cosworth. They were used to it. But we had more freedoms.

"At the first V10 test at Silverstone, Ayrton was unhappy: 'Acceleration too sharp! Deceleration too sharp!' The difference in engine braking compared with a 1.5-litre turbo was huge: the car pitched in corners, balance changed and the driver was uncomfortable. We tried to make the delivery more progressive.

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