Cut To The Race F1 Podcast

Matt Grant - F1 Engine Designer

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Episode notes

This week Oli and James P are joined by a special guest: Cosworth engine designer Matt Grant. Listen to an F1 nerd's dream as Matt reveals the secrets of Cosworth V10 and V8 engines from the late 1990s to 2013.


We ask Matt about designing a V10 and V8 engine, how they compare to today's immensely complex power units, and how an engine made its way into a car after a team had agreed to use Cosworth V10/V8


We hear about Matt's first two seasons in 1997 and 1998.  After a successful first season and tricky times in 1998, Cosworth jumped back to the front of the grid in 1999 with Johnny Herbert’s famous win for Stewart at the Nurburgring.


We find out Matt's thoughts on Ford buying Cosworth and works team Stewart in 1999, and how this affected Cosworth going into 2000. How did Cosworth interact with such a huge manufacturer?


Matt gives us details on how the engine developed under the Jaguar name, and his thoughts on the blockbuster buyout from Red Bull after Ford sold Cosworth and Stewart in 2004.


We get an insight into what happens when an F1 team fails: Arrows were a customer in 2002, but sadly went under midway through the season.


With F1's "new teams" arriving in 2010, we hear about Cosworth's involvement as an engine supplier to all three teams. We get the details of h the final few weeks of the team's existence.


Listen in Matt tells about his venture Modatek, and how it came about. We hear how these classic bespoke Cosworth engines are maintained, as well as his all-time favourite Cosworth engine and car combination.


For extra nerdy goodness, here are some Cosworth V10 facts from Matt!


Cosworth TJ V10 stats:

  • Max power = 900 bhp, which equates to 300 hp/litre – the DFV only created 140 hp/litre when it first ran.
  • Max speed = 19,000 rpm, which means that the piston moves up and down 300 times per second, which is 30 times in the blink of an eye.
  • At this speed the piston goes from zero to over 60 mph and back to zero in a distance of just 44 mm, with only the two big end bolts stopping it from escaping.
  • To keep the piston in the engine, the con rod bolts have to withstand a 3,000 kg load, which is more than the weight of a Range Rover, and the bolt thread is only 9mm.


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