Cosworth intends to compete with the best

Mark Gallagher, who recently joined Cosworth to become its operations director, spoke at length about the goals of the independent engine manufacturer.

Cosworth is a historic and famous brand in Formula 1; as an engine manufacturer, it has claimed no fewer than 176 Grand Prix victories and 10 constructors’ championships. As a result, Mark Gallagher has great ambitions, and his employer intends to compete with the current engine manufacturers in the Formula 1 World Championship.

Yes, that is our goal, otherwise we would not have returned to F1, stated the new director of Cosworth.

Mark Gallagher is well aware that the challenge is significant, but current engine restrictions provide newcomers with the opportunity to compete more easily with well-established engine manufacturers: “Obviously, it’s a huge challenge, but the development limitations mean that current manufacturers have a narrow margin, and this increases our chances of closing the gap,” said Mark Gallagher.

The engine manufacturer will equip no fewer than four teams next year with USF1, Manor, Campos, Lotus, and possibly even a fifth with Williams. Mark Gallagher is confident in Cosworth’s ability to effectively supply all these teams and help them reach the front of the grid. «We have a lot of capacity and facilities that reflect the investment over many years by the former owner, Ford. And the way the new owners have maintained and expanded these capacities is impressive,» added Mark Gallagher.

The Cosworth 2010 engine will be based on the 2006 version that equipped the Williams, but adapted to the 2010 technical and sporting regulations. This means that only the base and the design will be identical. The CA2006 design is, of course, the foundation of our 2010 engine, but with a reduction of the engine speed to 18,000 revolutions per minute, a more substantial lifespan, and enormous demands on fuel consumption reduction, the engine has been significantly re-examined, he analyzes.

Mark Gallagher said that having a standard ECU (Engine Control Unit) provided by McLaren Electronics Systems posed no problem for them and even made the work easier, it’s one less thing to focus on, claims Mark Gallagher. Cosworth will not supply KERS – Kinetic Energy Recovery System – in 2010 although the engine manufacturer is already working on the system, and not only with a view to equipping Formula 1, as Cosworth is also working in other motorsport categories and in aerospace.

Mark Gallagher described the direction Formula 1 should take according to Cosworth: “We are in a new era. We prefer to see a set of regulations that promote the development of the engine towards solutions that are both more relevant to the needs of a wider community and meet the performance needs sought by the teams. It would be a shame, and a missed opportunity, to set aside innovative technologies such as KERS in F1. We have an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that we can be both ecological and fast,” he concluded.