A very special Srec for Toro Rosso

“We owe a lot to Professor Hugh Masterby-Jerrkin, from Imperial College London, who helped us progress very quickly,” underlines Wayne Kerr, head of Srec at Toro Rosso. “While the team was competing in the first GP of the season in Melbourne, we came to Kuala Lumpur to evaluate the system in real-world conditions. We were also helped by the thermal energy section of the Polytechnic University of Kuala Lumpur, and more particularly its director, Doctor Ku Lin 'Ng Phaan.

Schematically, the energy recovered during braking will be used to power a refrigeration circuit connected to a special suit. When the pilot presses the KERS button (6 seconds maximum per lap), the cold liquid will circulate throughout the suit, thus reducing his body temperature. Studies have shown that increasing body temperature by one degree can reduce performance by 23%. This system should therefore be a definite asset for Sébastien Bourdais et Sébastien Buemi.

According to our information, Toro Rosso still has to resolve one last problem: there are small fish that have found their way into the cooling circuit...