Why do F1 engine pistons cost £50,000 each?

A single piston costs £50,000. And for good reason. It has to withstand over 200G when moving up and down in the engine at over 80mph. F1 engines cost over £7 Million each and these pistons are one of the key components that help them produce over 1000hp.

But why does it cost 1000 times more than the piston out of your road car? It turns out there are many very good reasons for insane costs. If you’re into F1, then you’ll know that you can’t start an F1 engine like you can with a normal road car. The incredible tolerances mean that the pistons are seized in the cylinders until the car is warmed up, so the engineers have to take at least 30 minutes to warm the coolant and oil before they can start the engine. So how come you don't need to do this in your road car?

About the editor

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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