Cosworth 'better' than Toyota's F1 engine - Hulkenberg

[John S]

Sounds like Toyota were right to pull the plug when they did.

I think Trulli & Glock may have more difficulty with admitting cosworth's prowess as their chassis' may not be up to scratch

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that returning engine supplier Cosworth's V8 unit feels "better" and "stronger" than the Toyota power plant.

The German rookie was Williams' test driver in 2009, meaning that the last two formula one cars he drove were respectively Toyota and Cosworth powered.

Williams has this year switched to Cosworth, the independent British supplier supported by the FIA to also power F1's new teams Virgin, Lotus, Campos and USF1.

Asked about the Cosworth engine by reporters at Jerez, 22-year-old Hulkenberg said: "It is good; I'm positively surprised about it."

Asked to compare it with Toyota's engine, he added: "It feels better, it feels stronger."

Thursday was otherwise not a great day for Williams, after a hydraulic leak preceded a driveshaft problem aboard the new FW32 car.

OneStopStrategy.com, Today

[FW14B]

Well, there is a degree of Nico having to say this, but it is a damning statement!  The Toyota engine was surprisingly poor given their resources.

[Jericoke]

Well, there is a degree of Nico having to say this, but it is a damning statement!  The Toyota engine was surprisingly poor given their resources.

I always felt the engine freeze was especially unfair to Toyota.  They'd only been in F1 for a few years before they had to stop development.

On the other hand, Toyota put in some very nice qualifying efforts last season... and Kobayashi looked fantastic out there in his two races.  Maybe it's just an awkward engine/gearbox that happened to suit Kamui's style?

[FW14B]

I think maybe you have to consider were the tracks Kobayashi raced on engine intensive?  I think they weren't and so the problems of the engine weren't highlighted so much.  I mean, as bad as the engine was, Nico got some great results with it last year and the two factory drivers did well, but it was underpowered and was widely considered the worst out there last year.

[cosworth151]

Toyota put in some very nice qualifying efforts last season...

But that was just because the throttle was stuck wide open and the brakes didn't work! 

I'm not surprised at all!