MEMBERS of the Narberth and District Probus Club were privileged to meet one of Formula One’s top engineers when President David Thomas welcomed guest speaker Owen Jones to speak on ‘Life in Formula One’ recently.

Owen, currently Performance Director of Red Bull Powertrains, grew up in Letterston and attended school in Fishguard, before completing a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, London.

After graduating, Owen spent a few years working for his sponsor, Rover Car Company, and simultaneously working as a mechanic for sports car team Chamberlain Engineering competing at Susuka, Donnington and several years at Le Mans. During his time here they won their class at Le Mans and the class at the World Championship in 1992.

He worked as a mechanic on the RAC Rally in 1993 before joining Cosworth in 1996 as Principal Engineer to work on the iconic Cosworth V10 and V8 engines used in the Stewart, Red Bull, Jaguar and Williams F1 cars. In 2006 he moved to Mercedes, at Brixworth, where he, again, worked on V8 engines. This was followed by the 1.6 V6 turbo power units for Mercedes.

With his team, he won 9 F1 World Championships, seven with Lewis Hamilton and one with Nico Rosberg (also Mercedes) and one with Jensen Button driving a Brawn. He has appeared on the podium on two occasions, to receive the manufacture’s winning Trophy on behalf of Mercedes. Once at Singapore and once at Monza. Owen intends retiring this year after 30 years in Formula One.

In 2022 Owen moved to Red Bull to be part of the ambitious new Powertrains project, which would see the drinks company build a brand-new factory and recruit hundreds of people from across the world, in order to design, develop and produce a power unit that would take on the established names of Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda. Here, as Performance Director, he manages two departments and has 10 teams comprising 80 engineers. He is responsible for all aspects of Power Unit Performance which covers a huge package including Thermoism, Performance, Design Calibration, race support and much more.

Current powertrains are extremely complicated and have to generate electric power in addition to internal combustion power. It is quite amazing that Owen and his team have recently been deemed, by the governing body, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to have produced a powertrain (internal combustion engine and advanced electrical energy recovery system) which is the best in the current F1 field, after starting from scratch, including having to erect buildings, install equipment and assemble hundreds of engineers, compared to manufacturers who had buildings and staff in situ and had years and years of experience.

Owen’s talk started by giving some insights into the technology and statistics of the high revving V10 and V8 engines, including the first F1 engine to rev to 20,000rpm. He then contrasted this with the current 1.6l turbo hybrid power units which are substantially more complex but incredibly efficient, using around half the fuel of the V10 for similar power levels. Owen’s talk concluded with a light-hearted look at the historical development and efficiency achieved by some key engine types over the past 20 years.

Owen has a collect of old cars (a couple of which are 100 year old) in which he competes in rallies and hill climbs. In his spare time he is a volunteer at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway where he is a qualified fireman and well on the way to be a driver. He has currently climbed ‘mountain’ number 84 out of the top hundred in Wales. He and his family currently live near Towcester in Northamptonshire.

The next meeting of the Narberth and District Probus Club takes place on July 30 when the speaker be well known local Funeral Director Stewart Treharne. If you would like to join us please contact Patrick Joes on 07846 660904.

Owen, currently Performance Director of Red Bull Powertrains, grew up in Letterston and attended school in Fishguard, before completing a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, London.

After graduating, Owen spent a few years working for his sponsor, Rover Car Company, and simultaneously working as a mechanic for sports car team Chamberlain Engineering competing at Susuka, Donnington and several years at Le Mans. During his time here they won their class at Le Mans and the class at the World Championship in 1992.

He worked as a mechanic on the RAC Rally in 1993 before joining Cosworth in 1996 as Principal Engineer to work on the iconic Cosworth V10 and V8 engines used in the Stewart, Red Bull, Jaguar and Williams F1 cars. In 2006 he moved to Mercedes, at Brixworth, where he, again, worked on V8 engines. This was followed by the 1.6 V6 turbo power units for Mercedes.

With his team, he won 9 F1 World Championships, seven with Lewis Hamilton and one with Nico Rosberg (also Mercedes) and one with Jensen Button driving a Brawn. He has appeared on the podium on two occasions, to receive the manufacture’s winning Trophy on behalf of Mercedes. Once at Singapore and once at Monza. Owen intends retiring this year after 30 years in Formula One.

In 2022 Owen moved to Red Bull to be part of the ambitious new Powertrains project, which would see the drinks company build a brand-new factory and recruit hundreds of people from across the world, in order to design, develop and produce a power unit that would take on the established names of Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda. Here, as Performance Director, he manages two departments and has 10 teams comprising 80 engineers. He is responsible for all aspects of Power Unit Performance which covers a huge package including Thermoism, Performance, Design Calibration, race support and much more.

Current powertrains are extremely complicated and have to generate electric power in addition to internal combustion power. It is quite amazing that Owen and his team have recently been deemed, by the governing body, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to have produced a powertrain (internal combustion engine and advanced electrical energy recovery system) which is the best in the current F1 field, after starting from scratch, including having to erect buildings, install equipment and assemble hundreds of engineers, compared to manufacturers who had buildings and staff in situ and had years and years of experience.

Owen’s talk started by giving some insights into the technology and statistics of the high revving V10 and V8 engines, including the first F1 engine to rev to 20,000rpm. He then contrasted this with the current 1.6l turbo hybrid power units which are substantially more complex but incredibly efficient, using around half the fuel of the V10 for similar power levels. Owen’s talk concluded with a light-hearted look at the historical development and efficiency achieved by some key engine types over the past 20 years.

Owen has a collect of old cars (a couple of which are 100 year old) in which he competes in rallies and hill climbs. In his spare time he is a volunteer at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway where he is a qualified fireman and well on the way to be a driver. He has currently climbed ‘mountain’ number 84 out of the top hundred in Wales. He and his family currently live near Towcester in Northamptonshire.

The next meeting of the Narberth and District Probus Club takes place on July 30 when the speaker be well known local Funeral Director Stewart Treharne. If you would like to join, contact Patrick Jones on 07846 660904.