Formula One engines

Mostly from the 2023 season, specifications on Formula One engines, including the software used to control them and the maximum per-engine price to F1 teams of € 15,000,000, have been frozen until the end of 2025, when the completely new 2026 spec will come into effect.

This is because an engine, theoretically, produces double the power when operated twice as fast if combustion (thermal) efficiency and energy loss remain the same.

High-revving engines won races no matter how much fuel it consumed and how much wasted heat it generated, as long as they produced more power over the competition.

To operate at high engine speeds under such limits, the stroke must be short to prevent catastrophic failure, usually from the connecting rod, which is under very large stresses.

Notes:Due to the higher speed operation and the tighter restriction on the number of cylinders, efficiency of a naturally aspirated Formula One engine did not improve much since the 1967 Ford Cosworth DFV and the mean effective pressure stayed at around 14 bar (1.4 MPa) for a long time.

[a] In addition, energy recovery systems from exhaust pressure (MGU-Heat) and engine brake (MGU-Kinetic) are allowed to further improve efficiency.

[20] With the hugely improved efficiency of the combustion, mechanicals/software and turbocharger, F1 engines are generating much less heat and noise compared to the levels in 2014,[b] and Stefano Domenicali said the 2026 regulation will impose intentionally louder exhaust sound to please the fans.

In the case of the car race held in Pau, France in 1900, there were no class divisions, and no prize on record was given to the winner, René de Knyff driving a Panhard et Revassor (2.1L, 4 cylinder engine called the 'Phoenix'[23] jointly developed with Gottlieb Daimler in Germany, about 20 hp), who became the commissioner of the CSI later.

Also, wealthy people started enjoying racing the smaller and more evenly-matched Voiturette cars more than the no-limits "Voiture" 5-11L (mostly 4-cylinder) behemoths that contested the fastest class.

[25] The World Championship for Constructors started in 1958,[26] created partly to resolve the then-common dispute between a winning driver and his team on the ownership of the Grand Prix trophy.

Over the years, Formula One added more and more regulations, not only on engines but chassis, tyres, fuel, inspections, championship points, penalties, safety measures, cost control, licensing, distribution of profits, how the qualifying and races must be governed and run, etc., etc.

The Indianapolis 500 (which was a round of the World Drivers' Championship from 1950 onwards) used pre-war Grand Prix regulations, with 4.5 L atmospheric and 3.0 L supercharged engines.

Introduced in 1961 amidst some criticism, the new reduced engine 1.5 L formula took control of F1 just as every team and manufacturer switched from front to mid-engined cars.

The appearance of the standard-produced Cosworth DFV in 1967 made it possible for small manufacturers to join the series with a chassis designed in-house.

Compression devices were allowed for the first time since 1960, but it was not until 1977 that a company actually had the finance and interest of building one, when Renault debuted their new Gordini V6 turbocharged engine at that year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

By the start of the 1980s, Renault had proved that turbocharging was the way to go in order to stay competitive in Formula One, particularly at high-altitude circuits like Kyalami in South Africa and Interlagos in Brazil.

Ferrari introduced their all-new V6 turbocharged engine in 1981, before Brabham owner Bernie Ecclestone managed to persuade BMW to manufacture straight-4 turbos for his team from 1982 onwards.

The rest of the grid was powered by the Ford GBA V6 turbo in Benetton, with the only naturally-aspirated engine, the DFV-derived Ford-Cosworth DFZ 3.5 L V8 outputting 575 hp (429 kW) in Tyrrell, Lola, AGS, March and Coloni.

Honda's V6 turbo, the RA168E, which produced 685 hp (511 kW) at 12,300 rpm in qualifying,[31] powered the McLaren MP4/4 with which Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won fifteen of the sixteen races between them.

Honda was still dominant with their RA109E 72° V10 giving 685 hp (511 kW) @ 13,500 rpm on McLaren cars, enabling Prost to win the championship in front of his teammate Senna.

The exceptions were the Lamborghini 3512 in Lola and Lotus, and the new Judd EV 76° V8 giving 640 hp (477 kW) @ 12,500 rpm in Leyton House and Brabham cars.

Ilmor introduced its LH10, a 680 hp (507 kW) @ 13,000 rpm V10 which eventually became the Mercedes with Leyton House and Porsche sourced a little successful 3512 V12 to Footwork Arrows; the rest of the field was Ford DFR powered.

The EC Zetec-R V8, which powered the championship-winning Benetton team and Michael Schumacher in 1994, produced between 730–750 bhp (544–559 kW; 740–760 PS) @ 14,500 rpm.

[37] By the end of the 1994 season, Ferrari's Tipo 043 V12 was putting out around 850 hp (634 kW)[38] @ 15,800 rpm, which is to date the most-powerful naturally-aspirated V12 engine ever used in Formula One.

Most Formula One cars during the 1997 season comfortably produced a consistent power output of between 665–760 hp (495.9–566.7 kW), depending on whether a V8 or V10 engine configuration was used.

[51] Also, the FIA introduced new regulations limiting each car to one engine per two Grand Prix weekends, putting the emphasis on increased reliability.

Adrian Newey stated during the 2011 European Grand Prix that the change to a V6 enables teams to carry the engine as a stressed member, whereas an inline-4 would have required a space frame.

Honda withdrew as a power unit supplier at the end of 2021, with Red Bull taking over the project and producing the engine in-house.

[73] In 2017, the FIA began negotiations with existing constructors and potential new manufacturers over the next generation of engines with a projected introduction date of 2021 but delayed to 2022 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[76][77] However, mostly due to no new engine supplier applying for F1 entry in 2021 and 2022, abolishment of the MGU-H, a more powerful MGU-K and a four-wheel drive system were all shelved with the possibility of their re-introduction for 2026.