The pinnacle of cutting-edge technology and research is found in Formula 1 engines. All Formula One cars must have 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged and hybrid electric engines. Check out the F1 engine’s workings as well.
The F1 engines are the pinnacle of modern technology and science and are the most important component of an F1 race car. In Formula One, constructors must design and build their own chassis, but other manufacturers may supply the engines. There are ten constructors at the moment. Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes, and Renault are the four engine producers that supply their products. Only Honda does not also participate in the constructor competition.
Since 2014, 1.6-liter V6 engines with turbocharging and hybrid electric technology have been required for all F1 engines. They have fuel flow limits and numerous energy recovery mechanisms. There is a lot of room for design experimentation despite the numerous restrictions limiting specifications, and the four engines each offer a different combination of performance, modes, and drivability.
Mercedes: The German team likely has the greatest product on the field and produces its own engines.
Ferrari: The company builds its own engines, just as Mercedes, a competitor.
Red Bull: Since 2019, Honda has been providing the Austrian team’s powerplant. Prior to a stretch of poor results, the Japanese manufacturer Renault supplied Red Bull with the engine and was crucial to their 4 consecutive championship victories.
McLaren: The seasoned Formula 1 team now has an engine agreement with Renault, but it will end after the 2019 season, and the British team will switch to Mercedes.
Renault: Another team on the grid that makes its own engines is the French team.
Racing Point: Racing Point has been a long-time user of Mercedes engines and intends to keep working with them in the years to come.
Alfa Romeo: The Swiss squad, which has a long-standing partnership with the F1 heavyweights, runs on a Ferrari engine.
Alpha Tauri: Another Red Bull squad, Alpha Tauri unofficially serves as a feeder team for the Austrian team and, like its bigger siblings, runs on Honda engines.
Haas: Since their 2016 Formula 1 debut, the lone American team on the grid has been a repeat customer of Ferrari.
In This Article...
Do Formula One Teams Build Their Own Cars?
All Formula 1 teams construct the bodies of their vehicles. For some teams, though, internal production stops there since they outsource everything—from the chassis to the engine. Each squad has its own configurations, therefore everything depends on the team.
The Formula 1 engines are produced exclusively by four companies. These include Honda, Renault, Mercedes, and Ferrari. Because they are so difficult to construct, just four firms produce Formula 1 engines. In addition to having their own teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault (Alpine) also supply engines to other teams. Honda provides two F1 teams but does not field its own squad.
The FIA and its technical partners supply certain components that are standard across all of the cars. These include the fuel flow meters, tires, onboard cameras, rear light, accident data recorder, and rear light.
The teams, the pieces they make, and the components they outsource are all covered in the section that follows.
What engine does Ferrari employ in Formula One?
The ability of teams that have dominated the sport for years to unexpectedly lose their position is one of Formula 1’s enduring characteristics. Nothing better exemplifies this than Red Bull and Mercedes, who both had protracted reigns at the top; yet, in the year 2022, it appears that Ferrari will prevail.
The Alfa Romeo and Haas F1 teams utilised Ferrari’s own engine, which is also used by other manufacturers. While numerous things, including as the chassis and aerodynamics, may have contributed to the huge improvement in all three entities’ performance, the Ferrari engine is the single aspect that unites the teams.
Ferrari has started the 2022 season strong, but it’s not only Ferrari; customer teams (Alfa Romeo and Haas), who finished last in the standings, have performed considerably better than expected and have put the teams around them on notice.
Check out the great products from the official F1 store here if you’re looking for some F1 memorabilia.
Which F1 Teams Utilize Ferrari Engines?
There are numerous teams who compete in the world of F1 racing. Additionally, Scuderia Ferrari has the wealthiest history in Formula One history among all other teams.
Since the dawn of time, the Italian giants have left an indelible mark on Formula 1. It debuted in 1950, the same year F1 did, making it the oldest team in the sport. Hi-definition technology are used in F1 cockpits, though, for the engine system. The manufacturers need a good number of sponsorship agreements in order to build the cockpit’s engine and chassis. Furthermore, a crucial prerequisite for the construction of the engine system is strong financial stability.
The teams in Formula One can purchase the engines and cockpits from the manufacturers, despite the fact that the constructors in the sport create their own chassis. There are four manufacturers in the F1 world: Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, and Renault. However, Honda will retire from motorsports after the 2021 season.
The F1 engine is a technological and architectural behemoth. equipped with a variety of energy recovery systems and limits on the fuel flow. The ideal taste of power is provided by a V6, 1.6-liter engine with turbocharging and hybrid-electric technologies.
The FIA has established regulations and restrictions that control the engine’s production of power. Regulations that are strictly enforced don’t allow for much creativity. Engineers can, however, investigate a wide range of topics, such as design, usability, and overall engine performance.
What has changed from the season of 2021?
In comparison to the 2021 season, there have been no significant changes to the engine providers. Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault will keep making their own power units in addition to providing them to their client teams.
This season, the Red Bull camp’s power units will be the only source of variation. After Max Verstappen’s title-winning season the previous time around, Honda quit the Formula One. As a result, neither Red Bull nor their sister team Alpha Tauri will any longer receive engines from the Japanese manufacturer.
Christian Horner, the team’s principal, declared that while they will start their own powertrains division, they would need Honda’s assistance during the changeover.
As a result, Red Bull and Alpha Tauri will use power-units with the Red Bull logo starting in 2022. They’ll continue to get assistance from Honda employees for their engines, but they won’t have any official relationships with them.
By 2026, F1 may have five engine suppliers, including Aston Martin.
As Formula One braces for an engine freeze, Aston Martin head Mike Krack says the team should seriously consider competing with a factory-built engine in 2026.
Mike Krack, the new team manager of Aston Martin, thinks it’s time for his organization to investigate the potential of being the fifth engine supplier for Formula One in 2026.
Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda (which will gradually switch to Red Bull Powertrains) will all be giving their power units to teams for the 2022 season, bringing the total number of engine manufacturers in Formula One to four.
Currently, Red Bull and AlphaTauri are powered by Honda, Haas and Alfa Romeo are propelled by a Ferrari engine, and Aston Martin and McLaren are propelled by Mercedes engines.
But with F1 having already established the groundwork for the following engine regulations, everything may alter by 2026.
Some people hold out hope that Audi, Porsche, and other manufacturers would join the sport if the new engine restrictions will lure them in. Krack has also indicated that Aston Martin will be keeping a close eye on things.
Ferrari F1 engines: Are they all the same?
Each team is in charge of their own cars in the incredibly expensive sport of Formula 1. The heart of a car is its engine, although not all F1 cars have the same kind. Then, many new fans may be perplexed as to why various F1 teams utilize various engines.
Different engines are used by different F1 teams since this makes the sport more competitive. But not all F1 teams are even equipped to build their own engines, either because they lack a specific department for developing engines or because they aren’t automakers.
Some teams are unable to afford to construct their own engines and must purchase engines from other teams. These collaborations have long existed in F1, despite the fact that they are not always perfect. We go into greater detail about the reasons F1 teams use certain engines below.
Who constructs the McLaren F1 engines?
For 1988, McLaren dominated the season, winning all but one race. They were powered by Honda engines and benefited from the driving prowess of Prost and Ayrton Senna. After a season-long struggle with Prost, Senna won his first world championship.
Who constructs the Mercedes F1 engines?
The origins of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) date back to 1984, when Paul Morgan and Mario Illien founded Ilmor Engineering Ltd. with finance from Roger Penske.
Every single Formula One engine bearing the Mercedes-Benz mark has been designed and developed by the Brixworth team since 1995.
After changing its name to Mercedes-Ilmor Ltd in 2002, the business changed its name to Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd in 2005 and became a fully owned subsidiary of Daimler AG.
Around 700 creative individuals work on engines and powertrains for Formula One, Formula E, and high-performance hybrid road cars at Brixworth today, a cutting-edge technology campus. Williams Racing, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, and McLaren F1 Team are among the client teams that the Brixworth team works with on the Formula One project to design, produce, and test Hybrid Power Units for the Mercedes works team.
Mercedes-Benz’s first victory in the contemporary era came at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. Subsequent triumphs in the World Championship in 1998 (Drivers’ and Constructors’), 1999 (Drivers’), 2008 (Drivers’) and 2009 (Drivers’ and Constructors’) were powered by V10 and V8 engines from Brixworth. For its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), the first-ever hybrid system to win a Grand Prix at the 2009 Hungarian GP, the business was also presented with the coveted Dewar Trophy for Technical Excellence in 2009.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team has won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021) and seven consecutive Drivers’ Championships thanks to Mercedes-Benz V6 Power Units in the current, hybrid F1 era.
With a thermal efficiency of over 50%, the F1 Power Unit from Brixworth is one of the most effective internal combustion engines ever created. In order to maximize power and performance from the rules, HPP works to evolve, refine, and develop the Power Unit each season.
Since late 2009, the Brixworth technology center has been fully operating, giving the HPP team access to state-of-the-art, constantly improved facilities. The site is 75,000 m2 in size overall. The technological center contains a 1.5 megawatt energy-efficient CCHP plant and a 1 megawatt solar PV system on its roof, which together produce about 52% of the electricity needed for operations. The facility also bears the worldwide environmental management system certification ISO 14001. In 2021, the location received a 3* FIA Sustainability Accreditation.