Formula One engines

This article gives an outline of Formula One engines , also called Formula One power units since the hybrid era starting in 2014. Since its inception in 1947, Formula One has used a variety of engine regulations . Formulae limiting engine capacity had been used in Grand Prix racing on a regular basis since after World War I . The engine formulae are divided according to era . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

Formula One currently uses 1.6 litre four-stroke turbocharged 90 degree V6 double-overhead camshaft (DOHC) reciprocating engines . [ 4 ] They were introduced in 2014 and have been developed over the subsequent seasons. 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.

Still, the high speed operation of F1 engines contrasts with road car engines of a similar size, which typically operate at less than 6,000 rpm.

The high-speed rotation created a vibration problem caused by secondary imbalance inherent in piston engines. Tony Rudd found in BRM 1.5L P56 V8 engine (11,000rpm redline) of 1961-1962 that a long conrod, much longer than required, was key to reducing the secondary vibration, enabling a high revolution. Coventry Climax FWMV Mk.III, using a much longer conrod in the same cylinder block as Mk.II, proved this concept in 1963. [ a ] Other teams gradually found this secret, but this concept was not u...

Until the mid-1980s Formula One engines were limited to around 12,000 rpm due to the traditional metal springs used to close the valves. The speed required to close the valves at a higher rpm called for ever stiffer springs, which increased the power required to drive the camshaft to open the valves, to the point where the loss nearly offset the power gain through the increase in rpm. They were replaced by pneumatic valve springs introduced by Renault in 1986, [ 7 ] [ 8 ] which inherently have a...

To lower the maximum piston/conrod acceleration, Formula One cars use short-stroke , multi-cylinder engines that result in lower average piston speed for a given displacement. [ 13 ] After seeing some 16 cylinder engines, [ b ] the number of cylinders was limited to twelve in 1989, ten in 2000, eight in 2006 and six in 2014. These regulation changes made higher-speed designs more difficult and less efficient. To operate at high engine speeds under such limits, the stroke must be short to prevent...

From the 2014 season, a new concept of limiting the maximum fuel flow rate was introduced, which limits the power if energy loss and air/fuel ratio are constant. While the bore and stroke figures are now fixed by the rules, this regulation promoted the competition to improve powertrain efficiency. As energy loss increases nearly exponentially with engine speed, the rev limit became meaningless, so it was lifted in 2022. Currently, F1 engines rev up to about 13,000rpm, while the combustion eff...

In addition, energy recovery systems from exhaust pressure (MGU-Heat) and engine-brake (MGU-Kinetic) are allowed to further improve efficiency. MGU-H [ 17 ] [ 18 ] is an electric motor/generator on the common shaft between the exhaust turbine and intake compressor of the turbocharger, while MGU-K [ 19 ] is also an electric motor/generator driven by (or driving) crankshaft at a fixed ratio.

Together with improvements in fuel and these energy recovery systems, F1 engines increased power using the same amount of fuel in recent years. For example, Honda RA621H [ 20 ] engine of 2021 season generated over 100 kW (130 bhp ) more maximum power over RA615H of the 2015 season at the same 100 kg/h fuel flow rate. [ 21 ]

Formula One engines have come through various regulations, manufacturers, and configurations. [ 23 ] Throughout its history, Formula One has been the forefront for technological innovation in engine design. From the early naturally aspirated engines to the introduction of turbocharged units and hybrid powertrains, each era has pushed the boundaries of engineering. The shift towards hybrids and sustainable technologies reflects the sport's commitment to environmental responsibility and technologi...

Car racing in various forms began almost immediately after the invention of the automobile, and many of the first organised car racing events were held in Europe before 1900. There had been the tradition of calling a particular race in an event with the name of the award given to the winner in France and some other countries, as traditional racing events often had multiple races and classes, like Men, Women, 100m, 1500m, breast-stroke, etc. In the case of the car race held in Pau, France in 190...

During and after World War I (1914–1918), it became obvious that the size of engines (and if they were supercharged), not the size and weight of cars, primarily determined how fast they could run. 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. In 1926, then-current Voiturette regulation of "up to 1,500 cc, supercharged" was adopted to the forme...

Formula One was born as the first internationally unified regulation to define a class of racing cars in 1946 to be effective 1947. It was defined by Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI), the sporting branch of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), reflecting the Voiture regulation of "up to 1,500 cc supercharged, or 4,500 cc without supercharger". After Formula One was more or less 'ratified' or accepted by other countries, Formula Two was defined in 1947 as "up to 500 cc super...

In contrast to the pre-existed European Drivers' Championship , [ note 1 ] Formula One events were meant to be competition among the countries. Each car, or team, represented a country in this 'international' race, with the cars painted in the "national colours", like red for Italy, green for the UK, silver for Germany, and blue for France. The World Championship for Drivers was defined by the CSI in 1949 for 1950 and onwards to honour the drivers, instead of the countries they represented. [ 27...

This era used pre-war voiturette engine regulations, with 4.5 L atmospheric and 1.5 L supercharged engines. 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. The power range was up to 425 hp (317 kW), though the BRM Type 15 of 1953 reportedly achieved 600 hp (447 kW) with a 1.5 L supercharged engine.

In 1952 and 1953, the World Drivers' Championship was run to Formula Two regulations, but the existing Formula One regulations remained in force and a number of Formula One races were still held in those years.

Naturally aspirated engine size was reduced to 2.5 L and supercharged cars were limited to 750 cc. No constructor built a supercharged engine for the World Championship. The Indianapolis 500 continued to use old pre-war regulations. The power range was up to 290 hp (216 kW).

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. Although these were initially underpowered, by 1965 average power had increased by nearly 50% and lap times were faster than in 1960. The old 2.5 L formula had been retained for International Formula racing, but this did not achieve much success until the introduction of the Tasman Series in Australia and New Zealand during...

In 1966, with sports cars capable of outrunning Formula One cars thanks to much larger and more powerful engines, the FIA increased engine capacity to 3.0 L atmospheric and 1.5 L compressed engines. [ 29 ] Although a few manufacturers had been aiming for larger engines, the transition was not smooth and 1966 was a transitional year, with 2.0 L versions of the BRM and Coventry-Climax V8 engines being used by several entrants. The appearance of the standard-produced Cosworth DFV in 1967 made it po...

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. In 1983, Alfa Romeo introduced a V8 turbo, and by the end of that year Honda and Pors...

By mid-1985, every Formula One car was running with a turbocharged engine. In 1986, power figures were reaching unprecedented levels, with all engines reaching over 1,000 hp (750 kW) during qualifying with unrestricted turbo boost pressures. This was especially seen with the BMW straight-4 turbo, the M12/13 , which produced around 1,400–1,500 hp (1,040–1,120 kW) at 5.5 bar of boost in qualifying trim, but was detuned to produce between 850–900 hp (630–670 kW) in race spec. However, these engines...

The power range from 1966 to 1986 was between 285 hp (210 kW) to 500 hp (370 kW), turbos 500 hp (370 kW) to 900 hp (670 kW) in race trim, and in qualifying, up to 1,400 hp (1,040 kW). Following their experiences at Indianapolis, in 1971 Lotus made a few unsuccessful experiments with a Pratt & Whitney turbine fitted to chassis which also had four-wheel-drive . [ 30 ]

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 . [ 31 ] The massively powerful BMW M12 /13 inline-four found in the Brabham BT55 tilted almost horizontally, and in upright position under the Megatron brand in Arrows and Ligier , producing 900 bhp (670 kW) at 3.8 bar in race trim, and an incredible 1,400–1,500 bhp (1,04...

In 1988 , six teams – McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Arrows, Osella and Zakspeed – continued with turbocharged engines, now limited to 2.5 bar. Honda's V6 turbo, the RA168E, which produced 685 hp (511 kW) at 12,300 rpm in qualifying, [ 33 ] powered the McLaren MP4/4 with which Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won fifteen of the sixteen races between them. The Italian Grand Prix was won by Gerhard Berger in the Ferrari F1/87/88C , powered by the team's own V6 turbo, the 033E, with about 720 hp (537 kW) at ...

Turbochargers were banned from the 1989 Formula One season , leaving only a naturally aspirated 3.5 L formula. 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. Behind were the Renault RS1-powered Williams, a 67° V10 giving 650 hp (485 kW) @ 12,500 rpm and the Ferrari with its 035/5 65° V12 giving 660 hp (492 kW) at 13,000 rpm. Behind, the grid was powered mainly by Ford C...

The 1990 Formula One season was again dominated by Honda in McLarens with the 690 hp (515 kW) @ 13,500 rpm RA100E powering Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger ahead of the 680 hp (507 kW) @ 12,750 rpm Ferrari Tipo 036 of Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell . Behind them the Ford HBA4 for Benetton and Renault RS2 for Williams with 660 hp (492 kW) @ 12,800 rpm were leading the pack powered by Ford DFR and Judd CV engines. The exceptions were the Lamborghini 3512 in Lola and Lotus, and the new Judd EV 76° V8...

Honda was still leading the 1991 Formula One season in Senna's McLaren with the 725–780 hp (541–582 kW) @ 13,500–14,500 rpm 60° V12 RA121E, just ahead of the Renault RS3 powered Williams benefiting from 700–750 hp (520–560 kW) @ 12,500–13,000 rpm. Ferrari was behind with its Tipo 037, a new 65° V12 giving 710 hp (529 kW) @ 13,800 rpm also powering Minardi , just ahead the Ford HBA4/5/6 in Benetton and Jordan cars. Behind, Tyrrell was using the previous Honda RA109E, Judd introduced its new GV wi...

In 1992, the Renault engines became dominant, even more so following the departure from the sport of Honda at the end of 1992. The 3.5 L Renault V10 engines powering the Williams F1 team produced a power output between 750–820 bhp (559–611 kW; 760–831 PS) @ 13,000–14,300 rpm toward the end of the 3.5 L naturally aspirated era, between 1992 and 1994. Renault-engined cars won the last three consecutive world constructors' championships of the 3.5 L formula era with Williams (1992–1994). [ 38 ]

The Peugeot A4 V10 , used by the McLaren Formula One team in 1994, initially developed 700 bhp (522 kW; 710 PS) @ 14,250 rpm. It was later further developed into the A6, which produced even more power, developing 760 bhp (567 kW; 771 PS) @ 14,500 rpm.

This era used a 3.0 L formula, with the power range varying (depending on engine tuning) between 600 hp (447 kW) and 1,000 hp (746 kW), between 13,000 rpm and 20,000 rpm, and from eight to twelve cylinders. Despite engine displacement being reduced from 3.5 L, power figures and RPMs still managed to climb. Renault was the initial dominant engine supplier from 1995 until 1997, winning the first three world championships with Williams and Benetton in this era. The championship-winning 1995 Benetto...

BMW started supplying its engines to Williams from 2000. The engine was very reliable in the first season though slightly short of power compared to Ferrari and Mercedes units. The BMW E41 -powered Williams FW22 produced around 810 hp @ 17,500 rpm, during the 2000 season. [ 48 ] BMW went straight forward with its engine development. The P81, used during the 2001 season, was able to hit 17,810 rpm. Unfortunately, reliability was a large issue with several blowups during the season.

The BMW P82, the engine used by the BMW WilliamsF1 Team in 2002, had hit a peak speed of 19,050 rpm in its final evolutionary stage. It was also the first engine in the 3.0 litre V10-era to break through the 19,000 rpm wall, during the 2002 Italian Grand Prix 's qualifying. [ 49 ] BMW's P83 engine used in 2003 season managed an impressive 19,200 rpm and cleared the 900 bhp (670 kW) mark, at around 940 bhp, and weighs less than 200 lb (91 kg). [ 50 ] [ 51 ] Honda's RA003E V10 also cleared the 900...

In 2005, no more than 5 valves per cylinder were permitted. [ 53 ] Also, the FIA introduced new regulations limiting each car to one engine per two Grand Prix weekends, putting the emphasis on increased reliability. In spite of this, power outputs continued to rise. Mercedes engines had about 930 bhp (690 kW) in this season. Cosworth , Mercedes , Renault , and Ferrari engines all produced around 900 bhp (670 kW) to 940 bhp (700 kW) @ 19,000 rpm. [ 54 ] Honda had over 965 bhp (720 kW). [ 55 ] [ 5...

For 2006, the engines had to be 90° V8 of 2.4 litres maximum capacity with a circular bore of 98 mm (3.9 in) maximum, which implies a 39.75 mm (1.565 in) stroke at maximum bore. The engines must have two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder, be naturally aspirated and have a 95 kg (209 lb) minimum weight. The previous year's engines with a rev-limiter were permitted for 2006 and 2007 for teams who were unable to acquire a V8 engine, with Scuderia Toro Rosso using a Cosworth V10, after Red B...

Pre-cooling air before it enters the cylinders, injection of any substance other than air and fuel into the cylinders, variable-geometry intake and exhaust systems , and variable valve timing were forbidden. Each cylinder could have only one fuel injector and a single plug spark ignition . Separate starting devices were used to start engines in the pits and on the grid. The crankcase and cylinder block had to be made of cast or wrought aluminium alloys. The crankshaft and camshafts had to be mad...

The reduction in capacity was designed to give a power reduction of around 20% from the three-litre engines, to reduce the increasing speeds of Formula One cars. Despite this, in many cases the performance of the car improved. In 2006 Toyota F1 announced an approximate 740 hp (552 kW) output at 18,000 rpm for its new RVX-06 engine, [ 64 ] but real figures are of course difficult to obtain. Most cars from this period (2006–2008) produced a regular power output of approximately between 720 and 80...

The engine specification was frozen in 2007 to keep development costs down. The engines which were used in the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix were used for the 2007 and 2008 seasons and they were limited to 19,000 rpm. In 2009 the limit was reduced to 18,000 rpm with each driver allowed to use a maximum of 8 engines over the season. Any driver needing an additional engine is penalised 10 places on the starting grid for the first race the engine is used. This increases the importance of reliability, al...

2009 saw the exit of Honda from Formula One. The team was acquired by Ross Brawn , creating Brawn GP and the BGP 001 . With the absence of the Honda engine, Brawn GP retrofitted the Mercedes engine to the BGP 001 chassis. The newly branded team won both the Constructors' Championship and the Drivers' Championship from better-known and better-established contenders Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, and Renault.

The FIA announced a change from the 2.4-litre V8 , introducing 1.6-litre V6 hybrid engines (more than one power source) for the 2014 season. The new regulations allow kinetic and heat energy recovery systems . [ 71 ] Forced induction was now allowed – either turbochargers , which last appeared in 1988 , or superchargers – with all constructors opting to use a turbocharger. Instead of limiting the boost level, the regulations introduced a fuel flow restriction at 100 kg of petrol per hour maximum...

Energy recovery systems such as KERS had a boost of 160 hp (120 kW) and 2 megajoules per lap. KERS was renamed Motor Generator Unit–Kinetic ( MGU-K ). Heat energy recovery systems were also allowed, under the name Motor Generator Unit–Heat ( MGU-H ).

The 2015 season was an improvement on 2014, adding about 30–50 hp (20–40 kW) to most engines, the Mercedes engine being the most powerful with 870 hp (649 kW). In 2019, Renault's engine was claimed to have hit 1,000 hp in qualifying trim. [ 75 ]

Of the previous manufacturers, only Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault produced engines to the new formula in 2014, whereas Cosworth stopped supplying engines. Honda returned as an engine manufacturer in 2015, with McLaren switching to Honda power after using the Mercedes engine in 2014.

In January 2018, the FIA issued a technical directive to prevent engine manufacturers from supplying customer teams with unequal engines, ensuring engine performance parity with works teams. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] [ 78 ]

In 2019, Red Bull switched from using a Renault engine to Honda power. Honda supplied both Red Bull and AlphaTauri. 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 . [ 79 ]

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 . [ 80 ] The initial proposal was designed to simplify engine designs, cut costs, promote new entries and address criticisms directed at the 2014 generation of engines. It called for the 1.6 L V6 configuration to be retained, but abandoned the complex Motor Gene...

However, mostly due to no new engine supplier applying for F1 entry in 2021 and 2022, the abolishment of 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. Instead, the teams and FIA agreed to a radical change in body/chassis aerodynamics to promote more battles on the course at closer distances to each other. They further agreed to an increase in alcohol content from 5.75% to 10% of fuel, and to implement a freeze ...

New engine regulations will be introduced from the 2026 season. These engine regulations will see the turbocharged 1.6 V6 internal combustion engine configuration used since 2014 retained. The new power units will produce over 1,000 bhp (750 kW), although the power will come from different places. The MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit – Heat) will be banned, while the MGU-K's (Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic) output will increase to 470 bhp (350 kW ) – previously the MGU-K had a maximum power output of...

Records

Figures correct as of the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

Bold indicates engine manufacturers that have competed in Formula One in the 2025 season.