Aston Martin to investigate own F1 engine project for 2026

Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green says the team is investigating the possibility of building its own Formula 1 power unit when the engine regulations change in 2026.
Aston Martin to investigate own F1 engine project for 2026

F1’s engine regulations for 2026 will retain the current 1.6-litre V6 engines while removing the MGU-H component from the units.

Sustainability continues to be at the forefront of the sport’s thinking as it looks to act new manufacturers such as Porsche and Volkswagen.

With Honda bowing out of the sport at the end of last year, Red Bull has taken on its own power unit supply with the formation of Red Bull Powertrains.

Speaking after the launch of Aston Martin’s 2022 F1 challenger, Green admitted that the team is interested in producing its own power units in the future.

“I think going forward with our ambitions, we’re definitely investigating our power unit supply in the long-term,” Green said. “2026 is mooted as a new power unit regulation and I think, as a team, we’d love to be involved. We have Aramco now involved as a sponsor and I think conversations going forward in the next few years.

“We’ll see. For sure we’ll be looking at it in great detail and understanding whether they’ll be a benefit to it in that direction.”

Aston Martin will continue to run Mercedes engines in 2022 with the regulations remaining relatively stable over the winter for F1’s power units.

The main change is the type of fuel with a move to E10.

“So on the current power unit, the power unit has minimal changes from ’21,” Green explained. “It’s probably the single area of the car that’s had the least amount of change from ’21 to ’22 as we’re still in a homologated region of the power unit. The power unit has been developed with E10 fuel for 2022, so it had to be re-calibrated and the fuels re-blended.

“But that’s not a significant alteration for power unit suppliers and it’s common amongst all the teams, so they are still only producing one power unit for everybody. So I don’t think that was a big issue for them.”

Read More