This is reflected in the price, since the sporting regulations state that the standard fee between a manufacturer and a customer team is €15,000,000, making it the most expensive automotive part.
Price is also the reason why some teams will not produce their own powertrain, but will purchase one from another manufacturer or an outside engine supplier.
On the F1 2024 grid, there are four engine suppliers – Ferrari, Honda RBPT, Mercedes and Renault – spread across the 10 teams in which regulations state that a customer team must obtain an engine of the same quality as the team factory.
The number of suppliers should, however, increase in 2026 with the arrival of Audi and the return full-time of Honda for the start of the new regulations.
In 2026, F1’s powertrain will change significantly with the move to fully sustainable fuel and improved turbo-hybrids, including the removal of MGU-H and the addition of a KERS-style supercharging system.
But, looking at the current grid in 2024, which F1 team is using which power unit?
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Power units used by each F1 team
Manufacturers 2023 |
||
Red Bull
Red Bull has teamed up with Honda for the 2019 season after ending a toxic relationship with Renault. It was unclear how the partnership would pan out, as Honda had a disastrous stint as McLaren’s powertrain supplier from 2015 to 2017, where Fernando Alonso referred to it as a “GP2 engine” during the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. .
However, Honda supplied Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team, in 2018 and the engine was competitive, so the main team took it back for the following season. The partnership with Red Bull worked instantly and ultimately led to Max Verstappen winning the 2021 world championship, after Honda made major improvements to make it arguably the most powerful powerplant on the grid.
These upgrades were accelerated from 2022, as Honda had initially announced that it would leave F1 at the end of 2021. As a result, the Red Bull Powertrain company was formed and, due to the new engine freeze, the team took over the intellectual property. of the Honda engine, while a later deal saw the Japanese manufacturer provide technical support.
This new partnership is expected to end in 2025, after the freeze expires. The engine freeze means Red Bull is unable to develop the powertrain as the rule is in place to allow suppliers to focus on the 2026 regulatory changes. From 2026, Red Bull and Ford will begin a partnership with the powertrain known as “Red Bull Ford Powertrains”.
Mercedes
Mercedes purchased 2009 world champions Brawn GP for the 2010 season, meaning the German manufacturer was back on the F1 grid as a team for the first time in 55 years. However, long before its return, Mercedes was still involved in the series as an engine supplier, which included supplying its powertrain to Brawn in 2009.
So when the Mercedes team made its return, it meant the Silver Arrows wouldn’t have to buy a powertrain elsewhere. The Mercedes powertrain has also enjoyed particular success as the team dominated the move to turbo-hybrid engines in 2014. Its innovative designs, such as turbocharger separation, helped Mercedes win a record eight consecutive manufacturers’ championships. 2014 to 2021.
Even though the Mercedes team is no longer dominant, its power unit remains the most popular as it powers three other teams on the 2024 grid.
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Ferrari
Ferrari is the only team to have competed in every F1 season since its inaugural year in 1950 and from the start the Scuderia has produced engines from its base in Maranello in Italy. Ferrari is often known for having a good powertrain, which has been the catalyst behind many of the Scuderia’s 16 constructors and 15 F1 world championships.
In 2023, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told Autosport that “Ferrari is the most powerful engine”, which is why two other F1 teams have a partnership with the Scuderia for its powertrain.
McLaren
McLaren relaunched its previously successful partnership with Mercedes for the 2021 season after the relationship helped the British team win world titles in 1998, 1999 and 2008. When the original partnership ended in 2014, McLaren began to struggling as Honda (2015-17) and Renault powertrains (2018-20) proved disappointing.
In McLaren’s first year back with a Mercedes engine, it took its first victory in nine years with a shock double at the 2021 Italian GP amid five podium finishes for the team that season. Since then, the Mercedes powerplant has been a crucial factor in McLaren being a competitive team, as 2023 saw the team take nine podiums en route to fourth place in the championship. So it’s no surprise that at the end of the year, McLaren and Mercedes extended their partnership until at least 2030.
Aston Martin
Mercedes has a long history with the Silverstone team, which since 2021 has been called Aston Martin. It all started in 2009 when the manufacturer, then known as Force India, signed Mercedes as its engine supplier, which helped transform the team from a back scorer to a midfield leader.
When Force India was placed into administration in 2018, the team was renamed Racing Point while retaining the Mercedes powerplant and forging closer technical ties. However, this caused a lot of controversy and the Silverstone team were deducted 15 championship points in 2020 because their rear brake ducts took too much inspiration from the title-winning W10 in 2019 – hence the nickname of Racing Point’s “pink Mercedes” at the time.
Nevertheless, Mercedes continued to act as an engine supplier in 2021 when the Aston Martin name ended its 61-year absence from F1. After a few years behind, Aston Martin took a big step forward in 2023 with eight podiums and a fifth place in the standings. However, despite the success of its Mercedes engine, Aston Martin will be powered by Honda from the 2026 season to officially confirm the Japanese manufacturer’s full-time return to F1 under the new regulations.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Alpine
Alpine is the only manufacturer to use an engine from its parent brand Renault, which gave its name to the team from 2002 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020. Renault powertrains have a rich history in F1 as the manufacturer has won six championships in the 1990s by supplying Williams and Benetton.
Renault began powering the Enstone team in 1995, when Benetton won its constructors’ championship before Renault took over operations entirely in 2002. Renault won the 2005 and 2006 titles with its own engine before propelling Red Bull to world championship glory every year from 2010 to 2013.
But this relationship quickly deteriorated once the Austrian team was no longer dominant and the reliability of the engine came into question. In recent years, stock of a Renault powertrain has fallen dramatically, with McLaren the last customer team to use one in 2020, while the engine was approximately 20-30 hp short of its rivals in 2023 – much to Alpine’s dismay.
Williams
Williams and Mercedes are known to have a close partnership, with the German manufacturer powering the team for 10 years. Around this time, many of Mercedes’ junior drivers were also loaned to Williams to make their F1 debut – names like George Russell and Nyck de Vries, with the Briton later joining the Silver Arrows.
It’s a partnership that has worked quite well for both sides and one of the great strengths of Williams’ current car is its straight-line speed, which can be attributed to the engine. However, during those 10 years Williams’ form declined further, finishing last in the championship on four occasions despite finishing third in 2014 and 2015.
Nonetheless, Williams extended its deal with Mercedes until 2026, which was arguably a no-brainer for the team as it maintains stability through a regulation change, while the German manufacturer got the latest engine change under control.
R.B.
The Faenza team has undergone a name change for the 2024 season, dropping the AlphaTauri name for RB. It retained the same engine, however, as the Honda RBPT partnership began powering AlphaTauri in 2022 after first using a Honda powerplant in 2018, then known as the Toro Rosso.
Toro Rosso was actually used as a test dummy by Red Bull for the Honda engine before using it themselves the following year. Since then, Honda has powered both teams to victory as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took a shock victory at the 2020 Italian GP. However, technically the current team has only been powered by Honda RBPT since the GP of Bahrain 2024 and it will join its sister team using a Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine in 2026.
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Sauber
Sauber is another operation that has undergone a name change for 2024, meaning that, technically, its new team’s first race with the powerplant took place this year. However, Sauber Motorsport and Ferrari have a long history together as the Italian manufacturer has powered the team since 2010, when it was known as BMW Sauber.
Since then, the Swiss team has been known as Sauber (2011-18) and Alfa Romeo (2019-23) while retaining its Ferrari engine. At times the partnership has worked well, with four podium finishes in 2012 for example, but on other occasions the relationship has been quite strained as the powertrain was a significant factor in Sauber’s zero points score in 2014.
Ferrari and Sauber remain in partnership, however, with the current agreement expiring in 2025 before the Audi era begins in 2026.
Haas
Ferrari has powered Haas since his debut at the 2016 Australian GP. Since then, the two have formed a close relationship, with the American team taking many spare parts from the Scuderia and sometimes running a junior Ferrari during testing sessions. Grand Prix. However, this strategy hasn’t really worked, with Haas failing to finish above fifth in the championship – achieved in 2018 – while coming last in two of the last three seasons, despite the power of the Ferrari powertrain.
There is no desire to change things, however, with Haas likely to use a Ferrari powertrain by 2026, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Which engine has won the most F1 world championships?
F1 World Constructors’ Championships |
||
1961, 1964, 1975-77, 1979, 1982-83, 1999-04, 2007-08 |
||
1992-97, 2005-06, 2010-13 |
||
This is reflected in the price, since the sporting regulations state that the standard fee between a manufacturer and a customer team is €15,000,000, making it the most expensive automotive part.
Price is also the reason why some teams will not produce their own powertrain, but will purchase one from another manufacturer or an outside engine supplier.
On the F1 2024 grid, there are four engine suppliers – Ferrari, Honda RBPT, Mercedes and Renault – spread across the 10 teams in which regulations state that a customer team must obtain an engine of the same quality as the team factory.
The number of suppliers should, however, increase in 2026 with the arrival of Audi and the return full-time of Honda for the start of the new regulations.
In 2026, F1’s powertrain will change significantly with the move to fully sustainable fuel and improved turbo-hybrids, including the removal of MGU-H and the addition of a KERS-style supercharging system.
But, looking at the current grid in 2024, which F1 team is using which power unit?
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Power units used by each F1 team
Manufacturers 2023 |
||
Red Bull
Red Bull has teamed up with Honda for the 2019 season after ending a toxic relationship with Renault. It was unclear how the partnership would pan out, as Honda had a disastrous stint as McLaren’s powertrain supplier from 2015 to 2017, where Fernando Alonso referred to it as a “GP2 engine” during the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. .
However, Honda supplied Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team, in 2018 and the engine was competitive, so the main team took it back for the following season. The partnership with Red Bull worked instantly and ultimately led to Max Verstappen winning the 2021 world championship, after Honda made major improvements to make it arguably the most powerful powerplant on the grid.
These upgrades were accelerated from 2022, as Honda had initially announced that it would leave F1 at the end of 2021. As a result, the Red Bull Powertrain company was formed and, due to the new engine freeze, the team took over the intellectual property. of the Honda engine, while a later deal saw the Japanese manufacturer provide technical support.
This new partnership is expected to end in 2025, after the freeze expires. The engine freeze means Red Bull is unable to develop the powertrain as the rule is in place to allow suppliers to focus on the 2026 regulatory changes. From 2026, Red Bull and Ford will begin a partnership with the powertrain known as “Red Bull Ford Powertrains”.
Mercedes
Mercedes purchased 2009 world champions Brawn GP for the 2010 season, meaning the German manufacturer was back on the F1 grid as a team for the first time in 55 years. However, long before its return, Mercedes was still involved in the series as an engine supplier, which included supplying its powertrain to Brawn in 2009.
So when the Mercedes team made its return, it meant the Silver Arrows wouldn’t have to buy a powertrain elsewhere. The Mercedes powertrain has also enjoyed particular success as the team dominated the move to turbo-hybrid engines in 2014. Its innovative designs, such as turbocharger separation, helped Mercedes win a record eight consecutive manufacturers’ championships. 2014 to 2021.
Even though the Mercedes team is no longer dominant, its power unit remains the most popular as it powers three other teams on the 2024 grid.
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Ferrari
Ferrari is the only team to have competed in every F1 season since its inaugural year in 1950 and from the start the Scuderia has produced engines from its base in Maranello in Italy. Ferrari is often known for having a good powertrain, which has been the catalyst behind many of the Scuderia’s 16 constructors and 15 F1 world championships.
In 2023, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told Autosport that “Ferrari is the most powerful engine”, which is why two other F1 teams have a partnership with the Scuderia for its powertrain.
McLaren
McLaren relaunched its previously successful partnership with Mercedes for the 2021 season after the relationship helped the British team win world titles in 1998, 1999 and 2008. When the original partnership ended in 2014, McLaren began to struggling as Honda (2015-17) and Renault powertrains (2018-20) proved disappointing.
In McLaren’s first year back with a Mercedes engine, it took its first victory in nine years with a shock double at the 2021 Italian GP amid five podium finishes for the team that season. Since then, the Mercedes powerplant has been a crucial factor in McLaren being a competitive team, as 2023 saw the team take nine podiums en route to fourth place in the championship. So it’s no surprise that at the end of the year, McLaren and Mercedes extended their partnership until at least 2030.
Aston Martin
Mercedes has a long history with the Silverstone team, which since 2021 has been called Aston Martin. It all started in 2009 when the manufacturer, then known as Force India, signed Mercedes as its engine supplier, which helped transform the team from a back scorer to a midfield leader.
When Force India was placed into administration in 2018, the team was renamed Racing Point while retaining the Mercedes powerplant and forging closer technical ties. However, this caused a lot of controversy and the Silverstone team were deducted 15 championship points in 2020 because their rear brake ducts took too much inspiration from the title-winning W10 in 2019 – hence the nickname of Racing Point’s “pink Mercedes” at the time.
Nevertheless, Mercedes continued to act as an engine supplier in 2021 when the Aston Martin name ended its 61-year absence from F1. After a few years behind, Aston Martin took a big step forward in 2023 with eight podiums and a fifth place in the standings. However, despite the success of its Mercedes engine, Aston Martin will be powered by Honda from the 2026 season to officially confirm the Japanese manufacturer’s full-time return to F1 under the new regulations.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Alpine
Alpine is the only manufacturer to use an engine from its parent brand Renault, which gave its name to the team from 2002 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020. Renault powertrains have a rich history in F1 as the manufacturer has won six championships in the 1990s by supplying Williams and Benetton.
Renault began powering the Enstone team in 1995, when Benetton won its constructors’ championship before Renault took over operations entirely in 2002. Renault won the 2005 and 2006 titles with its own engine before propelling Red Bull to world championship glory every year from 2010 to 2013.
But this relationship quickly deteriorated once the Austrian team was no longer dominant and the reliability of the engine came into question. In recent years, stock of a Renault powertrain has fallen dramatically, with McLaren the last customer team to use one in 2020, while the engine was approximately 20-30 hp short of its rivals in 2023 – much to Alpine’s dismay.
Williams
Williams and Mercedes are known to have a close partnership, with the German manufacturer powering the team for 10 years. Around this time, many of Mercedes’ junior drivers were also loaned to Williams to make their F1 debut – names like George Russell and Nyck de Vries, with the Briton later joining the Silver Arrows.
It’s a partnership that has worked quite well for both sides and one of the great strengths of Williams’ current car is its straight-line speed, which can be attributed to the engine. However, during those 10 years Williams’ form declined further, finishing last in the championship on four occasions despite finishing third in 2014 and 2015.
Nonetheless, Williams extended its deal with Mercedes until 2026, which was arguably a no-brainer for the team as it maintains stability through a regulation change, while the German manufacturer got the latest engine change under control.
R.B.
The Faenza team has undergone a name change for the 2024 season, dropping the AlphaTauri name for RB. It retained the same engine, however, as the Honda RBPT partnership began powering AlphaTauri in 2022 after first using a Honda powerplant in 2018, then known as the Toro Rosso.
Toro Rosso was actually used as a test dummy by Red Bull for the Honda engine before using it themselves the following year. Since then, Honda has powered both teams to victory as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took a shock victory at the 2020 Italian GP. However, technically the current team has only been powered by Honda RBPT since the GP of Bahrain 2024 and it will join its sister team using a Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine in 2026.
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Sauber
Sauber is another operation that has undergone a name change for 2024, meaning that, technically, its new team’s first race with the powerplant took place this year. However, Sauber Motorsport and Ferrari have a long history together as the Italian manufacturer has powered the team since 2010, when it was known as BMW Sauber.
Since then, the Swiss team has been known as Sauber (2011-18) and Alfa Romeo (2019-23) while retaining its Ferrari engine. At times the partnership has worked well, with four podium finishes in 2012 for example, but on other occasions the relationship has been quite strained as the powertrain was a significant factor in Sauber’s zero points score in 2014.
Ferrari and Sauber remain in partnership, however, with the current agreement expiring in 2025 before the Audi era begins in 2026.
Haas
Ferrari has powered Haas since his debut at the 2016 Australian GP. Since then, the two have formed a close relationship, with the American team taking many spare parts from the Scuderia and sometimes running a junior Ferrari during testing sessions. Grand Prix. However, this strategy hasn’t really worked, with Haas failing to finish above fifth in the championship – achieved in 2018 – while coming last in two of the last three seasons, despite the power of the Ferrari powertrain.
There is no desire to change things, however, with Haas likely to use a Ferrari powertrain by 2026, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Which engine has won the most F1 world championships?
F1 World Constructors’ Championships |
||
1961, 1964, 1975-77, 1979, 1982-83, 1999-04, 2007-08 |
||
1992-97, 2005-06, 2010-13 |
||