Cosworth to build F1 engine for Aston Martin? (9th Update)

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer

UPDATE This rumor is downgraded to 'false' today after Aston Martin said it's plans to build an F1 engine are not going to materialize.

CEO Andy Palmer told Autocar: "It doesn't look like the new regulations will be of interest, sadly.

"I don't see the costs coming down far enough with the regulations I've heard discussed and I do see that the opportunity to spend a fortune chasing down a tenth of a second a lap will remain," he added. It never was practical for a small company like Aston Martin to compete with the big giants.

01/02/18 (GMM) Aston Martin has indicated it is open to collaborating with Cosworth on a F1 engine foray.

The British luxury carmaker is now Red Bull's title sponsor, but it is interested in F1's simpler and more affordable post-2020 engine regulations.

And Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer is now also interested in a tie-in with Cosworth, the famous former independent F1 engine supplier.

"Cosworth is one of our key partners for Valkyrie (the road car project) and we are working closely with them to create a V12," he told France's Auto Hebdo.

"Extending this collaboration to a F1 project would make sense and it is a proposal that we would be willing to study," Palmer added.

Ford Cosworth's Bruce Wood (L) and Ian Bisco (R) in 2001 at a CART IndyCar race at Fontana

01/18/18 Cosworth told motorsport.com it would like to work with Aston Martin on a potential Formula 1 engine project and has had discussions with the British manufacturer about joining forces.

Cosworth powertrains boss Bruce Wood says "We would like to work with that partnership," Wood told Motorsport.com. "We've done a lot of work with Aston for many years, we're working very closely with Red Bull and the team for the Valkyrie [hypercar], so there's a certain logic to it.

"Aston have been very clear that they want to be doing something more than just badging someone else's engine.

"They also don't aspire to designing it all themselves, so there's a natural fit there and certainly that's where some of those discussions are happening.

"Aston and Red Bull have a very strong relationship, so there's definitely a desire to do something together there."
Wood has said Cosworth is unlikely to return to F1 as a sole supplier, but that partnering with other interested parties, such as Aston and Ilmor, was a more "realistic" proposition.

"Obviously Cosworth is completely independent and we need to be profitable as our number one tenant," Wood added.

"It isn't like when we were owned by Ford as a cost centre to put Jaguar on the F1 grid. Anything has to be profitable and certainly that is easier to do if you're sharing those costs with someone else.

"As companies, we've all grown up competing with one another in many respects, but I think we all recognise it's probably in everyone's interests and probably no single individual is going to be able to do it on their own."

"We would have to take on a lot of additional staff and there would be infrastructure that we'd need to increase and that in itself is a year's work, so the reality is 2021 could become 2022," Wood explained.

"It might not be what everyone wanted, but it's still better than not having the discussions at all.
"Our view is it would be a huge investment for whoever was going to do it and it probably isn't realistic to get everything in place for 2021.

"But that doesn't make us think we should forget it. It just makes us think about how 2022 would work."

01/02/18 Aston Martin "has had interest from a handful of Formula 1 teams" regarding the possibility of taking a supply of its power units from '21 and beyond, according to Lawrence Barretto of AUTOSPORT.

The British car maker, which will become Red Bull’s title sponsor in '18, "is keen on F1’s next engine rules cycle," providing the production and development costs are "controlled."

Aston Martin President & CEO Andy Palmer said that he was "encouraged" by the direction of the '21 engine plans, which were presented by F1 execs in October.

Red Bull "would be an obvious candidate to become a customer, given the relationship and comments" from Team Principal Christian Horner that the team "would be open to an arrangement" with Aston.

It "emerged that other independent teams on the grid have been in contact with Aston regarding taking a supply" and it reportedly "could be in a position to create the capacity for more than two teams." AUTOSPORT

Will Cosworth build the engine for Aston Martin?

12/19/17 Aston Martin appears increasingly interested in becoming a Formula One engine supplier when new regulations are implemented for the 2021 season.

In October, the FIA announced plans to retain the existing 1.6-liter V6 turbo formula but to increase the engine’s rev limit by 3,000 rpm and ditch the expensive and complex MGU-H heat energy recovery system.

Unsurprisingly, existing engine suppliers Mercedes, Renault, and Ferrari have raised doubts about the new power units. Despite this, Aston Martin believes it could help encourage the FIA to implement the proposed changes despite this backlash.

“We are acutely conscious that the current incumbents will try to bring the sport towards whatever they have right now," Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer said.

“I would if I was in their shoes too. We stick out there as the disruptor, which I like. If we do an engine, we won't do it by ourselves. We'll start now to look for partners.

“That's a partnership from a technical point of view and from a manufacturing point of view. We are starting that study now in parallel to the machination of the regulations, Palmer revealed.

Speaking to Motorsport, Palmer said Aston Martin has submitted a letter to the FIA and Liberty Media about the impacts of the regulation changes on an independent manufacturer. In the letter, the British marque also expressed its support for the heat energy recovery system to be ditched.

If Aston Martin does decide to venture into Formula One, it would likely supply engines to Red Bull Racing. Carscoops.com

11/28/17 British luxury supercar manufacturer Aston Martin says it will "probably" enter Formula 1 when the new engine is introduced in 2021, according to its CEO, Andy Palmer.

The British marque is already a sponsor of the Red Bull F1 team, but is contemplating a move into becoming an engine supplier and possibly a works team – which would likely see it takeover the Red Bull entry – but only when the costs have come down to a sensible level.

It's hoped the proposed 2021 engine will go some way to bringing costs under control and Palmer says he is now in a position to propose it to Aston Martin's board, though ultimately it would be their decision.

"It moves from probably I wouldn't propose it to the board, to probably I would," he told the BBC.

"It moves into the realms of possibility and I need to take it to the board, and it is an arrogant CEO that contemplates what a board decision will be.

"Obviously I am taking my board on a journey. We discuss it every quarter and I am warming them up to the possibility."

Palmer insists the sport needs to adapt though and he believes it is gradually happening under new owners Liberty Media.
"The sport is certainly not about the driver in the way it used to be," he added. "That would be my major point. [Are fans] being driven away by the engine?

"You can have the argument you don't have the engine sound you used to have, the unreliability of some of the engines, the grid penalties, which are really hard to understand.

"How do you get demoted 35 places on the grid which only has 20 cars on it? So there are some absurdities [that need addressing].

"Obviously there is a commercial reason for me doing it and a commercial reason for Red Bull doing it. But essentially our intentions align and it's fair to say we love the sport."

Luca Marmorini

10/18/17 (GMM) Aston Martin appears to have taken another step closer to formula one.

A month ago, the British luxury carmaker announced it will step up its deal with Red Bull to become title sponsor for 2018.

When asked if an engine deal might be the next step, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said: "They can't do that now, so it would have to be for 2021."

Now, the Italian magazine Autosprint reports that well-known F1 figure Luca Marmorini, the former Ferrari and Toyota engine boss, has joined Aston Martin.

The report said Italian Marmorini will initially be an "advisor".

07/26/17 Aston Martin "could be interested" in a future Formula 1 engine program, depending on the outcome of the '21 rules discussions, according to Adam Cooper of AUTOSPORT.

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer "attended a recent meeting of the FIA's engine working group."

He said that his firm "could only justify an F1 involvement if a lid was kept on costs."

Aston is currently a sponsor of Red Bull Racing, and is working with Red Bull Racing Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey on the Valkyrie road car project — which uses a Cosworth-developed engine.

Palmer: "We sit on the periphery of F1, with the Valkyrie, and with Red Bull. There's always that question, would you want to enter as a team? Our major competitor is Ferrari, so in that sense there's a rationale in being involved in some way. But for a company that's only just moved to making a profit we don't have the 350-400 million a year that you have to spend on F1."

Palmer said that the engine group's talks are "definitely going in the right way" but there is no "clear consensus."

He said, "Clearly everybody accepts that you need more theater in F1, you need more noise, you don't want to restrict too much of the performance, but you have to bring the costs of entry down." AUTOSPORT

Cosworth CEO Hal Reisiger

07/19/17 Cosworth is preparing for a Formula 1 return as it commits to helping frame the new engine rules for 2021 writes Jonathan Noble of Autosport.

Although the plans have not been officially signed off, the push towards a simpler and cheaper turbo hybrid V6 is sufficient to make Cosworth look towards F1 again.

Cosworth CEO Hal Reisiger said optimism over future rules plus positive talks with teams had convinced him to start committing resources to an F1 project.

"I think that we've got sufficient support from the existing teams, and we've had discussions with some, that enable us to make the commitment to proceed," Reisiger told Autosport.

"More teams committed for a longer term is always better.

"But we have some verbal agreements to partner with some existing and future teams that would enable us to be a sustainable engine partner."

Cosworth has agreed to play a significant role in new F1 working groups being set up to finalize the 2021 rules.

Reisiger wants F1 to move away from the heat energy recovery element that has proved so troublesome for current manufacturers.

"We think we are well suited to come back into F1 if the engine regulations should change, and the compelling change has to be with the heat energy recovery [from the turbo] because that is the most expensive and time-consuming element," he said.

"If F1 wants a new engine supplier for 2021 there will have to be some changes on that front."

Asked if he felt Cosworth had the infrastructure to produce an engine that could take on manufacturers of Mercedes and Ferrari's size, Reisiger said: "Yes. It is important not only for the teams that we would serve, but for our own brand that we should not get involved in it if we cannot be competitive.

"We have a great historic brand, we want to protect our brand as much as we want to help people win races, but we do think we can do it." Autosport

07/05/17 Autosport reports that Aston Martin and Cosworth made their first appearance in the group discussing future Formula 1 engine regulations this week. It is thought Cosworth might build an F1 engine for Aston Martin if the rules are such that a small company like Cosworth can compete with the large manufacturers with endless deep pockets.

F1 bosses and the FIA are working on plans to simplify the overly expensive F1 engines from 2021 with rumors the engine will be a dual turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 with a single KERS.

An initial meeting was held in March with F1's current manufacturers, plus representatives from outside the current championship field that included the Volkswagen Group.

A second formal meeting of what is now officially named the Power Unit Working Group was held on Tuesday, with Aston Martin, Cosworth, Zytek and Magneti Marelli attending for the first time.