AER and Ilmor look for 2017 engine supply as Cosworth rule out F1 return

The FIA recently proposed the idea of running a budget engine alongside the current 1.6 litre turbo hybrid V6s, which would not have energy recovery, in a bid to make Formula One cheaper for customer teams. Advanced Engine Research (AER) and Ilmor Engineering are bidding to provide the 2.5 litre 870bhp engine the FIA are looking for.

The budget engine is the FIA’s latest play in the power struggle between the sport’s governing body and the manufacturers for control over Formula One. Customer teams have been complaining that engines are too expensive for them to buy, while manufacturers refuse to reduce the price.

Ilmor Engineering have lately been working with Red Bull and Renault to improve their engine for 2016, and have a V6 Indycar engine on which their budget engine is supposedly based on.

AER meanwhile supplied engines for GP3 from 2013-15, and currently provide the Indy Lights spec engine and the Rebellion and Kolles LMP1 teams. Its WEC twin-turbo V6 has also been mooted for Formula One’s use.

“AER are very interested in the proposal from the FIA," said their CEO Mike Lancaster, "We're putting in a submission for it. The request seems to fit nicely with our latest V6 GDI engine. They're looking for something which produces a lot of power, and we have an engine that can do that.

"The WEC engine is the P60, the engine we're proposing is called the P66, which is a higher revving version of that. It will be ideal for the job, we believe."

Cosworth were contenders for the budget engine given their involvement in Formula One prior to the hybrid era, but have decided against a return to the sport for financial reasons. Unlike Ilmor and AER, it has no basis on which to start from.

“We took a look at it and looked at who the potential customers would be," said Cosworth’s co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven, "And the answer is essentially Red Bull, as they don't have a long-term engine contract.

"Then we looked at the economics of developing an engine from scratch, which is what we would have to do. The economics of it just don't work out. It would cost roughly £20m to develop from scratch, with everything else that goes with it. You've also got to pay for the on-track support, as well.

"It's also too short a time to produce an engine unless you've already got a design. We could do it, but the company is extremely busy at the moment, and to take on a speculative investment without the return that our other projects bring is not good business sense.

"So we have politely declined the opportunity to lose money!"

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