Aston Martin teases F1 move for 2021

Aston Martin is eagerly assessing the viability of becoming an independent engine supplier in Formula 1 from 2021 if the rules make it affordable and competitive, says company chief Andy Palmer.

The Aston Martin CEO has increased the brand’s involvement in the sport by agreeing a title sponsorship deal with Red Bull from 2018, while team principal Christian Horner heavily hinted at a potential engine tie-up in the near future.

Palmer is keen to understand the future F1 engine regulations set to be installed in 2021 to see if it could make the move to become an engine supplier and has been encouraged by the tabled proposals of standardising a number of engine components to make power units cheaper while also levelling the competitiveness.

The proposals presented to current and interested manufacturers last month included increasing revs by 3,000RPM to improve sound, removing the MGU-H, a single turbocharger and standardising the energy store and control electronics.

Speaking on the Sky F1 Report show, Palmer says he’s pleased with the proposals but given a mixed feedback from a number of manufacturers he wants Aston Martin to delay a final decision until the new rules are voted through for 2021.

“For us it's potentially a new engine in 2021, dependent upon what those regulations eventually come out like,” Palmer told the Sky F1 Report show. “There would be no point at all [in developing an engine until 2021]. The amount of development that goes into the current breed of engine is enormous, the cost of doing that is enormous particularly with the heat recovery system in the turbocharger and you throw it away in 2021.”

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Palmer also confirmed Aston Martin would take on external help to develop an F1 engine with the British manufacturer linked to a deal with Cosworth and Ilmor in recent weeks.

"It would be in collaboration with somebody. We have never done a Formula 1 engine before and there are obviously parties around like Cosworth, AVL, Ricardo or Ilmor,” he said. “There are suppliers that are involved in the sport that we deal with.

“The first step for us was the recruitment of Luca Marmorini [ex-Ferrari engineer]. He has a lot of history in engine development for Ferrari and Toyota and he's helping us put together this concept of what the engine could look like and also participating in the discussions with the FIA.”

Further meetings hosted by Liberty Media are scheduled for December to reveal its planned future direction of F1 to teams and interested parties aiming to join the sport, with topics ranging from marketing plans to future technical regulations.