Formula One: How the Power Unit of the Current Cars Works & Why It’s Important for Future Road Cars

At the beginning of the Formula One World Championship in 1950, there was no real list tightly controlling the specifications of the cars, and as such, there was an eclectic mix of V10s, V8s, inline-fours, and pretty much every type of engine in between. The only limits imposed were the displacement of the engine and whether it had a compressor (supercharger) or not. Things stayed that way through the massive development periods of the 1960s and 1970s.

It wasn’t until after a series of fatal accidents that the FIA, working with newly established Formula One Management, imposed series-wide engine specifications in 1982 that banned rotary, diesel, gas turbine, sarich orbital, and boxer engines. Regulations were also put into place that dictated fuel flow rates, the minimum weight of cars and their power units, and their engine displacement, plus whether they were turbocharged or not.