Some elements of the power unit can still be changed until September this year, but after that period, manufacturers cannot make any more changes, at least when it comes to performance.
The overall effect is that the overall performance of the four power units in F1 will remain unchanged during that freeze.
What is freezing an engine in 1?
Basically, the freeze entails a complete block in the development of the four current Formula 1 power unit manufacturers: Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda (renamed Red Bull Powertrains ).
The specifications of each power unit must be submitted to the FIA in a process known as homologation , which means that a component must be manufactured that is proven to be legal and then can be replicated and multiplied for use during racing, but that cannot be changed.
The FIA F1 sporting regulations explain: “The only power unit that can be used in a Grand Prix during the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons is a power unit that is made up solely of elements that were in conformity, in the date they were entered in their first race, with the last homologation file submitted and approved as defined in Annex 4 of the technical regulations”.
That appendix explains how and when changes can be made, as described below.
Engine of the Mercedes W13
How long are F1 engines frozen?
The freeze starts this season and runs through the 2023, 2024 and 2025 championships, before new engine rules arrive in 2026.
The 2026 power units won’t be a huge change from the current turbo V6s, but they will be different and will require a great deal of work to develop.
There are two approval deadlines. The first was March 1, 2022 , at which point the manufacturers had to freeze the ICE (the V6 engine), the turbo, the MGU-H (engine generating unit – heat), the exhaust system, the specification fuel and engine oil .
However, there is still some wiggle room to work on other power unit elements during this season, as there is a second deadline, September 1, 2022 , for an update to the Control Electronics (CE) specifications. ), the energy storage system (battery) and the MGU-K.
After that and from 2023 to 2025, there can be no more updates.
Why do engines freeze in Formula 1?
The freeze has been introduced to allow the four manufacturers to shift development work on their current power units and focus on the new 2026 rules.
That’s because even the major manufacturers have R&D resources that are not infinite, and it makes little sense in terms of gaining development or their financial positions to work on two parallel projects.
The current rules have already been in place for nine seasons, and although the 2022 power units are a far cry from the original 2014 ones, they have relatively little development potential left, and achieving that last remaining performance would be costly.
Also, if the current power units continue to be developed, that would give an advantage to the new manufacturers coming on board in 2026, because they could spend 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 focusing solely on their 2026 projects, as they wouldn’t have the distraction of a current project like Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda-Red Bull would have.
Ferrari F1-75 engine
Red Bull Powertrains is already confirmed as one of those new manufacturers, having picked up this season’s Honda project, and it looks like the Volkswagen Group will join F1, possibly with the Porsche and Audi brands.
Red Bull also pushed hard for the freeze as it saw it as an essential requirement to convince Honda to keep supplying its current power units until 2025, but without official support.
From the start of the 2022 F1 season, Honda power units will run under the Red Bull Powertrains brand, or RBPT, after the Japanese marque withdrew from F1 as the official engine manufacturer.
Rather than switch suppliers, Red Bull will take over Honda’s power units in-house by setting up its own power unit facilities.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault remain unchanged. Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains supplies its team and McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin.
Ferrari has a similar setup by making its own power unit and supplying it to customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas. Renault only supplies Alpine, as the two brands belong to the Renault group.
Can teams change anything about their F1 engines during the freeze?
The rules make it clear that some changes will be allowed, but nothing that would increase performance.
The regulations state that “a manufacturer may request the FIA during the course of the homologation period to make modifications to homologated power unit elements for the sole purpose of reliability, safety, cost savings or minimum permissible incidental changes in [ Article] 5.4”.
Escapes del Alpine A521
That article specifically refers to the changes that might be necessary in relation to the installation of the power unit in the cars, something that may happen, since the single-seaters will inevitably be developed during the next three seasons.
The rules define the items that fall into this category as “wiring, exhaust system, as long as the key parameters that define the system (diameters and lengths) remain fundamentally unchanged, position of the turbocharger (within 20 mm from the original position in ICE), turbo timing, turbo mounts, position of wastegates with casings and piping” and finally “position of pop-off valves with casings and piping”.
Although the technical rules of the power unit are not expected to change between 2022 and 2025, in the unlikely event that they do, manufacturers could make the necessary changes to comply with them: “An amendment to the published rules that occurs after the start of the homologation can be used to modify the components affected by that amendment”.
A team may change fuel and oil suppliers, but only as a direct result of a sponsorship deal, as the rules make clear: “Changes of fuel and oil suppliers will be accepted, provided that such changes are for commercial purposes and not for commercial reasons.” performance”.
What happens if a major fault is found in a Formula 1 engine?
If a manufacturer has a specific reliability issue, they have to go through a complicated process to be able to modify the part with the full permission of the FIA.
As part of the process, the other three manufacturers will be informed of any requests and allowed to give their input. That transparency makes it less likely that someone will use reliability as an excuse to improve their performance.
The rules note that “requests must be submitted in writing to the FIA technical department and must provide all necessary supporting information, including, where appropriate, clear proof of faults”.
“The FIA will circulate the correspondence to all power unit manufacturers for comment if they so wish. If the FIA is satisfied, in its absolute discretion, that such changes are acceptable, it will confirm to the power unit manufacturer in question that can be done.”
“Whenever practical, such applications should be submitted at least 14 days prior to the requested homologation date.”
What is the new fuel in Formula 1 and how does it affect?
From 2022, F1 will switch to E10 fuel , which has an ethanol content of 10%. Manufacturers had to retrofit power units over the winter, and while there was a small loss in performance, the consensus is that the overall effect wasn’t too noticeable.
