The Ferrari V6 engine from 2014 goes on the test bench

While the 2013 season is not expected to undergo any regulatory upheaval, 2014 will be a completely different story, with the introduction of the brand new 1.6-liter V6 turbo engine among other changes. While the PURE project by Craig Pollock and Gilles Simon is on hold, the manufacturers already involved in Formula One, except for Cosworth whose presence in 2014 remains uncertain, are continuing the development of their engines.

Thus, in December, according to various sources, the testing of the Mercedes V6 on the test bench was imminent, whereas last June, Jean-François Caubet, General Manager of Renault Sport, assured that it was only a matter of weeks before the Losange-branded V6 would also reach this crucial stage.

Only the Ferrari V6 was missing, which also received its baptism of fire as Luca Marmorini, head of engines at the Prancing Horse, assures in a video published on the official Scuderia website: « It’s a very stimulating period for the engine department staff. We are working with 2012 in mind because the second half of the season is very important, but we are already starting to think about 2013. Furthermore, we must advance the V6 project [for 2014, editor’s note], and the first example has already been tested on the bench: it’s an interesting project. »

The championship’s high-powered engines are now all on the starting line, even if the test bench is only one step in a development program that should intensify as the deadline approaches. Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s technical director, recently expressed concerns that the development race among engine manufacturers could lead to variations in performance: “It is possible that one manufacturer could significantly outperform the others, to the point where its partner teams monopolize the front positions,” the Briton said in the pages of *Autosport*. And the designer of the world champion RB6 and RB7 added: “We could end up with an engine manufacturers’ championship.”