The future of Cosworth in F1 is not threatened

Returning to F1 in 2010 to power the three new teams entered in the world championship, Cosworth will see its number of clients cut in half by 2012. With the departure of Team Lotus and Williams to Renault, Cosworth will indeed have only two customer teams next season.

Nevertheless, the engine manufacturer is not worried about the situation and intends to stay in F1. « We consider each contract separately. Each has individual costs: the engine, support, development, etc. Therefore, there is a profit for each contract. As for 2012, instead of having three separate profits, there will only be two, » explains Mike Gallagher, head of Cosworth, to the newspaper Auto Motor und Sport.

Williams’ decision not to continue the adventure with Cosworth is not a surprise for the engine manufacturer. “In 2010, we mainly equipped the new teams, and no one knew if they were going to survive. It wouldn’t have made sense if we hadn’t considered the risk of one of these teams disappearing. As the fourth team, Williams was a bonus,” explains Tim Routsis, chief director of Cosworth.

« Adam Parr has always been very clear with us in saying that he would jump at the first opportunity to partner with a manufacturer, » adds Routsis.

The future of the independent engine manufacturer in F1 does not seem threatened, especially since the major manufacturers have guaranteed Cosworth to maintain at least two teams, even though Mike Gallagher believes that three would be ideal.