Since the introduction of the Formula 1 world championship in 1950 there have been ten different engine regulation periods set by the sport's governing body ranging from two years to 20 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In 1950 and '51 teams had the choice of either supercharged 1.5 litre or 4.5 litre naturally-aspirated engines.
Ferrari opted for the 4.5 litre engine while Alfa Romeo entered with the type 158 with a supercharged 1.5 litre straight eight that predated WWII but still secured Guiseppi Farina the inaugural world championship.
The Alfa Romeo produced about 450 horsepower in its final 1951 iteration with the 159 version taking Juan Manuel Fangio to the first of his five world championships.
British hopes were pinned on the incredibly complex 64-valve, 1.5 litre supercharged V16 BRM, claiming to produce 600 horsepower at an eardrum-destroying 12,000 rpm.
While it was going it was it was very fast, but ongoing reliability issues meant it finished up a failure.
For 1952 and 1953 the FIA was forced to adopt the 2.0 litre Formula 2 regulations for the championship which was dominated by Alberto Ascari in a four-cylinder Ferrari.
From 1954 to 1960 the regulations stipulated 2.5 litre non-supercharged or 750cc supercharged engines but no team took up the second option.
Mercedes Benz opted for a straight eight and dominated in 1954 and '55 while Ferrari stayed with their traditional V12 Lancia with quad cam V8, Maserati with a straight six and Coventry Climax-powered cars a straight four.
There was a significant change for the 1961 to 1965 period with the introduction of the 1.5 litre non-turbocharged engines that were not enjoyed by drivers because of the big drop in horsepower from 290 to 180.
The Climax-powered cars initially used a four-cylinder engine then moved to a V8 while Ferrari opted for a V6.
Adelaide's Harold Clisby designed and built a 1.5 litre, 120-degree, quad-cam, two-valve, V6 engine in 1963 which was fitted to an F2 Elfin (also made in Adelaide).
But, after failing to finish in it is four Australian appearances it was shelved.
The period from 1966 to 1986 provided the option of either 3.0 litre naturally-aspirated or 1.5 litre supercharged/turbocharged, and up until 1977 all teams used the 3.0 litre option.
Initially Climax-powered cars used 2.0 litre versions of the 1965 engines with Ferrari using V12 engines and BRM starting out with a 2.0 litre version of the 1965 engine before introducing a highly complex H16.
In 1967 Ford introduced the ubiquitous Cosworth V8 that became the third-most successful grand prix engine.
The turbo era produced incredible horsepower numbers ...
In 1966 Jack Brabham upstaged everybody, winning the championship in a Brabham powered by the Repco-designed and built V8 engine, the first and only driver to win the title in a car bearing his name.
Denny Hulme made it two in a row for them in 1967.
Renault took up the turbo challenge in 1977 with a V6T and by 1985 every team was using turbocharged engines produced either by Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Honda, Porsche or Cosworth.
The turbo era produced incredible horsepower numbers with the four cylinder BMW producing between 900 and 1000 horsepower in race trim but wound up to a claimed 1350 horsepower for qualifying.
In that form the engine would only be good for one flying lap before it became a grenade.
For 1987 and '88 the turbo engines were permitted but with much reduced boost, and the alternative was a 3.5 NA option taken up by Ford.
From 1989 to 1994 turbo engines were banned with the 3.5 litre NA engines the only option, leading to a plethora of engine brands including V12 for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, V10 for Honda, Renault and Ilmor with Ford, Judd and Yamaha opting for a V8.
The next period from 1995 to 2005 saw the capacity reduced to 3.0 litre NA engines and they were either V10 or V12 configurations.
There was a significant change for the period from 2006 to 2013 with the introduction of 2.4 litre, 90-degree NA V8 engines with an option initially of using the previous engine but with a reduced rev limit.
In 2009 the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) was allowed and by 2013 all teams had introduced this new technology.
The current regulations introduced in 2014 are for a 90-degree, 1.6 litre, turbocharged V6 with additional hybrid power and these are manufactured by Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, Renault and Honda.
In this form it's claimed the Mercedes engine develops close to 900 horsepower at 12,500 rpm.
Ferrari is the only team to have contested the championship since 1950 and has scored 239 wins followed by Mercedes on 188, Ford 176, Renault 168, Honda 75, Coventry Climax 40, TAG Porsche 25, BMW 20, BRM 18 with Alfa Romeo rounding out the top ten with 12.
