Marussia chief executive Andy Webb revealed that the team are planning on switching engine supplier from Cosworth, to either Ferrari or Mercedes.
Image: YallaF1
Marussia has used Cosworth engines since 2010, when the team competed as Virgin Racing. However, Cosworth is expected to cease providing Formula 1 engines next year - when the regulations will change to incorporate 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines as opposed to the 2.4 litre V8 units currently in use.
"It's obvious that with the departure of Cosworth then we can choose between Ferrari and Mercedes. We'll talk with both," Webb explained "We will see what are the options but it is clear the price is an important factor, because the price of engines in 2014 will be significantly higher than the current engines." "We need to make sure we choose the right partner. I hope to be able to announce our decision in the next four weeks."
Webb revealed that the Banbury based team is already designing the car for the 2014 season, and that it is "in the wind tunnel".
"We already know a lot of data on the requirements for the engines in 2014. We have not chosen an engine partner yet, but we have a lot of necessary information."
In 2011, the FIA was planning to switch to four cylinder engines for the 2013 season - however this plan was thwarted after multiple parties opposed the plans.
Along with the engine change, the FIA has chosen to switch replace the current Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) with Energy Recovery Systems (ERS), which are expected to be more powerful & more efficient than the current KERS system. The switch to V6 engines will ultimately result in a lower RPM limit, however, coupled with the new legislation regarding turbocharging & ERS, the cars should have no overall performance loss.
Turbochargers haven't been used in F1 since 1988, where the Honda powered McLarens of Prost & Senna dominated the field. However, the sport then returned to naturally aspirated engines in 1989, and has not returned to turbocharged engines since.
