Porsche has confirmed an engine was created that could have been adopted for Formula 1 in 2021.
The German manufacturer was one of several brands involved in initial talks about how the current V6 hybrid setup could be made simpler, cheaper and louder as per Liberty Media’s vision.
However, once it became apparent that the changes would not be a dramatic as first hoped, all potential entrants ended their interest with the current four suppliers expected to stay on.
“In 2017 there were signals from Formula 1 that the regulations were to be changed and that energy recovery from the exhaust gases [the MGU-H] was no longer required,” Porsche’s head of motorsport, Fritz Enzinger, told Motorsport.com.
“As of 2017, Porsche was a member of the FIA Manufacturers Commission and was involved in the discussions about the future drive strategy in Formula 1 from 2021 and represented at the meetings.
“On the one hand, we took part in these working groups. On the other hand, the guys developed a six-cylinder for the WEC in parallel. Of course, we thought about what would have to change if the engine were to be used in Formula 1. Such things can be done in two ways.”
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It was known at the time that Porsche, who had left the LMP1 category in the WEC ahead of their Formula E entry from Season 6, was still developing a new high-performance, high-efficiency engine.
What wasn’t known, however, was just how far that plan got.
“At the end of 2017, we received a concrete order from our parent company to further develop a highly efficient six-cylinder engine, despite its LMP1 withdrawal,” Enzinger confirmed.
“Not only on paper but actually as hardware and with the idea that this engine will be put to the test in 2019, that was the order from the board to us.
“The possible use for this six-cylinder engine was completely open.
“If it had been decided to send Porsche 2021 to Formula 1, we would have made it the way we did in 2018.”
