THE F1 CHRONICLE

7 eras · 1950 → now

1. 1950 – 1960

   Front-Engine Era

   The world championship begins in 1950 with the engine ahead of the driver and the factory teams of Italy and Mercedes setting the pace. Cooper mounts the engine behind the driver instead, and from 1959 the new layout dominates; 1960 is the last year of the 2.5-litre formula.[78][34]

   Coming in v1.1

2. 1961 – 1965

   1.5-Litre Years

   For 1961 the engines shrink to 1.5 litres, and every team switches from front to mid-engined cars. The power is modest; the revolution is the layout.[34][78]

   Coming in v1.1

3. 1966 – 1976

   Three Litres and the Cosworth DFV

   Engine capacity doubles to three litres in 1966, and from 1967 the Cosworth DFV lets a small team bolt a winning engine straight to its chassis. The DFV dominates for the next decade; this era closes where the turbo era opens.[34][78]

   Coming in v1.1

4. 1977 – 1988

   Turbo Era

   Renault arrives at the 1977 British Grand Prix with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine nobody had found the money or interest to build before, and by the start of the 1980s turbo power is the way to stay competitive. This era is dated from the first turbo car, not the first turbo-dominant seasons; turbos are banned outright from 1989.[34][78]

   Coming in v1.1

5. 1989 – 2005

   Naturally Aspirated: the V10 Years

   With turbos banned from 1989, Formula 1 returns to naturally aspirated engines, and the V10 wins the argument — Renault's V10s dominate the mid-1990s even as capacity drops to three litres in 1995. The configuration carries the sport to 2005, the last season before mandatory V8s.[34][78]

   Coming in v1.1

6. 2006 – 2013

   V8 Era

   From 2006 every engine is a 2.4-litre V8, rev-limited tighter as the sport cuts costs through the late 2000s. It is the last formula before hybrid power.[34][78]

   Coming in v1.1

7. 2014 – now

   Hybrid V6 Era

   In 2014 the V8s give way to 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 hybrids — power units, in the new vocabulary — that recover energy from braking and from exhaust heat. A new engine specification follows in 2026.[34][81][78]

   Read · THE 2014 RESET · Explore · CIRCUIT DE MONACO