F1 Engine Cost: How Much Does An F1 Engine Cost? (Explained)

Formula 1 cars are more complex and advanced than the available vehicles on the road. The engine of a Formula 1 car might cost more than a regular sedan itself. These cars in Formula 1 require a high level of performance. 

So how much does an F1 engine cost? The price of a 6-liter V6 engine currently stands at approximately $10 per unit. Five million people are expected to join the workforce this year. Formula 1 vehicles might cost over 14 million dollars in total. 

Usually, a brilliant performance comes with the best technology and engineering. How much these teams spend developing their Formula 1 vehicles is astonishing. The engine is one of the most significant parts of the Formula 1 vehicle. 

But the car’s power-packed performance secret lies in its machines. With so much dependence on the engines, it is natural for these components to require advanced design and production. As a result, motors tend to be one of the costliest components in a Formula 1 vehicle. 

The engine of an F1 car is a technological marvel. Most vehicles typically feature a 1.6-liter V6 machine that costs approximately $ 10.5 million. The final cost of the engine depends on the innovation used, plans, and the team’s cost-cutting efficiency. 

In this article, we’ll talk about the cost of an F1 engine. 

F1 Engine Cost

How Much Do F1 Engines Cost?

The most expensive piece of the F1 car is its engine, everything you could ask for in an F1 car. It comes in a turbocharged version. The price of a 6-liter V6 engine currently stands at approximately $10 per unit. 

Five million people are expected to join the workforce this year. Formula 1 vehicles might cost over 14 million dollars in total. But, constructors often mask that cost to avoid being penalized by the FIA. 

It’s a standard rule for F1 car engine prices to exceed $15 million in extreme cases, including the FIA’s. A typical team spends 45-65 percent of its budget on engines, and Torro Rosso paid around £18 million ($37 million) for Ferrari Engines in 2008. This comes to 50 percent of their annual budget.

Why Does An F1 Engine Cost So Much?

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. The vehicles push the boundaries of technology, and the engineers are constantly developing and improving their cars to beat their competition out on track. Unfortunately, this means F1 cars are costly to build and maintain. 

F1 vehicles are expensive because all of the parts used in them are made to be ultra-high performance and lightweight. Formula 1 cars can cost anywhere between ten dollars ($10) and twenty dollars ($20) million to build, but it takes more than one hundred million ($100 million) to develop the car before it’s built. In addition, over the season, Formula 1 teams need to use two cars and several spare components to be taken to each race in case some are damaged. 

This drives the cost even further, and we take a closer look at all these costs below. To create an F1 vehicle, the cost is between $10 and $20 million, but development costs can increase to more than $100 million. Formula 1 vehicles are made up of thousands of individual components. 

They range from large and expensive engines to small. Each of these 10,000+ components is also specially built by the team, and they always ensure that the components are built for high performance and are as lightweight as possible. This adds even further costs to each component, pushing the overall cost of the car up even further, too.

What’s The Most Expensive Part Of The F1 Engine?

The engine is the most expensive part. The estimate was $10.5 million, but it could fluctuate across teams. The front and rear wings cost an estimated $400,000-$450,000. 

The front wing is the most significant chunk, anywhere from $200,000 and up. In addition, Red Bull Racing had just revamped the nose of the 2021 RB16B car. This small change can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in design changes. 

The fuel tank is around one hundred forty thousand dollars ($140,000). That does not include all of the fuel used throughout the season. That can tack on an extra five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) depending on how many races the car runs. 

The gearbox can cost anywhere from $400,000 to $600,000. The steering wheel is another $50,000 to $70,000. 

And there is also accident repair. Again, depending on the accident, this can cost anywhere from $500,000.

Can You Buy A Formula 1 Engine?

Formula 1 engines are made to push the boundaries of what internal combustion is capable of. But it can only be brought to life and operate well in precise conditions. First, the engine has to be preheated, and there is no such thing as a cold-started F1 car. 

The shallow water and oil pump send coolant and lubricant around eighty (80) degrees centigrade around the engine’s inner passages. The reason behind this is that the tiny tolerances that these engines manufacture mean that the pistons are seized solid in the cylinders at anything below sixty (60) degrees centigrade. 

Summary

In summary, it comes in a turbocharged version. The price of a 6-liter V6 engine currently stands at approximately $10 per unit. 

Five million people are expected to join the workforce this year. So formula one vehicles might cost over 14 million dollars in total.

Do you want to know the price of other parts of F1?

Resources

Image credits – Canva

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My name is Hank, and I've been in the automotive industry for 27 years. I've been working in my own auto repair shop for the last 13 years, and now I want to help you here, on my blog. Let me know if you have any questions. Read more