An Introduction: What Engine Will Each F1 Team be Using in 2026?

McLaren Formula One Team

F1 in 2026 will not only have a major change in its cars but also in its engines. The new engine cycle will run from 2026 until the end of 2030.

We will have five engine manufacturers with two new engine manufacturers in Audi and Red Bull Powertrains with the help of Ford joining Ferrari, Mercedes and Honda with Renault leaving at the end of the 2025 season.

Here’s the list of the teams and what engine’s they will be running for 2026:

Mclaren-Mercedes

Mclaren reunited with Mercedes in 2021 after spending 7 seasons apart. The Mercedes deal is definitely different to the one that saw the team effectively become Mercedes work’s team in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with Mercedes parent company (Daimler) owning 40% of Mclaren.

Nevertheless the switch back to Mercedes engines coincided with the teams return to the front and leading it back to claiming once again the constructors crown in 2024 and making the double in 2025 (constructors and drivers). The team announced in 2023 that it had extended it’s deal with Mercedes all the way to 2030.

Red Bull-Red Bull Powertrains.

Red Bull will have it’s own in house engine for the first time in its history after Honda announced in 2020 that it will quit F1 in 2021. Which left the team in an awkward position but it managed to secure Honda’s services until 2025 but it decided that it would no longer be tied to a car manufacturer and decided to invest in building it’s own engine.

Red Bull drafted Ford as a technical partner for this project to help especially on the electrical part of the engine while also to help financing it.

Mercedes.

The Mercedes engine program continuous strong since it first came back in F1 with Sauber in 1994. The engine is produced by Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains at Brixworth. The Mercedes engine is expected to be once again as the class of the field as it was in 2014 when the v6 engine’s were introduced.

The team will supply 3 teams in 2026 though Toto Wolff has stated that they would like to scale back the number of teams they are supplying.

Ferrari.

Arguably F1’s true work’s team. As Ferrari is the only team in F1 that has been a work’s operation from it’s very inception. It’s engine is built in it’s Maranello base which also houses it’s road car division and World Endurance Championship Hyper-car team.

Ferrari wants to return to the front again and hopes the rules changes will help them return in winning ways.

Aston Martin-Honda.

Despite announcing that they will withdraw in 2021 Honda never really left. They struck a deal with Red Bull to use the Honda engines from 2022 under the Red Bull Powertrains name but in 2023 Honda return to the ‘make of the engine name’ supplying both Red Bull teams, while also registering it’s interest with the FIA for the new regulations.

In May 2023 it announced that it will built an engine for the 2026 regulations and supply Aston Martin exclusively effectively becoming it’s works partner. The aim of both parties is that this partnership will lead to championship glory with Aston Martin investing massively in it’s own facilities while also helping Honda financially in the engine department.

Alpine-Mercedes.

Alpine has decided to ditch it’s work status in order to gain Mercedes engines. This is the latest Renault strategy to try and turn the fortunes of it’s struggling F1 team around. Team Enstone has used in the v6 era Mercedes engines in 2015 before Renault bought back the team ahead of the 2016 season.

The team is betting on the proven quality of the Mercedes engine’s to help them finally close the engine deficit that they had while running the Renault engine which sabotaged them even at season’s where they had a good car.

Williams-Mercedes.

Williams announced in January 2024 that it was extending its Mercedes partnership into the 2026 engine rules cycle.

The relationship with Mercedes is Williams longest continuous one with an engine manufacturer and it began in 2014 at the start of the hybrid era. The team now has the ambition to use the new regulations to return to the front and fight for world championships again.

Racing Bulls-Red Bull Powertrains.

Red Bulls sister team Racing Bulls will be supplied by the same Red Bull Powertrains package as the senior team in 2026.

Haas-Ferrari.

Haas has used Ferrari engines since it entered F1 in 2016. In July 2024 it announced it was extending its deal with Ferrari until 2028.

Team Principal Ayao Komatsu said that the stability the deal provides will be crucial in the new era that F1 is entering. Haas has also expanded its technical partnership with Toyota for 2026 which will see the Japanese car manufacturer become the teams title sponsor.

Audi.

Audi is entering F1 for the first time in 2026 it has taken over Sauber which will be rebranded in January to be its works team. Audi will enter with its own engine that is currently being built in Germany.

It will be the first time the German manufacturer has produced an F1 engine so the team expects that it will be behind its competitors in terms of performance.

Cadillac-Ferrari.

F1’s  first new team for over a decade will be powered by Ferrari. The Italian manufacturer had communicated to the American team in December 2024 that it would supply to the team engines and gearboxes in 2026 if they got the final approval to join the F1 grid something that has been secured.

In the future Cadillac plans to have a works engine project with the help of the brands parent company General Motors. With 2029 being the targeted year but nothing is certain as there are discussions for a possible switch to v8 or v10 engines in 2030.

Written by Paul Kontogeorgos