Why Aston Martin could be F1's next engine supplier

Could Aston Martin be planning to enter Formula 1 as an engine supplier? That was the intriguing question being asked by insiders ahead of the FIA's second post-2020 engine regulation summit, held in Paris on Tuesday.

The first meeting, which took place at the end of March, called for prospective suppliers to submit proposals by May 31, and they will have been on the order of business at this week's meeting of what is now officially called the Power Unit Working Group.

The object of these discussions is to specify the 'Holy Grail' of F1 engines: fast, powerful loud, hybrid, economical and 'green', yet sufficiently high-tech to appeal to motor manufacturers while being, above all, uncomplicated and cheap enough to lure independents to produce power units capable of winning for sale to private teams.

According to sources, current suppliers Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Honda were all present, with Aston Martin also accepting the invitation extended by the governing body to members of its Manufacturers' Commission, a panel for carmakers that includes Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Audi (also present).

Also expected to pitch was independent race engine supplier Ilmor, headed by Mario Ilien, who founded the original company of that name, which was eventually acquired by Mercedes and now produces the current gold-standard engine. Aston Martin will have been sharing the table with some hallowed company.

Of course, accepting invitations to exploratory meetings and building full-fat F1 race engines are activities about as far apart as five-year olds pasting faces against the windows of supercar showrooms and daddy shelling out five million for the Bugatti Veyron on display.

Attending FIA meetings is all to intents and purposes free, with the benefits of networking alone surely offsetting the time and costs, yet lingering questions remain. What would a specialist carmaker, one without support from major brands (as enjoyed by Ferrari and Lamborghini from Fiat/Alfa Romeo and VW Group respectively), hope to gain by sitting at F1's main technical table?

True, Mercedes holds a 5% stake in Aston Martin, but the share was granted in exchange for collaboration on technologies such as infotainment, safety devices and supplies of Mercedes AMG engines for future models rather than through direct investment. Aston Martin is controlled by a consortium comprising Kuwait's Investment Dar and Italy's Investindustrial private equity fund, among others.

According to a source familiar with the matter "[Aston Martin] accepted the invitation as one does not turn down an FIA invitation", which makes perfect sense, on the surface at least. Dig deeper, though, and that raises a second question. Why despatch CEO Andy Palmer to Paris, not chief technical officer Maximilian Szwaj, who was recruited from Ferrari in 2016, and whose CV lists spells at such as Maserati, BMW and Porsche?

No disrespect to Palmer, of course, but surely the CEO of a rapidly expanding supercar company has better things to do with his time than munch through speculative chatter about nuts and bolts of engines for a category the brand is only peripherally involved in as Red Bull Racing's 'innovation partner'?

True, Palmer, a chartered engineer, previously held numerous technical postings within the UK and Japanese motor industries, and held ultimate responsibility for Nissan's global motorsport programme - which culminated in Infiniti badging on Red Bull racers - and was responsible for Nissan's Leaf electric car project. In addition, Palmer holds a doctorate in engineering management, and acts as guest professor to a Tokyo university.

But his CEO role suggests strategic interest in F1 engines rather than a need for technical insight, further compounding the questions above. What is Aston Martin's interest in F1? Why despatch Palmer at all - particularly when Aston Martin's reported 2016 earnings before interest and taxes were just £16million on revenues of £593m? Some F1 operations have higher turnovers.

The answer could lie in a combination of the proposed engine regulations - which, by most accounts, centre on V6 bi-turbos based on the current architecture, but with simplified (and standardised) ERS units - and Aston Martin's current projects, including the joint-venture (with Red Bull) Valkyrie hypercar and RapidE sedan, developed with input from Williams Advanced Engineering.

Both vehicles are due for launch in 2019, and the concept and design of the Valkyrie took shape with considerable input from Red Bull's legendary chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. Its hardware package consists of a Cosworth-designed V12 power unit supplemented by an F1-inspired ERS device, driving through a Ricardo-designed seven-speed transmission.

By contrast, RapidE, a clever play on the name of Aston Martin's previous Rapide luxury sedan, is a full electric vehicle. Aston has also revealed that it is 'hybridising' a development version of its DB9 V12 sports coupe via a Bosch electric motor fitted to each front wheel, boosting total output from a standard 510bhp by almost 50% to 740, while endowing the car with 16 miles of electric-only range.

That's quite a roll call of partners: Red Bull Racing/Technology; Williams Advanced Engineering (arguably the best battery development company in the business); Ricardo (architect of the FIA's Universal Motorsport Engine concept); Cosworth (no explanation necessary - and also present at Tuesday's meeting), and Bosch (ditto).

All this shows some serious intent by Aston Martin to embrace new technologies, most of which are finding their ways into motorsport's premier categories, including F1. As an aside, one could start a full-on technical war with those companies as partners.

After Autosport in 2015 revealed the existence of Valkyrie, pictured above, questions were posed to Palmer about the badging of Mercedes power units as Aston Martin - much as he had badged Renault units as Infiniti.

"[Unlike Infiniti], Aston Martin as a company doesn't have the kind of money to go into Formula 1 and make a decent job of it," was the measured response.

"Unless I thought we could be challenging Ferrari in some way, shape or form, I just wouldn't contemplate doing it. The best I can tell you is that it's improbable."

But then the rider: "I never say never. I have a job to do in terms of getting us back into the conversation amongst people that cross-shop sportscars, be it McLaren, be it Ferrari or Porsche. [We] need to be in that conversation."

Note the direct showroom competition: McLaren, Ferrari, Porsche...

The latest sales statistics show an increase in European sales for Aston Martin of 65% for January-April 2017 over the equivalent 2016 period, well ahead of the direct opposition. Saliently, Europe represents the world's largest 'exotic car' market, with Audi's R8 range losing 8.2% during that period. Ferrari? Up just 8%, while McLaren was up a whopping 148%, albeit off a small base.

Factor in the tranche of new Aston Martin models to hit the market shortly ahead of the 2020 engine formula change, and Palmer may well need to be in the "conversation" as it pertains to F1 pedigrees. How, though, to achieve that affordably and cost-effectively?

Forget not that Palmer is a past master at cost-effective F1 involvement: The Red Bull/Infiniti deal, masterminded by now-Aston Martin chief marketing officer Simon Sproule in his previous Nissan life, is considered a masterstroke of marketing/badge engineering that ruffled Renault feathers; then the duo managed to place Aston wings on winning Red Bulls and supply road cars to its drivers.

Given that one of the objectives of the new engine formula is to encourage independent suppliers, consider the following scenario for Aston Martin to be in "the conversation" Palmer regularly alludes to: Aston Martin forms a consortium, drawing together the full Red Bull network of two race teams and technology company, then invites Williams, Cosworth, Ricardo and Bosch to participate in the creation of an F1 engine.

Collectively they have the resources, advanced technology, experience and capacity to design, develop and produce sufficient 'Holy Grail' power units - comprising IC engine, ERS and integrated transmissions - to supply all three teams, all of which are currently at the beck and call of engine suppliers owned by competitor outfits.

Throw in five-year commitments from each and underwriting by Dar and Investindustrial and funding the project presents no issue, with the payoff being Aston wings on engine covers of partner cars and the lure of the "James Bond" franchise for marketing and sponsorship. That, alone, is gold dust, as purveyors of premium products such as watches and upmarket liquor brands can attest.

Will it happen? Sure, it's a long shot, but, as Palmer said, "Never say never". Then consider why the CEO of a burgeoning supercar brand would travel to Paris for an F1 engine meeting when his products currently compete (successfully) in the GTE category of the World Endurance Championship.

After all, the comment made by our source that "one does not turn down an FIA invitation" could be the ultimate smokescreen: BMW, Ford and General Motors are all members of the Manufacturers Commission, and they were not in Paris, having done exactly that...