Aston Martin could produce its own F1 engine – Aston Martin Racing is assessing the viability of creating its own Formula 1 power unit for 2026, when revised engine regulations are expected to be introduced.

Aston Martin’s billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll is investing heavily in the Silverstone-based operation, with construction already underway on a new purpose-built factory that will house a new wind tunnel and simulator, as he attempts to transform the team into world title contenders.

The Aston Martin team currently uses a Mercedes power unit and also takes the gearbox and rear suspension from the world champion team. But in the future, technical director Andrew Green said they were considering going it alone and creating their own engine.

“I think going forward, with the ambitions we have, we need to think about our power unit in the long term,” Andrew Green was quoted as saying by the championship website.

“There will be new engine regulations in 2026 and as a team we would like to be involved. We now have Aramco involved as a sponsor and discussions are moving forward for the next few years. We’ll see, of course, we’ll look at it in detail and try to understand if there’s an advantage to going in that direction.”

Aston Martin has made an encouraging start to the pre-season, recording more than 100 laps on two consecutive days in Barcelona. But the British manufacturer’s team had a difficult final day, with Sebastian Vettel stopping on track with an oil leak – which caused a small fire – and they did not return to the track in the afternoon. They finished the first three days of the 2022 winter test with 296 laps, placing them seventh in the mileage rankings.