Pat Symonds, the Chief Technical Officer at F1 announced this week that they are investigating a switch to 2 stroke engines and possibly different fuel options for 2025.
“I certainly think that the internal combustion engine has a long future and I think it has a future that’s longer than a lot of politicians realise because politicians are hanging everything on electric vehicles.
“There’s nothing wrong with electric vehicles but there are reasons why they are not the solution for everyone.”
Symonds said that he is currently visiting universities carrying out engine research to inform the new regulations.
He told the conference that he was struck by the amount of research going into two-stroke engines, which are better-known for their smoky and noisy performance in lawnmowers, rather than their potential at the pinnacle of motor sport.
“It’s reasonably obvious that if you are going to pump that piston up and down, you might as well get work out of it every time the piston comes down rather than every other time the piston comes down,” he said.
“The opposed piston engine is very much coming back and already in road car form at around 50 per cent efficiency.
“Direct injection, pressure charging, and new ignition systems have all allowed new forms of two-stroke engines to be very efficient and very emission-friendly. I think there’s a good future for them.”
CITS Engine 