From the 2014 season, instead of the current 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8, F1 cars will house a 1.6-litre turbocharged lump with an Energy Recovery System (ERS).

The ERS will be powered off the exhaust and will deliver around an extra 160bhp for over 30 seconds each lap. The engines will be restricted to 15,000rpm and have to last for around 5,000km as opposed to the current 2,000km.

"We have to develop the power train in a short space of time and this means that reliability will be the factor that will decide the races in the early part of the season. In most cases people will locate their turbos in the central rear part of the engine and therefore near the electronics and the temperatures can reach a thousand degrees and that won't be an easy matter to deal with. Managing temperatures will be one of the main areas we will have to work on," explained Luca Marmorini Scuderia Ferrari's Head of Engines.

Another challenging regulation change is for fuel flow of the new power units to be limited to 100kg per hour and there are concerns that this could mark a return to drivers having to save fuel rather than race. However, long time technical partner Shell recently announced an entirely new suite of bespoke fuels and lubricants for Ferrari's new V6 Formula One engine from the 2014 season.

Since the start of the 2014 project, Shell has blended more than 50 versions of the Shell V-Power racing fuel for bench testing, with the final few candidates currently undergoing the final stages of evaluation ahead of the first track sessions of 2014.

The introduction of the V6 engine heralds a new era in Formula One with all engine manufacturers adapting to new regulations with smaller 1.6-litre V8 turbocharged engines replacing the established 2.4-litre V8 power units.