Ferrari to fire first V6 engine next year

Ferrari’s turbo V6 engine for 2014 will be up and running "by the summer", according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

F1’s current ’frozen’ engine formula, the regulations for normally-aspirated 2.4 litre V8 power plants, will remain in place next year and also in 2013.

But the engine manufacturers are already working on the new 1.6 litre rules, amid reports Mercedes and Renault are also planning to fire up prototype versions mid next year.

Ferrari, meanwhile, continues to push hard to shift the emphasis of the F1 regulations from aerodynamics.

"We do not build airplanes or missiles," argued Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo recently.

"A manufacturer like Ferrari needs to race with references to the technology of its production cars.

"The sport must be a laboratory for the technology rather than just a marketing tool for sponsors who have a team," he is quoted by Die Welt newspaper, in a clear reference to world champions Red Bull.