For a decade F1 cars had run with 3.0 litre naturally-aspirated V10 engines, but in an attempt to slow the cars down, the FIA mandated that as of the 2006 season the cars must be powered by 2.4 litre naturally-aspirated engines in the V8 configuration that have no more than four valves per cylinder.

Further technical restrictions such as a ban on variable intake trumpets have also been introduced with the new 2.4 L V8 formula to prevent the teams from achieving higher rpm and horsepower too quickly. As of the start of the 2007 season all engines are now limited to 19,000 rpm in an effort to improve engine reliability and to cut costs down in general.