FIA President Max Mosley said: “The FIA is working closely with the automotive manufacturers to develop energy-efficient and environmentally relevant regulation changes for the future of Formula One. Ricardo has a vast amount of experience in automotive research and development and will be an invaluable addition to this process.”

Ricardo is currently working closely with the FIA technical team to run simulations and review strategy on new power-train regulations in Formula One for 2011 onwards. The objective is to complete the 2011 technical regulations before the end of 2007.

Ricardo is an international consultancy which provides extensive design and development support to the automotive industry. The company’s engineering expertise ranges from vehicle systems integration, controls, electronics and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fuel cell powertrain technologies.

Ricardo CEO Dave Shemmans said: “We are proud to have been selected as a technology partner in this project. Formula One operates at the very pinnacle of motor sport and has a significant role to play in encouraging innovation in fuel-efficient technologies. Such innovation has the potential to provide benefits to automakers, race teams and motoring consumers alike.”