Cosworth confirms three-team return.

The Cosworth name will return in force to Formula One next season, following confirmation that the three newcomers on the 2010 entry list will all use the company's bespoke V8 powerplant.

An identical package comprising high-performance Cosworth engines and technical support will be provided for Campos Grand Prix, Manor Grand Prix and Team US F1 for a period of three years following their successful acceptance by the FIA for the expansion slots made available in the 2010 field.

The brand has been absent from the top flight since the end of the 2006 season, when it found no takers for its V8 following Williams tie-up with Toyota and its rev-limited V10 was ruled ineligible following Scuderia Toro Rosso's controversial campaign under a more relaxed set of regulations.

Second only to Ferrari in terms of grand prix victories at that point, the company had to content itself with consultancy work and manufacturing for various automotive and aerospace clients - including many in motorsport - Cosworth was handed a potential road back to F1 when FIA president Max Mosley revealed that it had won the tender to provide a spec engine to any team interested in taking up the option. Such deals have not been accepted by Team US F1, Campos and surprise entry Manor, which is allied to the Wirth Research company run by former Simtek-Cosworth team boss Nick Wirth.

"I am pleased that Cosworth's exceptional mix of capabilities has enabled us to provide a solution for Formula One that sits so neatly with our existing operations in the aerospace and defence sectors," CEO Tim Routsis commented, "Cosworth is proud not only to be able to provide a solution that will deliver the performance needed by these teams to compete in this most technologically challenging sport, but also to extend its long association with Formula One as a truly independent provider of
competitive motive power.

"The engineering expertise we have accumulated over four decades in the sport has enabled us to broaden our reach into many different high-technology sectors. Today our engineering capabilities extend beyond racing, encompassing high-technology applications in the aerospace, defence, energy, marine and automotive industries. Cosworth has the necessary infrastructure to fulfil the supply of Formula One engines without affecting our other activities."

Cosworth's tradition of success in F1 began when its DFV engine won first time out with Jim Clark and Lotus at Zandvoort in 1967. It was the first F1 engine to be designed to function as a fully stressed element of the chassis, enabling the sport's most innovative engineers to repackage their cars and find considerable performance improvements - a philosophy that was swiftly copied and remains at the core of F1 design today.

The CA2006 engine raced by Williams in 2006 was as competitive from the outset and achieved an F1 landmark of 20,000rpm during qualifying for its race debut at the 2006 Bahrain GP. The CA2006 Series 6 was capable of completing more than a third of a race distance at 20,000rpm - a record unequalled to this day.