Photography Porsche Archives & Getty Images. Taken from Motor Sport, November 1983

In the 15 years that the Ford Cosworth DFV V8 reigned, almost supreme, in grand prix racing only Ferrari provided unbroken opposition. Renault broke the mould with its 1.5-litre turbocharged engine which made its debut at the British Grand Prix in 1977, at first a no-hope laughing stock but taken increasingly seriously as it became faster, then more reliable. Today, the DFV is finished as a serious contender and grand prix racing has become much more international as a result with the French, Italian and German makes in the ascendancy.

For 53-year-old Hans Mezger, a presence in Formula 1 is a return to old haunts; 24 years ago he was heavily involved in Porsche’s flat-8 Formula 1 engine that won a single World Championship event, at Rouen in 1962, but marked the end of the German company’s interest in grand prix racing. For the past two decades Porsche has concentrated on endurance racing, an easier class to dominate say critics, taking the view that drivers get too much publicity in Formula 1 and manufacturers not enough. But Porsche is also a consultancy, which in its early days designed the Auto Union grand prix car, and it would never have refused to design an engine, or a complete car, for a customer. That opportunity came along in August 1981 when Ron Dennis, a director of McLaren Racing International, approached the German company to design an F1 engine which would replace the DFV in his John Barnard-designed cars. The contract was signed two months later on October 12th, and design work was handed over to Hans Mezger, deputy head of engine research and development, who has been responsible for all Porsche’s racing engines since 1964.