Controversy surrounding last year’s engines for 2016

One of the biggest topics of discussion in the paddock is the supply of engines, particularly concerning the two teams owned by Red Bull. Indeed, after reaching the point of no return with its current engine supplier, Renault, Red Bull finds itself in a difficult situation since the other engine manufacturers on the grid do not seem inclined to provide their engines to a direct competitor.

Thus, the intermediate solution that seemed to emerge in Sochi was for Toro Rosso to receive the 2015 Ferrari engine, similar to what Manor did this season. As for Red Bull, it would remain with Renault in the meantime, until an agreement with another engine supplier could be reached for the long term.

But it is in this context that the FIA decided to cause a stir by publishing its sporting regulations. Article 23.6 thus provides: « Only engines identical to those homologated by the FIA in accordance with Appendix 4 of these regulations may be used in competition during the 2016-2020 seasons. »

However, an exit clause was included in article 1.2, which states that after September 30, 2015, any changes must be unanimously accepted by all participants. Given that the possibility of offering engines from the previous season is a win-win situation for everyone (engine manufacturers can amortize their development costs over a longer period, and smaller teams can receive a power unit at a lower cost), it is conceivable that an agreement should be able to be reached in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking and the engineers at Red Bull and Toro Rosso still cannot work on integrating the engine since they do not yet know the supplier…

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr