Hybrid engines are confirmed until 2020

The world of Formula 1 can have a short memory. Indeed, when news started to leak about the Geneva meeting, many media outlets announced that it had been decided to retain hybrid engines until 2020.

But it should not be forgotten that this was precisely the date planned when the new technical regulations were introduced in 2014. Thus, during an exclusive interview granted to yours truly by the president of Renault Sport, Jean-Michel Jalinier, he had indeed confirmed that the hybrid V6 architecture was frozen for the next seven seasons: “Seven years was the result of discussions among everyone, an agreement we reached with the FIA. It is in our interest, it is in the interest of the teams to amortize this entry fee over a longer period. It is clearly in the FIA’s interest to stabilize the sport and the costs in the sport. I think there is really a common interest for everyone in stabilizing this entry fee.”

So this is what we are heading towards today: while the bill reached 20 million euros during the last two seasons, the engine manufacturers have now committed to ensuring that the bill does not exceed 12 million euros. However, this reduction would only be effective from 2018, accompanied by a reduction in the number of gearboxes allowed to only three per driver per season.

The different engine manufacturers also managed to completely eliminate the threat of an alternative engine that the FIA had brandished, committing not to leave a team without an engine, as almost happened to Red Bull in 2016 due to its poor relations with Renault, followed by the refusal of the three other engine manufacturers present.

In the end, the agreement is largely favorable to the engine manufacturers, who had, in any case, planned in their business plan a reduction in revenue linked to the decrease in their research expenses on these engines. However, the FIA can now claim that it has secured an agreement that aligns with cost reduction, which can only be beneficial at a time when independent teams are fighting more for their financial survival than on the track…

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr