FIA’s goals for the futuristic engine in F1

While F1’s 20 competitors prepare for the first race of the 2018 season in Australia this weekend, the stakes are considerably higher off the track.

Negotiations over Formula One’s next engine formula, due to arrive in 2021, will play a critical and significant role in shaping the future of the sport. With television audiences dropping due to the fact that the sport has become dull, and manufacturers extensively looking elsewhere, F1 cannot afford to get this wrong.

As FIA president Jean Todt explained to the media very recently, much is expected from the new formula. The new power units must be simpler and cheaper, yet also rev higher and sound louder. All that while retaining the hybrid format will be very challenging and impressive to extract out of the engine manufacturers, but it doesn’t stop there.

The fuel flow limit is to be higher and limits on fuel use unrestricted, allowing drivers to push flat out from the start lights to the chequered flag. All this must be put together in a package which respects the investment made by the fourth existing power unit manufacturers.

The ultimate sport’s futuristic engine must thereby satisfy several goals, some of which appear to be contrasting in nature.

We must have some sense about what is happening behind the golden gate of Formula One” he added.

Clearly pollution, climate change and all that must be taken into consideration because Formula One has to be an ambassador of motorsport. Formula One has to be representative. Everybody with a minimum of good sense will agree that F1 needs to take into consideration the evolution of the society.

We cannot be talking every day on autonomous car, connected car, hybrid, fuel cell, electric and then say ‘oh Formula One, pinnacle of motorsport, let’s forget all that. That would be completely mis-leading at the worst.

The FIA revealed its planned changes to the engine rules in October last year. While the MGU-K is to be retained, therefore meeting the desire to keep hybrids, the proposal including removing the MGU-H, which recovers waste heat energy to change the battery.

Deleting the MGU-H would make engines less powerful. But neither retaining nor increasing the current near 1,000bhp power levels has been stated among the many targets for 2021. It would, however, satisfy several of the stated goals: Reducing complexity, cutting costs and improving noise.

Existing engine manufacturers, notably Mercedes and Ferrari, have been more critical of the proposals. This is to be expected: they finished first and second in the constructors’ championship last year and therefore have positions of advantage between them. At the same time they supply engines to more than half the current grid and so their views have to be taken seriously.

Topping all this, there also have been rumours that, Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has threatened it will leave the sport if the final terms go too far towards standardisation.

Will Todt get what he wants? The previous round of engine negotiations which resulted in 2014’s 1.6 V6 power units were at best a qualified success.

The engines are incredibly advanced and laden with cutting edge technology. The 2014 rules arguably helped resuming the participation of existing manufacturers and lured Honda back, yet costs rose sharply leading to the inability of independent engine constructors to participate.

This time, all brands and parties should be finding it acceptable.

Bernie Ecclestone, The former FOM insisted the only way to run F1 was as a dictatorship. The futuristic goals will measure the progress that will be made in harmony with the better environment and eco future.