F1 to be "very aggressive" with new engine budget to attract fresh blood

Formula 1

F1 to be "very aggressive" with new engine budget to attract fresh blood

F1 will have only three OEMs from 2022 onwards after Honda withdraw

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Wednesday 17 February 2021 09:45

Formula 1 will have to wait for "two or three years" before seeing a potential influx of new manufacturers, according to CEO Stefano Domenicali.

With Honda to withdraw from F1 at the end of the season, the sport will be left with just Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault as engine suppliers.

Domenicali has suggested new OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] or engine suppliers will wait until the next power unit regulations are introduced before determining whether to enter F1 from 2025.

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Asked as to the likelihood of such fresh blood joining F1, Domenicali said: “I think realistically, in two or three years it is very unlikely because we have already defined the new car in terms of regulations and the engine.

"What we are doing is trying to put in place the ideas that will be very attractive for new OEMs to be part of. I feel what we are working on, very hard, are elements at the centre of the discussion we are having.

"First is the fact that technology has to be very relevant. We need to start with the cost and investment that are fundamental to making it attractive for any other OEM to either produce an engine or to be a part of an engine plus chassis production.

“So engine costs will be the big equation where we start the discussions. But when I say that, it is the area which is not attached by any kind of control or cost cap so we need to be very aggressive."

With F1 engines already incredibly efficient in the V6 turbo-hybrid era, electrification has been touted as the natural step towards the sport's environmental targets.

Domenicali, however, is insistent that F1 has other opportunities for fuel alternatives that can help attract new OEMs, including continued hybridisation.

“Electrification, full electric, is not the only way for the future," he added.

"Therefore, the hybridisation that we want to offer into the future is the right platform on which they can invest and they can use the product they have in the smartest way possible.

"So hybrids will be the platform on which we can invest and promote the efficiency of their power units and power trains.

“Carbon neutrality is the other element that is at the centre of our discussion. The good thing is all the actual OEMs, all the actual teams share this view, together.

"So, I think very shortly, you will see the ideas we are putting in now, in these days, in these weeks, will finally formalise.

"But I am positive in saying we are attacking the right points which will be fundamental to keeping the interests of our platform and also from the technology point of view.”