F1 must not make "mistake of 11 years ago" when deciding on new engine - Toto Wolff

Formula 1

F1 must not make "mistake of 11 years ago" when deciding on new engine - Wolff

Costs and complexity of current engines must be considered first says Mercedes boss

Ewan Gale

Saturday 16 January 2021 08:59

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned F1 must not make the "mistake of 11 years ago" when agreeing on the formula for the mid-decade introduction of new engines.

The Brackley-based team has dominated since the introduction of the V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014, winning seven consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship doubles.

Despite the success, Wolff has pointed to the complex nature of the engines driving up costs and insisted more care must be taken ahead of bringing in a new breed of power unit.

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"We have a position that we have always supported the 2022 engine freeze, and bringing forward the 2026 regulations into 2025," said Wolff.

"I think it's important to design a power unit that considers where the world goes, having more electrical propulsion.

"It is certainly something interesting that needs to be done within a cost business case that is sustainable for Formula 1, and also from a financial side. I don't know how much cheaper a new engine would be. We need to look at it twice.

"We don't want to do the mistake of 11 years ago where we said 'Let's call in the engineers to come up with a concept', and we came up with a fantastic, very efficient power unit that is very complex where the cost of development is still very high."

Honda has announced it is withdrawing from F1 at the end of this season, citing a rebalance of its resources in order to meet its own in-house goals back in Japan.

With only three prospective engine manufacturers involved in F1 heading into the future, Wolff said running costs down has to be discussed before the technical aspects of any new engines.

"I think we need to reduce the costs for the OEMs that are engaged in the sport, and that is the highest priority," said Wolff, of Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault.

"Moving from there into the technical decisions and what we can do in order to have a relevant power unit for considering the fantastic knowledge moving out there on road cars."