Formula One’s engine development regulations will be fully opened from 2017, according to motorsport.com.
At present, the power unit suppliers are severely limited as to what they can upgrade mid and off season. Each power unit component is valued at a certain number of “tokens”, with parts deemed to be more important than the others worth the most. This year, manufacturers are allowed to spend up to 32 tokens on upgrades.
In 2014, no in-season performance upgrades could be brought by the suppliers, but mid-season development was legal last year and will be again in 2016.
From 2017, however, the system will be scrapped altogether and manufacturers will be able to upgrade as many components as they like. They will still only be allowed four of each power unit element, however, meaning that teams will still have to strategically plan when they will update their engines.
Speaking at the team’s launch in Paris today, Renault Sport’s Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul told motorsport.com that the change was to ensure that the performance difference between the Mercedes power unit and the rest was closed.
“The token system is being removed.”
“One of the reasons that we have all agreed to do this is that we all need the performance of the engine to converge.”
“An F1 that is dictated by the performance of the engine… it is not good for Mercedes, it is not good for Renault, Ferrari – we all have decided to change that.”
Renault and especially Honda have struggled with the new hybrid formula. Red Bull’s infamous engine deal saga at the end of last year was down to the poor performance of the Renault power unit for the second year in a row. McLaren, meanwhile, finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship with just 27 points after Honda had a nightmare return to Formula One as an engine supplier.
The 2017 regulations are due to be finalised at the end of the month and the FIA is believed to have sanctioned the change as part of the deal to lower the hybrid power unit cost to customer teams.
