F1 could delay 2021 engine rule changes

Formula 1's managing director Ross Brawn has revealed that the new engine regulations that are set to come into force in 2021 could be delayed. The decision may come as a means of attracting more manufacturers to enter F1.

F1's owners Liberty Media has been working on the new regulations for several months, presenting the blueprints for the new rules towards the end of the 2017 season. It is moving for louder, cheaper and less complex engines, aiming to spike the interest and investment of new manufacturers.

However, current engine suppliers in F1 have been left disgruntled over plans to get rid of the MGU-H in 2021. With interest from outside manufacturers slipping away, Brawn admits F1 is considering delaying the introduction of the rules to make sure new manufacturers enter the scene.

"We want to try and create a set of technical regulations on the engine, which are appealing to new manufacturers coming in as well as consolidate our existing engine suppliers," said Brawn ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

"And I think we just need to think of our timing on that, whether 2021 is the right time to do that, or whether it's better to keep that powder dry until we can be certain that major regulation change will bring fresh blood into the sport."

Since Liberty Media took over F1 at the start of 2017, it has set out to create a future for the sport which has a much more competitive field. Brawn added that F1 could still introduce a sporting regulation change, rather than a technical one, in order to allow the current manufacturers to get closer together.

"My feeling is that there's still quite a lot we can do on the engine side in terms of sporting regulations such as limits on dyno test time, number of upgrades during a season, consistency of specification to all customer teams etc. On the engine, we need to decide if now is the time to have a revolution or an evolution."

Fergal Walsh