F1 introduces new rule to attract new engine manufacturers

Formula 1 has introduced a new regulation that requires existing engine manufacturers to share data with newcomers to the sport. The rule was introduced after team bosses backed down on plans to overhaul the introduction of new 2021 engine regulations.

Liberty Media is currently working on the plan for 2021, when it aims to introduce engines that are louder, cheaper and more closely matched by reducing the complexity of the units.

However, some manufactures disagreed with the plans following their huge investments into the power units throughout the turbo hybrid era, which commenced in 2014.

And as the 2021 season looms closer, F1 sporting director Ross Brawn says that new manufacturers will not lag behind with the introduction of this new rule: "The drawbridge has been pulled up and the existing suppliers don't want anyone else to come in. [But] we have found a compromise.

"There are regulations coming out which would mean new entrants will get support from existing entrants. There will be components and technology which will have to be shared if it is requested.

"It is not quite such a radical change that we were proposing, but still quite a good step in the right direction and there are some nice changes to the way the driver has to manage the engine, which I think goes a long way in the sporting direction.

"There has been a recognition from the existing manufacturers that they can't shut the door behind them. If we start to get serious interest from another manufacturer or supplier, they have to cooperate to find ways of helping that manufacturer come into F1."

F1 will also overhaul the aerodynamic in 2021 with the aim of bunching the field closer together. However, to avoid a team getting a head start on the rest of the pack, Brawn says that the plans won't be revealed until sometime in 2020. 

"The FIA and ourselves have issued a framework of what the car could be like with tasks for each team to look at aspects of it," he said. "It's not enough for teams to go off and start designing a car, we're purposefully trying to hold back on that.

"We don't want teams with a lot of resource to gain a march on those who don't. But it's a difficult balance because there is a perfectly valid argument that the later you leave the issuing of the information, the more it suits the teams with a lot of resource.

"The teams will have about a year or so to work on the designs of these cars, I think that's the right sort of timescale. Once they've designed their 2020 cars, they need to be able to focus on 2021."