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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Formula 1 will increase the influence of electrical power in the current power units in 2025.
2025 is set to see the next phase of engine regulations after F1 introduced hybrid units in 2014, mixing both electrical power with combustion engines.
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While F1 was originally going to bring in new regulations for 2021, they were postponed to 2025, and Wolff believes the sport should take the direction of road technology and incorporate more electrical power.
"I think that we are in the middle of a transition of technology, at least on the road car side, and as much as we are fans of the loud, traditional engines, it's not where the technology goes and where the perception on sustainability goes," Wolff said.
"I believe we’ve done the right thing in keeping the regulations almost stable for the next term because it would have caused a tremendous amount of development to come up with the new formula.
"Also, it is not quite clear where this next generation of power unit actually should be. Listening to our chairman of Daimler, we expect 50 per cent of our fleet to be either hybrid or electric by 2030.
"I think if this is the direction technology goes, we could as well have an engine that will have a higher hybrid component, renewable energies or electricity.
"Today, it’s maybe around 20 per cent, maybe that ratios going to go to 50 per cent. As long as it’s an exciting engine.
"The sound is something that we need to address or at least talk about it. But I believe the hybrid component is going to increase after 2025."
Formula 1 has been searching to bring more power unit suppliers to the sport, as it aims to see more global manufacturers in the series.
Honda, the only power unit supplier to join the grid in the hybrid era, agrees that F1 was correct to stick to the current engines for longer.
"As Toto said, we think the kind of transition phase now and then we just finish discussions over the 2021 power unit regulations and then we keep the current concept until 2024/25," said Honda's Toyuharu Tanabe.
"I believe the same thing as Toto. We keep a hybrid and then what we can do is improve the current principle of the current Formula 1 power unit."
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (2)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Probably the right thing to do. It's the way things are going
RogerF1
Posts: 501
The trouble is this still comes back to money. There is no way an independent engine builder will think to join the sport whilst we have car manufacturers spelling out the regs (that might) suit their marketing needs. Maybe in F1 there should be a limit of manufacturers that produce no more than 10,000 cars pa. The likes of Merc could continue their clean sweep for the next 5 years with their € muscle and the massive EV road research budget. Maybe it becomes the other way around, the road Powertrain research spills over into F1 not the other way around as is the considered viewpoint now.