For the next four seasons, the Formula 1 engines will remain substantially frozen.
The new technical regulations designed for the upcoming Formula 1 cars mainly concern aerodynamics. The return of the ground effect concept should make the cars less sensitive to the wake, in order to facilitate overtaking. To do this, the floor was changed and it will no longer be lined, but characterized by two long Venturi channels. We will see less angular shapes, wheel covers on 18-inch tires instead of 13. And the engine? How can the emblem of power remain cut off in such a revolutionary year as the one that is about to begin?
Let’s take a small step back. About a year ago, the F1 Commission unanimously approved the freezing of engines starting from the 2022 season for four years, with the aim of lowering a very expensive spending area for the teams.
Obviously, the hope is that Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull (Honda) and Renault will produce units that are very close to each other in terms of performance. Manufacturers have had a year to develop the engines since the terms of the freeze were agreed. Mercedes and Red Bull start from a very similar base with the Milton Keynes team proving more reliable, suffering less degradation as mileage progresses. The other two, Renault used by the Alpine team and Ferrari, were a couple of tenths behind, but developed completely new engines in the hope of eliminating the disadvantage.
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But what if one or more engines are not competitive with units that will debut in a few weeks? With a regulation that doesn’t seem to have much room for correction?
It is hoped that after several seasons of the “hybrid era” a strong maturity has developed among the engine manufacturers which should lead to very small differences. But the recent past has shown us how small design flaws can dramatically affect performance. In case of gaps, the only clause allowed by the regulation to intervene on the engine concerns reliability: ‘A manufacturer may ask the FIA, during the homologation period, to make changes to the engine elements for the sole purpose of reliability, safety, savings, car installation and fuel problems ”, according to the regulation. Obviously FIA and Liberty Media have no interest in having a team (plus satellite ones) severely disadvantaged for four years. Here it was communicated, by the same federation, that in this case it could be willing to grant a development period to any highly disadvantaged engine to allow a minimum of recovery on the competition.
It is not the first time this has happened in the top flight of motorsport. In the V8 era, engines had been frozen at the end of 2006. But at the start of the new season the reigning Renault-powered champion team showed up with a deficit of around 20 horsepower. Eventually, the French manufacturer was granted permission to run a development program to bring similar “reliability” upgrades to the competition. This led to a leveling of performance even with engines developed in a different way. Toyota, BMW, Honda and Cosworth quickly finished in the middle of the pack, but Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault proved to be very balanced.
2022 is almost upon us, the hope is to see single-seaters battling lap after lap at each Grand Prix because recovering ground, in an era of “freezing” is never simple or obvious.
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