F1 Commission to allow engine equalization

Among a raft of decisions taken on Friday, Formula One Commission has allowed the sport to look into ways to equalise the performance of engines among the existing four manufacturers.

F1 Commission held their third meeting of the season on Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix which was attended by all teams and chaired by FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The most crucial decision was to postpone the introduction of the blanket-free tyres with discussions about the possibility of making the change in 2025 set to continue in the coming months.

Power unit development has been frozen in Formula 1 since the start of the 2022 season. However, it has led to concerns that a disadvantage has been locked in place for certain manufacturers, most notably Renault, which supplies the Alpine F1 team with engines.

The sport has therefore looked into ways to equal performance between various engine manufacturers. The FIA has investigated the performance of the different power units across the opening half of the current season, and came to the conclusion that one manufacturer faces a significant disadvantage.

It has not been confirmed which manufacturer is behind its rivals, but it is believed that it is Renault which has a significant gap to bridge to the rivals, Ferrari, Mercedes and the Red Bull Powertrains-badged Honda.

“In relation to Power Units, at the start of this regulations cycle it was agreed with the Power Unit Manufacturers that there would be a possibility for adjustment of PU performance from 2023 onwards in order to avoid a significant performance difference being locked in for an extended period.

“The FIA has been analysing the PU Performance of the cars during the first half of 2023, and concluded that there is one such notable performance gap between competitors.

“On the basis of the commitment of the PU Manufacturers, and of the performance differences reported above, the F1 Commission discussed ways to remedy this discrepancy.

“The Power Unit Manufacturers represented at the Commission agreed to give a mandate to the Power Unit Advisory Committee to consider this topic and bring proposals back to the Commission,” the statement read.

In a separate decision, minor updates to the 2023 and 2024 Technical Regulations were approved by the Commission.

“Additionally, following the FIA and Formula 1’s consultation with the drivers, the Commission discussed the topic of standing restarts close to the end of race. Current practice is to always restart the race from a standing grid start, provided track conditions are suitable, however the concept of a fixed point in races after which any resumption would be done with a rolling start, and whether there should be a limit on the total number of standing restarts there can be in a race were considered. “

“The ideas presented did not receive sufficient support from Commission members to be taken further at this stage, however the group reaffirmed that the final decision on this topic always remains at the discretion of the Race Director based on the specific conditions of each restart.”

The sport is only into the second year of the new technical era following its debut at the start of the 2022 F1 season, but it is already working on a new set of regulation. A new generation of power units will be introduced for 2026 that will eliminate the complicated motor generator unit – heat, but motor generator unit – kinetic will remain. It is expected to almost triple the amount of electrical power produced by the current hybrid components.

In order to achieve the increase of electrical power, the cars will feature active aerodynamics which should help massively reduce drag on the straights. In today’s meeting, the FIA presented an update regarding the ongoing work on the 2026 Formula 1 car specifications.

The sport’s governing body is currently analysing the most effective ways to achieve a significant reduction in the size and weight of the cars, as well as improving the energy management.

Regarding Capital Expenditure, the Commission discussed the aim of closing an inherent discrepancy between teams with different levels of infrastructure within the framework of the Financial Regulations. Work in the Financial Advisory Committee will continue on this topic in the coming months.

Futhermore, the Commission also confirmed that 2024 pre-season testing would take place in Bahrain from February 21 to February 23.