Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says a lack of commitment from possible new suppliers led to the toning down of engine changes for 2021.
When conversations started to decide new regulations in 2017, the power units were one of the first areas touted with manufacturers both current and prospective meeting to discuss how the current V6 hybrids could be improved.
The criteria set out by Brawn were for “cheaper, simpler and louder” engines but a first proposed idea, for a twin-turbo V6 with no MGU-H, led to Ferrari’s threat to quit F1.
Since then, however, the efforts to bring in considerable changes have died down.
“In that case, I was perhaps a bit more ambitious in terms of the changes that could have been made,” Brawn suggested to Autosport.
“But when the arguments were presented they were well presented, the models were well presented, and the examples were given.
“There’s a very strong argument that we have four reasonably settled suppliers in F1,” he continued, “And whilst there are people looking at coming in, they weren’t as committed, so, therefore, [we decided] let’s consolidate what we have.”
The MGU-H argument was one of the fiercest due to its complexity and cost, but Brawn added: “If a manufacturer is coming in or not coming in just because it had or hasn’t got an MGU-H it seems a bit fickle.”
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Another point that the former Ferrari, Mercedes & Honda chief made was the importance of not losing a current supplier that has gone to the effort of developing their current product.
“If we lose an engine [supplier] then anyone stepping in has a massive programme to step in and fill their place,” he noted. “And if we lose an engine it impacts two or three teams. I think it was correct to push hard to see where we can get to.
“There will be some changes that you’ll see – we’re not going to talk about them now – which will come out in the next few months which I think definitely are [going] in the right direction.
“I think we will have cheaper, simpler, louder, it’s just a question of degree.”