Formula 1’s expected ban on teams using ‘party’ engine modes is expected to be delayed until the Italian Grand Prix, RaceFans reports.
Prior to last weekend’s Spanish GP, the FIA sent a letter informing of the new restrictions that will stop the use of extreme power unit settings which offer a boost in performance but only in short bursts.
It is understood this is part of an effort to better police the engine regulations, by forcing teams to use the same modes in qualifying for at least a certain percentage of the race distance.
However, after hoping the change could be introduced for next weekend’s Belgian GP at Spa, now the race at Monza a week later is considered more likely to give teams a little more to adapt.
It also isn’t entirely implausible the new limits could be postponed until 2021, with two manufacturers thought to have voiced unhappiness at the FIA’s directive during a Power Unit Working Group meeting on Monday.
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As for whether the governing body can properly regulate whether teams adhere to the new engine mode restrictions, FIA race director Michael Masi was clear.
“I know that the technical team in particular has done a huge amount of work on this and has also consulted with the four power unit manufacturers to get their input,” he said in Barcelona.
“So we’re as confident as we possibly can be at the moment.
“I think as the late Charlie Whiting used to say, we have a technical team of 10. You add a thousand people at each of the various PU manufacturers, so…
“But no, we are confident otherwise we wouldn’t certainly be going down that road pursuing it.”
The response from teams publicly has been largely positive, though Lewis Hamilton did describe it as “obviously” an attempt to slow down Mercedes.
However, his boss Toto Wolff countered the six-time world champion, suggesting it may bring benefits on race day.
“If Formula 1 was to ban, in season, certain power unit modes then I think it will actually help us in the race,” he told The Race.
“Because if you can avoid to damage your power unit in those few qualifying laps that you have available in Q3 and then the odd lap in the race the damage metric goes down dramatically.
“So five laps of quali mode not being done gives us 25 laps of more performance in the race.
“We are always very marginal on what we can extract from the power unit and if we were to be limited in qualifying modes well then, we will be stronger in the race.”
