Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes efforts to reduce the cost of engines for customers means smaller teams can no longer use it as an excuse for financial problems.
The introduction of the current V6 hybrids in 2014 saw a sharp spike in the increase of costs both to suppliers and therefore to customers compared to the previous V8’s and was blamed in part for the demise of both Caterham and Manor since.
However, acknowledging this, the FIA and suppliers have been working together to try and reduce the prices while making it one of the key criteria of the talks currently underway to determine the engine formula from 2021.
“I think by making the future engine regulations less complex the development costs of the manufacturers are going to go down,” Wolff told Motorsport.com recently. “The engine development costs big money, and the engine departments of all the current suppliers are loss making entities which shouldn’t be the case, so we’re trying to contain that.
“On the other side, we have found an agreement with the FIA to reduce the prices to all engine customers over the next years to levels that are the lowest ever in F1,” he added. “I think if you get this kind of engine at prices like $12-14m, which is what we’re trying to achieve, I have no understanding for somebody that claims the engines are too expensive.”
One argument many have had for efforts to try and reduce cost and expenditure in F1 is the consequence will be a simple rediversion of money from one area to another.
And the Austrian buys into that, claiming: “The very opportunistic and one-sided argument of certain teams to push the engine prices further down, and on the other side to spend £200m plus on chassis development, isn’t correct.”
He would then brush off the suggestion that the big manufacturers also only consider their best interest when considering rules and rule changes, pointing to Mercedes’ commitment to the 2021 engine talks despite the success and advantage they have with the current power unit.
“I think we’ve proven in the past that we were not just opportunistic, and trying to push through regulations that fit us,” Wolff claimed. “I’m very well aware that there are deficits in the current engine concept. Maybe we can make it less complex so that fans can really understand how engine recovery really functions.
“And certainly how we perceive the engines in terms of the sound is something that is close to my heart as well, because I think it is an important factor.”
