Just when progress was being made towards deciding Formula 1’s rules in 2021, two new flashpoints have emerged in talks.
This week saw details of a $175m budget cap emerge which has passed largely quietly in terms of reaction from the top teams but has been criticised by Renault.
Now though a proposed tweaking of the Parc Ferme regulations is being pilloried by the teams.
It was revealed on Friday that the current plan would be for cars to be placed under Parc Ferme conditions as soon as they roll out for practice to try and reduce the workload on mechanics and possibly condense a Grand Prix weekend.
Also, it would limit the setup changes that could be made, potentially hurting a team that took a wrong direction while conducting work in the simulator.
And while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff welcomes the former, the latter he believes could prove problematic.
“We are not keen on the Parc Fermé format from Friday to Sunday,” he was quoted by Crash.net.
“There is no motor racing formula out there that doesn’t allow the cars to be touched over the weekend and I don’t think we should start with Formula 1 – the pinnacle of motor racing.
“You open up a can of worms with penalties because cars will end up in the wall and they will need to be rebuilt.
“I think from the sheer idea of how we can add more variability, more unpredictability, have more cars breaking down, I think we will achieve the contrary.
“We will spend more time and resource in the virtual world, runs cars harder on dynos to make them last because we know we can’t take them apart over three days, so I don’t think this is something we should touch.
“There are many other areas that make sense, but this one, not for us.”
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Secondly, engineers are also now describing the planned introduction of a new car design in 2021 as effectively a standard car due to limitations on development.
“These are standard cars through the back door,” a source told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. “The cars will all look the same and will only be distinguished by the paint job.
“The DNA of Formula 1 is that we all come to different solutions.”
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto was also concerned, adding: “We cannot differentiate ourselves enough.”
F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn was left bemused by the comments, however.
“There is a lot of resistance,” he conceded. “[But] we let the teams participate in the development process of this concept, they were always informed. What they got now was widely known to them.
“Why did not they raise the alarm earlier?”
Meetings have been continuing in Montreal, with some aspects of the 2021 regulations expected to be sent to the World Motor Sport Council this week for ratification.
It is now expected, however, that a delay until October will be put in place to agree on the final details, providing smaller teams get reassurances that no significant changes will be made.