A decision made by the FIA on Thursday, October 15 regarding the technical regulations for the 2016 season is meant to give engine manufacturers a break and make for more closely contested racint.
The original plan stipulated that the deadline for homologating the power units would expire on February 28. After that date, no changes could be made except for safety, cost-saving or reliability issues.
Mercedes has beaten everyone since the introduction of the 1.6-liter turbocharged V6s and the rest of the field had no chance to close the gap. Only Ferrari managed to get close; not close enough to actually challenge for the championship though.
Honda, in spite of its bold claims, performed so bad that Fernando Alonso labelled its engine “a GP2 motor” and Renault… well, let’s just say it was far from achieving the performance that helped Sebastien Vettel secure four consecutive world championships.
Upgrades during the season will still be controlled by the token system. However, Autosport.com reports that their number will remain at 32 for another year rather than being decreased to 25 as the FIA had planned. Additionally, the teams will be allowed to use year-old engines – another rule that was supposed to change for 2016.
One team dominating almost every race is not good for the sport as far as competition and revenues are concerned. Clearly, the Merc guys won’t be so pleased no matter what they may say in public. Keeping Red Bull in Formula 1, though, seems to be higher on FIA’s priority.
Story Reference: ESPN
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