Cyril Abiteboul admits it is a ‘frightening’ proposition for Renault Sport should Formula 1 engine suppliers be forced to completely redesign their power units for the 2021 season.
F1 bosses are looking into changing engine regulations ahead of the 2021 season, with initial ideas to retain the current 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid systems but with the removal of the MGU-H, while a higher rev limit would be offset by restrictions of developments.
Abiteboul, the Team Principal of the works Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, acknowledges that whilst there does need to be some kind of change to the regulations to make the engines more relevant to the sport once more, completely redesigning the power units is not what Renault, or any of the other engine manufacturers currently in the sport, want.
“We would like to avoid almost starting from scratch again,” said Abiteboul to Motorsport.com. “If I look at the investment that has been made in the engine, if I look at the time that it is taking to get to a situation where it is not a level playing field, but that the engine is not a handicap anymore for chassis people – because that is what you want: a disparity where a team is not prevented from winning races or doing a decent job by its engine partner – frankly starting from scratch again is quite frightening.”
