The current engine regulations are ‘too complicated and too complex’ for new manufacturers to even consider joining the Formula 1 grid, according to Motorsport UK boss David Richards.
Currently there are four engine suppliers in the sport, with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Honda supplying the ten teams, but the technical nature of the power units makes it difficult for any other manufacturer, such as Porsche or BMW, to join.
Despite Formula 1 looking into the simplification of the power unit to fit in with the updated 2021 regulations – now delayed until 2022 – but these plans were dropped in favour of retaining the current regulations, with the only change being the introduction of a standardised fuel pump.
Richards says the investment needed to build a power unit for Formula 1, and the development to be competitive against the four current suppliers, is far too high for any new manufacturer to consider, especially in the current climate that has been heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The investment to get there is just colossal,” said Richards to Motorsport.com. “[It’s] something that couldn’t even be contemplated by the car manufacturers today in the current environment.
“You’d have to take a couple of steps backwards before it would be even feasible for someone to invest the money that’s required to get on par with the current engine suppliers.
“Those bits of equipment have the most sophisticated internal combustion engines that have ever been built. With the technical rules as they are today, they’re just too complicated and too complex.”
