With each new season in Formula One, a number of new rules get introduced to make the cars better and faster and to make the sport more interesting for the fans. This year the focus was on aerodynamics to make the cars go much faster but FIA president Jean Todt believes that the current cars are too sophisticated, too expensive, too complicated and in a way a bit too reliable.
Also read: What do initial rounds of Formula 1, MotoGP and WRC hint at for rest of the season?
Todt believes that Formula One cars need to be simpler, cheaper and less reliable and after a recent meeting in Paris to discuss the future engines of Formula One, the stakeholders are hoping they can switch to less expensive, noisier engines by 2021.
"I think the cars are too sophisticated, probably too high-technology, which is not needed for the sport. It's a very sensitive point because on one side motoring is evolving and it would be very difficult to say the pinnacle of motorsport is not following the evolution of motoring," Autosport.com quoted Todt as saying.
"I am not thinking of having an autonomous car or connected cars in Formula 1, but that's what the world is facing and what manufacturers are facing with electronics on the car and power trains, which are completely different. So we have to see how we can translate that into motorsport, and of course include that in Formula 1."
The meeting was chaired by Todt and was also attended by the new Formula One owner Liberty Media. The aim of this meeting was to keep Formula One at the top of the motorsport industry with road-car relevant technology while making power units simpler and cheaper to develop and produce – and more powerful.
Todt was happy to say that the current turbo hybrid power units have not been a complete success and seemed pleased as he came out of meeting in Paris.
"I was very pleased with the process and the fact that so many different stakeholders were able to agree on a direction for the FIA Formula One World Championship in such an important technical area," Todt said in an FIA statement.
"Of course, now we must sit down and work through the fine details of exactly what the 2021 power units will be – but we have begun on the right foot, and I am looking forward to working through the process to come up with the best decision for Formula One into the future."
The FIA confirmed that the existing 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid power units will remain until the end of the 2020 season with rules stating that changes cannot be made until the 2021 season but talks are already in progress for the new engines for the 2021 season.
