With the end of the 2015 Formula One season nigh, it is commonplace for the drivers’ silly season to be in the spotlight next to the championship.
This season however, there is another peculiarity still stealing the headlines – the engines.
The lead protagonists in this ongoing scenario are Red Bull Racing. They, along with their sister outfit Toro Rosso, are still without a power supply for 2016 – despite numerous development deadlines looming.
Red Bull have held discussions in Austin with Honda, who have endured a beleaguered return to Formula One with the prestigious McLaren team.
In a turn of events, it appears that Red Bull are yielding towards an interim engine solution – contra to their non-negotiable stance two months ago.
Adding a second team to its engine programme would be beneficial for Honda, as the Japanese marque seeks to recover the 160bhp deficit it currently suffers, in relation to the leading manufacturers.
However, a roadblock has emerged in the form of McLaren CEO Ron Dennis, with the supremo allegedly having vetoed any ambitions his engine partners have of supplying another team in 2016.
Dennis’ rationale can be justified by the bitter stance that rival suppliers Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz have taken on Red Bull. Knowing all too well how Red Bull are with their chassis, powering the enemy would be suicide for the manufacturer team.
So with the current engine suppliers enterprising “asset protection”, as Bernie Ecclestone put it, the drive is on by the FIA for an alternative, low-cost power supply.
A tender is set to be opened this week, by the sport’s governing body and commercial rights holder FOM, for a 2.2-litre V6 engine with twin-turbos and a more simplified KERS package.
Measures will be undertaken to ensure parity between the ruling 1.6 turbo-hybrids and the proposed twin-turbo V6, but it is yet to be seen how that will be achieved.
Essentially, this blueprint gives the rapacious manufacturers a kick up the exhaust, as well as open an avenue for smaller teams to run competitively at a fraction of the cost.
Therein lies a solution for outfits such as Red Bull Racing, who find themselves without power for 2016. If these surrogate engines (whenever they are introduced) are a success, then the energy drink giant will return to the fore.
For other midfield teams such as Sauber, who are perennially embattled in financial woes, this engine could be their ticket to surviving in Formula One.
And if no other marques are enticed into entering the sport with a works operation, this gives the option for privateers to once again reemerge.
It may be eons before Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz submit to a cost-cap on engines, or anything for that matter. By adding a substitute, the current manufacturer duopoly may dissolve and return the onus to chassis differentiation between the teams.
However it remains to be seen what the Strategy Group – on which Ferrari and Mercedes sit – does with the concept.
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