The FIA grants its approval for an engine upgrade

The FIA has given its approval to allow engine upgrades if the teams think it’s necessary, but stated that the leveling of performance will be done from the bottom. This means that manufacturers must reduce power to align with others.

Last year, the FIA allowed Renault to modify its engine to help the team bring it up to the performance level of its rivals. This was because some engine manufacturers had exploited loopholes in the technical regulations to improve their engines during the engine freeze period.

Many teams called for a reevaluation at the Italian Grand Prix because they believe the Mercedes-Benz engine clearly has an advantage. Red Bull Racing’s director, Christian Horner, stated in Monza: “I think it’s something that, perhaps, we should carefully look at.”

« The FIA has all the information. They can see where the differences are. I don’t think it’s a coincidence to see three Mercedes-powered teams dominating six of the top seven positions in qualifying [at Monza] and still looking dominant during the race. The FIA has all the available information at hand, but it’s always a risk to freeze [engine development] because you could freeze it with a competitive advantage. »

The teams are ready to address the issue soon, and the FIA has stated that it will allow changes to be made if there is agreement from the engine manufacturers and the teams. However, the leveling can only be done by lowering the standards.

In a statement released after the hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Monday, the board of directors stated: « Following suggestions of a performance differential between the engines used in Formula 1, the World Motor Sport Council has concluded that this is indeed the case and that, if teams wish to eliminate this performance differential, they can be allowed to do so by reducing the performance of more powerful engines. However, no engine improvements will be allowed. »

This means that Mercedes-Benz would be forced to make changes to its engine in order to reduce its performance to the level of its rivals.