Mercedes towards a compromise with Ferrari, Renault, and Honda on engine “thaw”?

After several months of discussions on the issue of freezing hybrid V6 turbo engines and its challenge by Ferrari and Renault, Mercedes could finally agree to a compromise allowing for a one-time possibility of modifying the engines during the 2015 season.

During the United States Grand Prix, meetings were held among the various involved parties, with the aim of putting forward proposals to convince Mercedes and its customer teams—without whom nothing will be possible in the F1 Commission, where all teams are present and unanimity is required—to accept a “thaw.”

Autosport reveals that the proposal the German engine manufacturer might be willing to accept consists of a single window for making changes in July 2015. During this period, the introduction of slightly modified engine blocks would then be allowed.

Mercedes previously indicated its desire not to permanently challenge the freeze due to soaring costs associated with a veritable arms race among different suppliers. High-level sources seem to suggest that the brand may accept the idea of a unique window as long as budgets do not increase significantly. The proposal will be studied before a new meeting, scheduled on the sidelines of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Toto Wolff, the executive director of Mercedes, says he is ready to consider such a compromise if it ensures stability: « If it’s the necessary compromise to guarantee long-term stability and to agree in the long term that we won’t change the rules every year, it’s something we will look into. What we have said is that we are calculating and looking at the effects of this. What does it imply financially? Logistically? We are a team that has to supply eight power units at once. Honda is two, Ferrari and Renault four. So there is a big difference. »

The principle of freezing engines

The implementation of the new V6 turbo hybrid technology was accompanied by a regulatory freeze during the season to limit cost increases by preventing teams from continuously developing the engines. Once an engine is homologated by the FIA – for 2014, the deadline was February 28 – modifications during the year can only be justified for reasons of reliability, safety, and cost reduction.

Once the season is over, the engines can be modified again until the next deadline. However, once again, the regulations limit the possible modifications. It is Annex 4 of the Technical Regulations for the 2014 season that provides the list and especially the quantity of elements that can be modified.

The interest of the proposal to lift the in-season freeze is not to allow unlimited development but to authorize engine manufacturers to make the planned regulatory changes within a larger window. Thus, a manufacturer that has not used the quota of elements that can be effectively modified during the off-season could change the number of remaining elements by July 2015.