When the controversial Strategy Group meets tomorrow, much of the talk will be of F1 matters concerning the immediate future of the sport, such as the Shield, F1 weekend timetables, tyre compounds and even last weeks' event in London.

However, Christian Horner, believes that with the engine rules for 2021 and beyond up for discussion, the sport must begin looking even further ahead.

"Formula One is effectively at a crossroads with the new regulations," he said, "because those regulations theoretically come in 2021 and there will be probably an eight to ten-year life on those engines, so what we are looking at is actually is Formula One's relevance pretty much up to 2030.

"Now, by 2030 how many people are actually going to be driving cars?" he continued. "Are they going to be autonomous? Are they going to be electric? The world is changing so fast in that sector.

"So Formula One has some serious questions that it needs to answer today in the choice it makes for the engine for the future.

"What is Formula One's primary purpose? Is it technology or is it a sport and entertainment, and man and machine at the absolute limit?

"I sense that with the new ownership that has come into Formula One that creating great entertainment, creating great content, the noise, the sound, the exhilaration of seeing the drivers as the star is of absolute primary concern to them.

"So I hope that with the opportunity there is with the regulation change that is being discussed at the moment that the fundamental aspects of cost, performance and attractiveness to the fans, therefore the noise, the acoustics of these engines, are a key factor in the set of regulations they come up with and I think that in turn will produce good racing, reduce costs and bring back some to the appeal that engines of a bygone era used to produce."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Ferrarifidge, 20/07/2017 19:39

"I think it's time to stop talking and do something that's takes affect quickly, stop the star gazing ! Get rid of grid penalties as of the next race and get rid of some of the complexity around the engine for 2018. Keep the engine turbo and a simplified energy recovery that everyone can understand and new suppliers can develop quickly and cheaply. "

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2. Posted by mickl, 19/07/2017 14:26

"I've always maintained taking away the power steering. rev limiter and using manual gearboxes would sort out the men from the boys in talent and skills of purely driving the car instead of letting electronics from doing most of the work. That's one of the reasons why everyone looks back at the cars from the late 80s and prior with fondness because they were so physical to drive. "

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 19/07/2017 8:34

"If the Vee-motor noise & fury model is so great why not just merge F1 with IndyCar???
Horner has (quite deliberately) launched a canard with the notion that what's screwing F1 is some kind of "relevance". Nothing in F1 is relevant to anything except F1: an unvirtuous circle if ever there were one.

Do all the Vee-fans really think that simply junking the "PU"'s in favour of fire-breathing VeeX motors will transform F1 into an enthralling gladiatorial contest? Anyone who was at Silverstone, or who watche3d it on the TV got a pretty fair dose of excitement which would have been enhanced by better tyres and fewer aero tweaks.
As GrahamG so correctly asserts its about the SPORT, or as currently constituted, the near absence of it.

Even the most cursory look at these Forums indicates where the real problem lies: complex, impenetrable and unworkable rules, and so many of them I doubt if anyone truly knows or understands them all. That's bad enough, but insult is piled upon injury becuase the rules seem to be made by the Teams, and so are based on narrow self-interest, greed and a solid wodge of pure stupidity. Mr Horner wants Vee motors becuase it suits his team. RBR cars are aerodynamic marvels, he wants a return to the halcyon days when his cars waltzed to victory every racing Sunday. Unsurprisingly Mercedes have a different view, Ferrari a third perspective & Renault a 4th, McLaren a 5th, and so-on. If the teams had equal influence that would be fine, but we all know it isn't like that....

So to return to the point. It isn't about noise & thunder (signifying ???) but about Sport. FIA is supposedly the rule-making body and if they were to actually get off their fundament and consider F1 as a Sport, not a money-making machine for whoever owns the "Sporting"[sic] Rights, they could re-cast F1 in such a way as to make it what many fans actually want. I'll bet that would also boost audiences etc too. "

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4. Posted by imejl99, 19/07/2017 6:55

"Forget engine rules, or nowadays politically correctly "PU". Do something with aero/tire combination. What racing if car can not follow at close range? "

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5. Posted by SideGlance, 19/07/2017 6:12

"F1 is NOTHING but entertainment, physical entertainment for sure, but so are all athletic sports, but still just entertainment.

Does the world use pro athletes as warrior against enemy or for space travel or for anything other than SPORTS Nope !

So why does a F1 engine need to be 'road pertinent' ? All car makers are doing their own development of hybrids and pure electric cars, even some gasoline cars can get 50+ mpg (in reality not test bed) so sure it may be fun for engineers to do these shitty sounding PUs, but as a fan THEY SUCK !

Plus a driver should get out of car sweating, maybe sore from shifting, sore from the G-loads the effort to man-handle the car around a difficult track, that is what I want to see !!

Pure racing but NO push rod engines - tooo low tech, more 180 degree crank lovely sounding high reving V-8/10/12's of say 2.2L size or even smaller ??

Ah the sound of a V-12 2.0L revving to 22, 000 rpm, WOW what a lovely sound that would be !!!!!!"

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6. Posted by SideGlance, 19/07/2017 6:04

"Need to get away from these ugly sounding PUs and get back to great V-8/10/12 engines and lessen the aero and INCREASE the driver effort, less aids more driver input - back to manual shifting of each gear but using safe shifting gearboxes to decrease breakage, faster engine changes, more engines.

Do you have a clue how much cost and effort are to get the current engines to the point of lasting 4-6 races ? HUGE costs, likely more than 2 older V-10/8 engines !!!

the sound is shitty, the margins between engines are too great - Honda can barely get an engine to last a SINGLE race let alone 6 !!!

A drive like Alonso is wasted w/ such a shit engine, even renault engines are not yet there, no back to more NICE sounding engines, simpler engines, more driver control needed less push buttons and the like on steering wheel, more HUMAN racing rather than aero & tech !! PLEASE !!!!"

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7. Posted by GrahamG, 18/07/2017 20:24

"Very few people actually row boats as fast as they can other than as sport, not many people ride their bike 200km per day up mountains other than for sport, people would probably take a bus rather than run a marathon to get to work - sports are different to normal life, they are essentially a competition between individuals or groups of individuals to see who can do something "best" within a rules framework.
Motor sport at F1 level has become corrupted by silly rules and regulations, but if you go back to club motorsport at weekends it is still essentially a contest between individuals in a rules framework (ie different classes). If F1 concentrated on being a sport, a competition between drivers, instead of a competition to see who can spend the most money to get around a rule then it might well have a future"

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8. Posted by Uffen, 18/07/2017 19:17

"Jezzer is correct in many ways. Road relevance is a road to nowhere for F1. The notion that autonomous vehicles are the future should tell anyone listening that relevance and racing are not compatible. If the manufacturers want to run in F1 then fine, let them. But don't make rules (like the current engine rules) that require manufacturer involvement due to the costs and complexities. We want raw racing not a demonstration of how obscure manufacturers can make the spectacle. "

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9. Posted by Jezzer, 18/07/2017 18:42

"At long last, someone from planet paddock has said something sensible.
I keep reading about "road relevance" and technology that the manufacturers can transfer to their road cars......but, realistically how relevant to a road car is an engine that can propel a car at speeds of 200 + mph? How relevant are tyres that can just about last 190 miles....or less in Sebs case! Being able to corner at eye watering and organ crushing speeds? Cars that only have one seat...an uncomfortable one at that? Gearboxes that only really have to last a couple of months? I could go on for much longer, however, I'm sure by now you get the picture.
Jean Todt's comment stating " that a return to F1 of high revving V8, V10 or V12 engines would not be accepted by society"....what? Is he serious? Would Joseph and Josephine Public really think "oooh those new V12 engines in F1 this year are really unacceptable....the amount of petrol they use is disgraceful and as for the emissions!!!!!".
Now dont get me wrong, I love to see technology in action. I love to see what the amazing designers and engineers of F1 can produce and how they work around various problems. BUT pleeeeease lets get back to racing relevant technology. Let the manufacturers start their own series...I can see it now "Formula Testbed" live on pay TV...so they can try out their Road Relevant technology before putting it in their roads cars that are very expensive and out of reach to the average Mr and Mrs J Public. Seriously people, Road Relevance and F1 motor racing are like oil and water...you might, with a struggle, get them to mix but it just isnt going to work properly or for very long.
J Todt, the fuel used, the noise and emissions produced by all of the planes and trucks used to get the teams to the current 20 GP's per year plus the same for all of the spectators SHOULD be more of a pressing concern for you, especially in light of recent reports that Liberty want to increase this to 25. Actually, while we are on the subject, what about all of the same for every other sport on the planet? This man really is so far out of touch with what the important people of F1 (yes Jean, the fans). We want noise, speed, drivers that can display their exceptional talents to the full, balls out racing in exciting looking and sounding machinery on circuits that test car and driver to the limit. We, the poorer people of society want access to the teams, drivers and cars just like these so called celeb's who more often than not havent got a clue who or what they are watching and who are able to afford to BUY a ticket. Personally I find them embarrassing but that is another rant for another time. Please get rid of this ridiculous grid drop penalty system, it spoils a potentially good race, its the teams fault so penalise just the team with constructor points penalties. Let the drivers race.
F1 has the chance to press the reset button, please think long and hard about the people who pay your wages and bills before you press that button.
Well...I think I've got most of it off my chest now, also my dinner is ready so I have to go.
James

"

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Horner: F1 has some serious questions to answer

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