Two years in and F1's owners are finally beginning to discover why Bernie Ecclestone had to have the dictatorial approach to his management of the sport that they find so distasteful.

Aside from calling on the big teams to accept less prize money and scrap the various bonuses, the sport is looking at every means possible to create a level playing field whereby everyone stands a chance of winning.

While the discussions over the financial side of things continue, the sport's powers-that-be have already had to give way in terms of their planned upheaval of the engine regulations for 2021, a move aimed at reducing costs and also attracting new manufacturers.

For various reasons the current four engine manufacturers didn't particularly want change, some arguing planned changes compromised the sport's DNA, others wanting to maintain the status-quo, while also pointing out that new regulations meant running concurrent development programmes which meant increased spending.

Much like the desire to seek a change of (sole) tyre supplier, potential engine manufacturers were put off by the failure to reduce costs and produce engines that were simpler and more equal in terms of performance.

Undaunted, though the regulations are unlikely to change much over the next few years, F1 bosses are calling on the current manufacturers to assist newcomers by sharing technology - surely the equivalent of turkeys helping prepare the Christmas dinner.

"The drawbridge has been pulled up and the existing suppliers don't want anyone else to come in," the sport's technical boss Ross Brawn tells the official F1 website.

"We have found a compromise," he adds. "There are regulations coming out which would mean new entrants will get support from existing entrants. There will be components and technology which will have to be shared if it is requested.

"It is not quite such a radical change that we were proposing, but still quite a good step in the right direction and there are some nice changes to the way the driver has to manage the engine, which I think goes a long way in the sporting direction.

"There has been a recognition from the existing manufacturers that they can't shut the door behind them. If we start to get serious interest from another manufacturer or supplier, they have to cooperate to find ways of helping that manufacturer come into F1."

Quite how the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari react to that one remains to be seen.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kdxrider, 16/12/2018 23:05

"After all the recent ""news"" I've been reading lately, it's almost if FOG just doesn't want a Concorde Agreement, and it doesn't want the current teams in what it wants as a replacement. This is just the cream of the crop, who in the right minds would willingly surrender their intellectual property rights to a competitor ----
It's always been said that F1 is "the" top auto sport class, why is it trying to do "club" racing --- anybody can do that --"

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2. Posted by NS Biker, 16/12/2018 3:42

"Wonder if this is a "bait and switch" strategy.?
Put rules in place the power unit suppliers clearly don't like and then the compromise gets offered .... new engine regs for some future date."

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3. Posted by F One, 15/12/2018 16:22

"Why on earth should they have to help newcomers? Just make it a spec series and be done with it if this is the way it's going."

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4. Posted by Jet Jockey, 15/12/2018 12:45

"Enter your comment heremeone at Liberty must be smoking some really bad stuff!

Why would Mercedes or Ferrari or any other engine manufacturer simply give away their hard earned engine designs which they developed at an extremely high price?

It will never work and I wouldn't blame the engine manufacturers for not going along with this plan."

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5. Posted by Insane Reindeer, 15/12/2018 7:55

"If any of the other big automotive firms actually thought that this would work they would of been beating down the door to get in! Ford could sit down with the current four and cherry pick what parts of each of them wanted to study/copy/licence and then turn up at their first race and promptly be right at the front. Engine wise. But from the deafening silence we can all see that this idea is never ever going to work! And quite rightly so. After all this is just another attempt by Liberty, delivered by their "trusted friend of F1" to turn the sport into the World Championship of IndyCar. "

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6. Posted by nonickname, 14/12/2018 14:36

"They will enter into the spirit of Xmas and go HoHoHo"

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Engine manufacturers called on to assist newcomers

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