The new 2014 engine regulations
Last week the Formula One Commission resolved to delay the introduction of new engine regulations that were scheduled for 2013, and to scrap the plan to run with four cylinder engines. The manufacturers in the sport have instead agreed to implement more efficient turbocharged V6 engines, and will do so a year later than originally intended.
This can be seen as good news because the teams have now reached a clear consensus on the new regulations. Their universal approval is essential to make the new engine formula a success, and it also removes a point of contention from the upcoming Concorde Agreement negotiations.
Fans have also welcomed the news because the turbocharged V6 units are seen to be more exciting than the smaller four cylinder alternatives.
However, the move taken by manufacturers might not be entirely positive for the sport. Formula One may have missed a rare chance to be bold and exciting.
When the 2013 regulations were first published last year they featured several significant developments. They included provisions for smaller environmentally friendly road relevant engines, and cars with be more efficient ground effect aerodynamics.
These regulations changes met with resistance from the teams and have since been watered down considerably. The ground effect aerodynamics will no longer be introduced and the engine changes will not be so drastic.
The FIA wanted to introduce smaller engines because that is the current trend of the global automotive industry. Consumers all around the world are buying smaller cars in a shift that is being amplified by rising oil prices. Smaller cars with more fuel efficient engines are surging in popularity and this trend will continue until the internal combustion engine eventually becomes a museum piece.
The introduction of small four cylinder engines into Formula One would have made their development relevant to this ongoing trend. Ferrari countered this by rightly stating they don’t make any four cylinder cars (and neither do many sportscar manufacturers) so the engine bears absolutely no relevance to them at all. This is true today, but at some point in the future Ferrari is going to make a small engine and it could very well feature a four cylinder configuration. It won’t be in the next five years, and probably not in the next ten either, but at some point it is going to happen. The petrol engine as we know it has a limited lifespan and will continue to get smaller until it disappears altogether.
The new regulations offered Formula One a chance to jump ahead of the trend instead of just keeping up with it. Turbocharged V6 engines are relevant to the industry today, which is why they are welcomed as a positive move by the manufacturers, but they won’t be relevant to the motoring industry years into the future.
When the day comes that most sportscars feature small partially hybrid engines – quite possibly with just four cylinders – it would have been nice to say that Formula One contributed to their development years ahead of time. That would have been a great message for the sport, technically and socially, especially in the face of the increasing environmental movement.
The FIA is doing the right thing by reacting to environmental pressures, which ultimately represent the biggest threat to motorsport’s long term future, but Formula One could have done more in 2013 to prepare for the technological challenges that lie ahead.
Much of the criticism directed at the four cylinder engines centred on their lack of appeal to fans, and that is a completely reasonable point to make. It’s hard to think that a small four cylinder engine would be more exciting than a V6.
Unfortunately, this criticism is based on theory alone because no-one has actually built one. A lot of people have judged these engines without one even being constructed. Renault were apparently very keen to adopt the four cylinder engines, so perhaps they should’ve made a prototype in an effort to convince everyone they could still be exciting.
The low revving turbo charged engines from the eighties were regarded as some of the most spectacular in the sport’s history, and although their modern incarnations would have been different, they could also have still been made to look and sound spectacular. There are plenty of sportscars out there with relatively small engines that sound sensational, and had they been introduced into F1, you would like to think that manufacturers would have made them attractive to fans.
V6 engines are likely to be more exciting, but we’ll never know for sure.
The other point to note is that aesthetically unpopular rule changes have been introduced before but have quickly passed into history. For example, in 1998 the new narrow-track cars were considered particularly ugly but this was soon forgotten. More recently, in 2009, the new front and rear wings were largely unappealing but most of us have now grown used to them. It’s quite likely that Formula One fans would also have adjusted to different engine sounds.
It will be interesting to note if the V6 engines have any impact on new manufacturers joining the sport. General Motors and Volkswagen (representing Audi & Porsche) were consulted when the 2013 regulations were first conceived, so these more recent changes might lessen their interest. Ferrari don’t make four cylinder engines, but other manufacturers do and might have been tempted to join Formula One had the smaller units come into effect. It will almost certainly impact the PURE F1 engine project being overseen by Craig Pollock.
The 2014 specification V6 engines that are being introduced will still be hugely different to the 2.4 litre V8 units in F1 cars today. They will feature turbochargers, a huge reduction in capacity, significantly more efficient energy recovery systems, and tighter fuel restrictions. Formula One is taking a huge step with the new rules, and even without four cylinder engines, the sport will be developing some important road relevant technologies. The Formula One Commission should be applauded for supporting such changes, but should always look to improve the sport’s technological relevance.
KERS was introduced into Formula One in 2009, but McLaren had originally pioneered the concept back in 1998 before it was banned. By the time all F1 teams were free to use KERS, more powerful systems were available in Toyota road cars. The sport missed a chance to be responsible for developing new hybrid technologies, and you would hope they haven’t missed another chance to develop smaller more radically fuel efficient engines. Formula One technology will not dictate the future of the automotive industry, but it does present a platform for new innovations to be developed and tested.
Change and evolution is a fact of life. Whether it’s present in your neighbourhood, your job, your family, or your favourite sport, change is all around you and there is a lot that can be gained from embracing that rather than resisting it.
The new 2014 regulations provide F1 fans with exciting V6 engines, give the teams something they all agree on, and will move the sport towards a greener more road relevant future. There are a lot of good things to celebrate about the move taken by the Formula One commission.
It’s just a shame that it might have come at the expense of doing something even more special for the sport’s long term future.