F1's options to define its next powertrain step

Though F1 cars will look very different come 2021, it will be another five years before any major change to the engine regulations is made. But should F1 stick with its current formula, become even more sustainable, or go fan-friendly?

Jake Boxall-Legge Dec 11, 2019, 1:44 PM

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Those who have anticipated significant change in the engine regulations for the 2021 Formula 1 season will have been left somewhat disappointed. While the aero rules have been granted a complete overhaul, the powertrain will remain largely untouched.

Furthermore, anyone hoping for fundamental change and the return of naturally-aspirated engines will also be left disappointed. Hybrid power units are in F1 to stay, and any deviation from them given their efficiency and the amount of resource put into them would be more damaging in the long run. After all, when faced with a choice between building a sustainable championship and pleasing a few people whose spectacle lenses are rose-tinted, the decision's not hard to make.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.