An end in sight to engine issue?

03/07/2006

A number of meetings were held at Indianapolis over the course of the Grand Prix weekend in an attempt to settle the engine homologation issue.

Following the 'Maranello proposal' and 'Monaco proposal' we now have the 'Indianapolis proposal', though so far this has only been agreed verbally, and has not been signed. Ferrari boss, Jean Todt, has already admitted that he was preoccupied with events on track all weekend and has therefore not even given the proposal more than a cursory glance.

At this time, according to Pitpass' sources, "several issues have yet to be finalized" and it is "too early to say it's resolved".

However, our sources claim that "the teams are trying to find a solution".

The Formula One Commission meets on Wednesday and it is imperative that a solution is found by then.

With the FIA introducing a three-year engine freeze in 2008, which was already at odds with what the manufacturers want, it was then revealed that the 'freeze' would be brought forward to 2007. This was because, in the words of Max Mosley: "It would be entirely improper and unfair to try now to force everyone to spend huge, unbudgeted sums developing these engines for the next fifteen months."

The Englishman is also concerned that there will be "a safety problem arising from engine power".

It is understood that the Indianapolis is a compromise - a rarity in Formula One - between the earlier Maranello and Monaco proposals, which were both championed by (different factions). Ferrari, Renault and Cosworth were behind the Maranello proposal, while Honda, Toyota, Mercedes and BMW developed the Monaco proposal.