20/04/2015
NEWS STORY
Bernie Ecclestone and the manufacturers appear to be finding some common ground, providing the price is right.
Never happy with the new hybrid formula, having initially delayed its introduction, ever since it did finally appear, Ecclestone has been its fiercest critic.
His call that the formula be scrapped and the sport return to V8s was never going to happen as it would drive some manufacturers out and prevent others from entering.
Meeting in Bahrain ahead of yesterday's race, representatives of the engine manufacturers agreed to stick with the V6 units introduced only last year but make changes that would spice up the sport.
"If it's going to be the current engine, upgraded to 1,000hp, good," said Ecclestone following the meeting. "But they need to supply them at a price that the teams can afford to pay.
"We also need to make the cars more difficult to drive," he added.
Mercedes, which, as a result of its stance on refusing to revert to an older formula, has been accused of "killing" the sport by Ecclestone, has already said that it would walk away from F1 were the sport to move backwards. Honda says its entire reason for returning to F1 was the new hybrid formula, whilst Renault, previously a staunch supporter of the new formula, is now thought to be looking for a quick exit.
"The discussion about a 1,000hp engine has been around quite a while and I appreciate very well that it needs to be a spectacular formula and if that's the way forward then we should continue to work on it," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. "There are various groups coming together in terms of how the 2017 rules can look and in terms of power unit and the chassis side.
"Yesterday there was a very valuable meeting, Charlie (Whiting) was there and Bernie was there. Concepts are being put in place to make it a spectacular new formula in 2017."