What exactly does the project to ban special engine modes cover, carried by the FIA via a technical directive, and which will finally be introduced at the Italian Grand Prix (confirmation has arrived today)? F1 has given a few attempts at an explanation.
It should first be noted that since 2014, the use of engines, now hybrid, has become eminently more complex. Many maps and different modes have appeared: they do not only concern qualifying, but also the power used temporarily to overtake in the race (“overtake” button), deceleration laps, etc.
Thus, the standard racing modes will recover energy via the batteries on a regular basis, without deploying them at each lap. Engine temperatures are then kept under control, which promotes reliability. The pilots usually keep energy in reserve especially for the most offensive maneuvers, or for the last laps.
Unsurprisingly, the qualifying modes significantly increase engine speed; they also allow the battery to deploy the maximum amount of energy (recovered previously) to transform it into additional power. F1s then burn more fuel, and faster, and gasoline blends are richer and more aggressive. Temperatures are inevitably rising and the risk of failure multiplies: this is why it is unimaginable to run a whole race with these qualifying modes.
Between these two extremes, there is a vast territory of intermediate motor modes: a dozen for each team. Each time, different parameters are weighed: engine life, reliability, fuel consumption, and performance. Some teams would have more efficient engine modes: thus Mercedes’ “party” mode (qualifying) would be the best… while at Ferrari, following last year’s controversy, the power unit would no longer have it!
The technical directive provided for by the FIA does not specifically prohibit qualification modes. It would require teams to run with the same engine in qualifying and in the race, thus placing the engine park speed under parc fermé. By extension, teams will have to find a compromise between these nine or ten engine modes.
Why ban this innovation for engine manufacturers? As for Lewis Hamilton, it is clear: the FIA is seeking to promote competition from Mercedes in qualifying, so that the suspense is at the rendezvous.
But the FIA cites other reasons. The technical team around Michael Masi, the race director of the FIA, is limited (around ten people) while the engine manufacturers have many more resources. Thus, by limiting the use of engine modes, it will be easier to check their legality. Remember that last year, Ferrari was rightly accused of cheating with its boost mode, in particular by circumventing the limitation of the flow of usable fuel.
Another reason can also be cited: the limitation of costs. Because engine manufacturers, including Honda in recent years, have spent a lot of money to develop these particular modes. This would make it possible to limit the arms race.
However the FIA could also… harm the spectacle in fine! Toto Wolff has already warned: in reality, Mercedes could therefore run in qualifying and in the race with an intermediate engine mode; and so, if Mercedes could lose in qualifying, like all the other teams, it could compensate for this loss by using a more efficient engine mode, for 25 laps in the race. We don’t have the best engine for nothing …
Likewise, the number of overtakes could be limited during the race: because often, the pilots use the “overtake” button to carry out very nice lifts or maneuvers, like Lando Norris at the end of the race during the Grand Prix d ‘Austria. But without this button, won’t we see less overruns?
In short, the FIA turtle still behind the innovation hare… It remains to be seen what the concrete effects of this ban will be, on the circuit which is precisely the most sensitive to engine power…
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