F1: 'Budget engine' plan voted out

The Formula 1 Commission has voted not to pursue the idea of an alternative budget engine at this stage, according to the FIA.

The cost of a customer supply, believed to be in the region of 20 million euros ($21.2m), has been a cause of concern since the new 1.6-liter V6 engines were introduced at the start of 2014. Since Ferrari vetoed plans last month to cut the cost of customer engine deals from around 20 million euros to 12 million ($12.7m), the governing body and F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone proposed a cheaper alternative, with performance equivalence to ensure a level playing field.

Earlier this month, the FIA asked for expressions of interest to supply a budget engine and it has emerged there are four "credible" proposals, two of which are believed to be AER and Ilmor.

However, following a meeting of the Strategy Group in Paris on Tuesday, followed by an F1 Commission meeting, the idea has now been put on the backburner. Instead, the manufacturers – working with the FIA –  will produce a proposal by Jan. 15, 2016 that provides solutions to concerns over the power unit, which will focus on:

• Guarantee of the supply of Power Units to teams
• The need to lower the cost of Power Units to customer teams
• Simplification of the technical specification of the power units
• Improved noise

The FIA added that the decision to not pursue the budget engine may be reassessed after the manufacturers have presented their proposal to the Strategy Group.

Within the proposal, there will be a rule that stipulates a minimum number of teams a manufacturer must supply, ensuring all teams have access to an engine. It is hoped these developments will be ready for the 2017 season at the earliest and certainly in time for 2018.

The first meeting between the FIA and the manufacturers with regards engines will take place at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Originally on Autosport.com