New Mercedes engine beats FIA oil burn deadline

The FIA has confirmed the new power unit introduced by Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix will not fall foul of more strict oil burn restrictions from the Italian Grand Prix onwards.

Power unit manufacturers have been using oil to increase the performance of the internal combustion engine (ICE), prompting the FIA to clamp down on such technology. In a technical directive issued in July, the governing body stated that: "oil consumption of any ICE element of the Power Unit introduced from the 2017 Italian GP onwards to be less than 0.9L/100km". Prior to that technical directive, oil consumption had to be less than 1.2L/100km.

As teams plan the introduction and use of power unit elements throughout the season, the FIA has clarified that previous specifications of ICE will have to adhere to the regulations as they were when that component was introduced.

Mercedes introduced an upgraded power unit at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, and as the new technical directive does not come into force until this weekend's race at Monza, the FIA has confirmed the new Mercedes ICE can run with a higher level of oil burn.

Article 23.3b of the 2017 F1 technical regulations states: "Any of the six [Power Unit] elements will be deemed to have been used once the car's timing transponder has shown that it has left the pit lane."

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A spokesperson for the FIA clarified: "If an engine (ICE element) is introduced at or after the Monza race weekend, its oil consumption needs to be below 0.9L/100km whenever it is used.

"If an engine (ICE element) has been introduced at or before the Spa race weekend, its oil consumption needs to be below 1.2L/100km whenever it is used."

While Mercedes brought forward its latest update – its fourth and final ICE – in order to beat the FIA deadline, that move means it had less time to develop the new power unit, which will have to run until the end of the season. Ferrari, by contrast, has yet to introduce its fourth ICE and will be restricted by the technical directive when it does so.

As the components are only viewed as used once leaving the pit lane, Mercedes customers introducing the updated power unit in future will also have to adhere to the updated directive, meaning the works team can run the fourth specification of ICE at 1.2L/100km while its customers can only run it at 0.9L/100km. It is normal for the works team to use an upgraded engine before it is provided to customer teams.

As of 2018, engine manufacturers have been informed that the level of oil consumption will be further reduced to below 0.6L/100km.