FIA President Jean Todt has confirmed he will meet with the current F1 engine manufacturers next week to listen to their solutions to the various power unit concerns.
The meeting will take place in Geneva over two days with Jean Todt confident that by the end of these two days “positive steps” would have been taken to address the concerns surrounding power units in Formula One.
Back in December, all four engine manufacturers (Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and Honda) were asked to look at the guaranteed supply of power units to customer teams, cutting the cost of these power units, a simplification in the specification and an increase in the noise output. As announced earlier in the week it is understood that all four engine manufacturers have broadly agreed on the plan of action to solve the issues, with the aim of having these solutions introduced for the start of 2017 season.
In an exclusive interview with Autosport.com Jean Todt said:
“I want to put people in front of their responsibility.
“As you know I asked the engine manufacturers to come back on some proposals to address some of my concerns over the powertrain.
“I’ve a meeting with them on Monday and Tuesday, so following proper governance I want to see where we end up.
“If I am unsatisfied with the situation for clear reasons, we will see what will be the next steps.
“Let’s try and be optimistic and hope we are discussing with sensible people who understand the problem and who participate to solve the problem.
“Obviously I hope positive steps have been taken.”
Following a meeting with the World Motorsport Council in December Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone were given the power to make recommendations and decisions on key decisions that would decide the future of Formula One. Todt is hopeful the manufacturers have come up with reasonable and acceptable solutions so he has no reason to exercise his new powers.
“We have governance, so if we do something that is unacceptable by a third party then we would be sued.
“The FIA doesn’t belong to me. I’ve been elected to run the organisation, and one of my clear priorities in the mandate is transparency and good governance.
“So I’m intending to fulfil my mandate in this manner.
“Clearly, we need to have these meetings, like next week, because as you know in Formula 1 people are locked inside their golden gates and they don’t see what is happening elsewhere
“All the FIA experts have been working with them, so in light of those discussions I will get a proposal, but one that will be the fruit of discussions in which the FIA has been involved.
“We are not a spectator. We have been guiding, leading, sharing those meetings, and in light of that we are now expecting some outcomes.
“Bernie is the commercial rights holder, I am the president of one organisation that regulates and legislates, so I am taking my full responsibility.
“But I have to respect the governance that was in place before I was elected, which has been improved since I’ve been elected.”
The outcome of this meeting could make or break Formula One for the foreseeable future, with fan numbers dwindling and costs spiralling out of control this really is crunch time.
