Formula 1 bosses will once again meet to make some progress toward forming a new set of rules for 2017 – but this time it’s vital they finally agree upon something.
A deadline of February 29 to agree new rules before unanimous support is required is just days away, therefore Tuesday’s meeting in Geneva presents a final opportunity for agreement, otherwise any changes will likely be delayed until 2018.
That, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, would be “disappointing for everyone”.
Horner is campaigning for a roughly 50 per cent downforce increase, partly in thanks to a much larger diffuser and a wider car. It believes it would result in reduced lap time of five to six seconds. It would also send F1, which is regarded an engine formula at present, in the opposite direction.
Red Bull’s proposal received backing in previous meetings, but Mercedes raised concerns that the downforce such a car would produce would force Pirelli to create durable tyres which would require very high tyre pressures to withstand the forces.
Such tyres would negate the lap time gained by increasing downforce according to Mercedes, leaving F1 at square one.
Horner has dismissed such concerns, accusing Mercedes of using the Italian tyre supplier as a ‘scapegoat’.
Despite this, Mercedes has tabled an alternative proposal with increased downforce, but far less than what Red Bull is proposing. However it would only lead to a two to three second gain, half of what Red Bull and indeed the sport is aiming for,
Red Bull, Toro Rosso and one more team rejected Mercedes’ plan at a recent Strategy Group meeting.
That led McLaren to propose its own plan, which is somewhere between Red Bull and Mercedes and it gained some support when it was put forward at Pirelli’s hijacked meeting earlier this month.
Yet no concrete solution with majority backing is currently in place.
Therefore it is essential that Tuesday’s meeting bears fruit, in fact an entire fruit bowl wouldn’t go unwelcome.
It’s believed Red Bull is keen to push its proposal once again and is counting on FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone to sway the teams. Both are believed to favour Red Bull’s solution and were recently granted powers to force change if necessary.
Ecclestone meanwhile is set to use the meeting to propose a change for the current season. Although unlikely, the 85-year-old wants to introduce top-ten reverse grid for 2016. The idea has garnered little support in previous years.
