In a precarious economic climate in which the control of rising costs is of the utmost importance, the main stakeholders of Formula 1 approved a development stop for aggregates from 2022 back in February. But it’s a move MotoGP factories don’t even think about, and for a variety of reasons.
Pressure from F1 promoters and rule-makers – Liberty Media and the FIA - to limit costs for teams was intensified with an ultimatum from Red Bull after it became known that Honda (engine supplier to its factory team and AlphaTauri) was closing in on the end of the The 2021 season would retire. Red Bull publicly made the idea of taking on the Japanese engines if the rest of the grid agreed to the freeze.
The details for the new proposal were duly set at the beginning of the season when the FIA approved new regulations for engines between 2022 and 2024 – when the next review is due to take place – and Red Bull immediately announced the creation of a new powertrain division, who has aggressively tried to poach talent from Mercedes.
In MotoGP, a decision as big as an engine stop would have to be approved by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association (MSMA) and then ratified by the Grand Prix Commission, the representatives of the organizer (Dorna) and the umbrella organization FIM. belong.
Right now, and despite the difficulties manufacturers are facing due to the effects of COVID-19, there is not enough pull to start the debate in the first place. In fact, during a recent meeting of the Grand Prix Commission, it was officially announced – unconditionally – that the current engine shutdown, due to be completed by the end of this year, will not be extended.
“This proposal was never on the MSMA table,” one of the regular participants at the meeting, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Motorsport.com. “In any case, it is common knowledge that some manufacturers would never accept that, and to move something like this forward, it would need unanimity on the board of directors.”
MotoGP package at the start of the 2021 Portuguese GP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
It is clear that the factories that are least willing to accept a hypothetical engine stall are the ones with the most power.
Suzuki is a gigantic company, even if the resources it invests in the MotoGP project cannot be compared to, for example, Honda. Former team manager Davide Brivio, who joined the Alpine F1 team as the new race director ahead of the 2021 season, spotted some of the main differences in dynamics between the two championships.
“The key word in Formula 1 at the moment is sustainability,” Brivio told Motorsport.com. “There are decisions made for the common good and accepted by everyone. The teams here make money direct from the organizer, which is an important point to keep in mind.
“You just have to look at the amount of restrictions that have been placed on F1 over the past few years that have been difficult to accept for the bigger teams. What happened is that they realized that it would be impossible for the smaller teams to survive without a drastic slowdown in costs. “
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Let’s imagine for a moment that the six factories currently involved in MotoGP would start a dialogue about the possibility of stopping engine development. It’s not something that could be rolled out before 2023 as Suzuki and Ducati have already launched the base of the new engines they plan to use next season.
“That wouldn’t be fair because it would be against the spirit of the rule itself by wasting the investment made in those components,” our source at MSMA said.
However, one way to enable this in the future would be to only allow engine development every two or three years, a small change that could have a big impact on budgets. It is clear that in the event of an agreement there would be technical backing to support the change.
“Of course it would be possible if the mandate came from the MSMA,” says MotoGP Technical Director Danny Aldridge. “From our side, that wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, it would be easy because we’ve done it before. “
Joan Mir, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images