Next year\u2019s rules will put an end to teams taking advantage of poor qualifying position or grid penalties to \u201cstrategically\u201d fit new power units, according to the FIA.<\/p>\n
Red Bull fitted a new power unit to Max Verstappen\u2019s<\/a> car following his elimination in Q1 at Interlagos two weeks ago. Other teams have also taken advantage of poor qualifying positions to fit a new power unit and benefit from the added performance which comes from a fresh motor.<\/p>\n However Red Bull\u2019s rivals McLaren questioned whether the cost of replacing an undamaged unit should count towards their spending under the budget cap. The FIA\u2019s head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis admitted the present rules do not adequately cover this area as they did not want to be drawn into arguments over what does and does not constitute legitimate grounds for replacing an engine.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve not been keen to get involved in, as the FIA at the moment, is a situation where when there\u2019s an engine change, we have to argue with the team or the PU manufacturer whether a bit of telemetry indicates potentially a reliability issue or not,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t feel we have the expertise to argue with them whether it\u2019s really a reliability or strategic change.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some cases it\u2019s obviously in one or the other camp. But when you\u2019re in that crossover area, it would be difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this has been a weakness in the current regulations \u2014 the combination of financial plus technical and sporting \u2014 and it\u2019s been an area where we\u2019ve adopted this approach where we accept these changes without getting into discussion about the impact on the cost cap.\u201d<\/p>\n Tombazis believes this situation will cease to apply in 2026, however, due to the engine cost cap. This was introduced to govern the development of the power units teams will race from next year.<\/p>\n