[CalAcacian]

As we're all aware now, Red Bull has proposed that they will buy the Honda IP and continue using the Honda engine (in re-branded form) IF the other teams will agree to an engine development freeze from 2022 to 2025, the last season before the next engine formula will begin in 2026 (I wish that they had made it 2022 or at least 2024).

Many people are opposed to this, citing the fact that ongoing engine development is a key part of the sport.

However, starting in 2021, the cost caps will begin to be implemented. 2021 will see a $145 million cost cap, 2022 will require teams to cut back to $140 million, and from 2023-2025 teams will be limited to only $135 million. This means that teams will have vastly reduced budgets for engine development, in addition to the restrictions placed on updates through the token system. That means we really won't be seeing much engine development, particularly when these engines have already been in service for 7 seasons and therefore development for over 10 (more if you're Mercedes). We're going to be seeing very marginal gains at this point from a power and reliability standpoint, and that would be true even without the limitations on spending and tokens.

Further, 2022 is going to be all about aero development to claw back the downforce that the cars will be losing, no team will have a significant engine development budget when the price per tenth of performance will be so much lower on a fresh aerodynamic platform that has not yet been optimized.

Next, potentially losing the Red Bull / Honda engine (ignoring the possibility of losing Red Bull and AT as teams for the time being), would be a huge blow to F1. Having more engine manufacturers is a very good thing for the sport. The more works teams you have, the greater the likelihood of having true competitors at the top of the field. That integration of engine and chassis development allows teams to build more effective and cohesive platforms with the tightest possible packaging and most drag efficient cooling systems. The Honda engine is currently the closest to the Mercedes, so RB and AT switching to the Renault engine would effectively hand the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 WDC and WCC championships to Hamilton/Mercedes. Personally, I've had enough total domination of the sport and I would like to see teams like RB challenging Mercedes for wins and championships.

Finally, there is the possibility of losing RB and AT out of formula one. This would be a catastrophe for the sport and would mean losing almost a quarter of the grid. No other pair of teams is so tightly bound together, and it has become clear that they intend to strengthen that partnership in the future in 2021. Even if another company stepped up and rebranded the team, RB is a storied part of F1 in the post-2000 era. Considering the rather large probability that we are entering a time of global economic recession, it is unlikely that major companies are going to see entering formula 1 as an almost guaranteed loser (at least not a title contender) as an attractive investment.

All that said, I am interested in hearing what others have to say about the topic. How do you feel about a proposed engine freeze from 2022 to 2025?