Todt may consider postponement to engine switch

Please do remember that there is a Grand Prix on this weekend, but unfortunately all the pre-race chatter is about politics.

We've got the now farcical position of the FIA approving a Bahrain Grand Prix in October and apparently the Formula One teams blocking the vote using the FIA's own rules which they seem to have overlooked!

We also have battle lines being drawn over the introduction of the proposed new 1.6-litre turbo engines.

In 2013 Formula One is set to switch from the current 2.4-litre V8s to more efficient 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo units as part of FIA president Jean Todt's plans for Formula One to be more environmentally friendly, however the teams are not in agreement over the switch, which can initially prove costly during the development stage.

'It was them [the teams] who proposed the rules that FIA has accepted, The proposal didn't fall out of the sky, but instead we had 11 meetings with all the representatives from the engine makers involved.' FIA president Jean Todt told Spanish newspaper Diario Sport [Quoted by Autosport Magazine].

Renault are determined for the switch to take place in 2013 and have threatened to leave the sport over the matter, whilst Ferrari, Cosworth and Mercedes-Benz are against the current proposal.

Todt continued: 'If I talk to Renault, they say that if we don't introduce this engine for 2013 they will leave F1; if I talk to Mercedes and Ferrari, they ask me to delay the introduction for a few years. They aren't against the rules, they just wanted them postponed.

'Over the new few days I'll be in contact with them individually to know the stage we are at.'

'The official introduction is scheduled for 2013, but if we find enough reasons then there could be a postponement. But as of [Tuesday], the introduction will be in 2013.'