Ilmor seeking partner for 2021 engine plan

Ilmor boss Mario Ilien is eyeing an entry into Formula 1 when the sport ushers in its new power unit era and regulation format in 2021.

Illien, who has remained involved in F1 through his work as a consultant for Red Bull in the past couple of years, attended F1's recent working group meetings to gain a sense of the sport's future direction under the guidance of F1 sporting manager Ross Brawn.

The engine guru's F1 plans are contingent on two requirements however: that an entry can be achieved at a reasonable cost and that Ilmor can find a financial partner for the project.

"Obviously there is a desire to have the possibility for independent manufacturers to come in," he told Motorsport.com.

"That's one reason I'm in the meetings, to see whether it's going the right way for an independent.

"It will take a lot of simplification, and we'll have to take a lot of cost out – and make racing better and the sound better.

"If you have say a standard turbo for everybody, you could take a lot of cost out, for sure.

"That would be a necessity for independents to have a chance. It's not only the initial costs, it's also the development costs."

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But even if costs are contained, Ilmor would tackle F1's future power platform only if it secures  the financial backing of a partner, crucial especially in the early stages of a project when capital expenditure is high.

"Customers are probably not the right way to go, that doesn't pay for it," says Illien.

"You probably need a manufacturer to support it. But if you look at Red Bull they've got TAG, so it doesn't need to be a car manufacturer, it could be anybody."

Interestingly, Illien is not a big advocate of increasing restrictions on the number of engines allowed over the course of a season, believing the limits run counter-part to costs.

"I think that has to be addressed," he insists. "Next year, having three engines is more expensive than producing four engines.

"All the new parts you are developing have to go through testing on the dyno, to make sure you have achieved the mileage for three engines a year. And that is expensive.

"I think even four is not enough. We're half way through this season, and half the field has got a problem."

The Swiss engineer also believes that the integration of road-relevancy into the current engine platform went too far and ultimately was a mistake.

"I think road relevance is not that important," he adds.

"In my view, we've got to go racing again. Yes we can benefit road cars to a certain degree, but I think the relevance should be secondary.

"Especially as the world is going more hybrid and electric, we need to have something on the race track nobody could have at home."

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