Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has questioned Formula 1's stated objective of attracting more manufacturers into the sport by lowering costs.
That was the original aim of the new technical regulations due to be introduced in 2021 which sought to make F1 more attractive to prospective manufacturers considering entering the championship.
Those hopes have since waned and FIA president Jean Todt has admitted that the focus now is to make sure that none of the current line-up of manufacturers - including Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda - decide to quit.
"We should be happy with four premium manufacturers committed to the sport," Wolff told ESPN in a recent interview.
"[The ones that are] already in there for a long time," he continued. "Trying to make sure that, foremost, we seek compromise with the loyal partners in there.
"And then we look at the ones who might join in the future and listen to them. But that is only the second priority."
Wolff admitted he couldn't see a strong logical argument for wanting more than four manufacturers in the sport.
"You want more than four? What do you want, five or six?" he asked. "Where does that thinking come from? Is it greed?"
Wolff had been particularly aggrieved that the initial proposed rule changes planned to ditch the MGU-H part of the power unit, which reclaims heat energy to increase power and efficiency.
Dropping it would have made implementation simpler and cheaper, but Formula 1 has since rolled back on such plans - and Wolff is happy that this has been done on "purely economical" grounds.
©Mercedes
"We have demonstrated to Liberty and the FIA that redesigning an engine is going to spiral the costs out of control," Wolff explained.
"Even this [proposed 2021] engine now - which has more revs, more fuel flow, more fuel allowance - will result in enormous costs," he added. "Ideally, we would have liked to stay where we are, and not touch it.
"Engine performance is converging," he continued. "The engines are not far away from each other.
"[But] every time the regulations change, you're going to have a wider spread between the best and the worst. So why do we change it?"
Instead, an agreement has been reached so that existing manufacturers will share technology with new entrants, while strict fuel usage limits will be relaxed in order to encourage better engine sound.
"We wanted it to stay where we are and that is the compromise we've taken," Wolff commented. "But it's still going to be too expensive in my opinion."
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