Teams awarded extra MGU-K for boosted 2020 season

Formula 1 teams will see their MGU-K limit increase from two to three elements in 2020 to help engine manufacturers cope with next year's record 22-race schedule.

Save for the energy store and control electronics component limits which remain at two, all other elements - ICE, MGU-H and MGU-K - will enjoy a three-component limit next season.

Some teams and manufacturers argued for an across-the-board increase of all elements for 2020 while others were against any raise. In the end, the compromise including only a third MGU-K was agreed.

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Renault's Cyril Abiteboul, who strongly defended the idea of adding an extra MGU-K, said the compromise would implement a decision already agreed upon in principle for 2021.

"Obviously it makes sense," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

"It was planned for 2021, so we are applying the principle that was agreed for 2021 to 2020, even though it wasn’t in the regulations for 2020.

"Despite that common sense doesn’t always apply in F1, and indeed it was a bit of a struggle.

"We reached that compromise in Budapest. I understand it was a bit difficult to get people to stick to their word [in the summer break vote], but eventually this is what happened."

Abiteboul underscored the fact that allowing a third MGU-K would also lighten the burden for mechanics as changing the component without swapping a unit's other elements is a complicated and time-consuming affair.

"At the moment there is a discrepancy between the number of internal combustion engines and the number of MGU-Ks, three and two," he added.

"And that can create a chaos for the mechanics. The MGU-K is mounted on the ICE, so it makes an awful lot of sense to get the same allocation for both.

"Some people in F1 don’t care about that, but we do.

"It was important for us to get exactly the same number, and especially with the season getting longer and more flyaway races, and more back-to-backs."

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