Red Bull engine freeze plan 'best choice' for F1 - Domenicali

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New Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has called on teams to support Red Bull's proposal to introduce a freeze on engine development from 2022.

Red Bull is pushing for the freeze so that it can keep using its existing Honda power units even after the Japanese manufacturer quits the sport at the end of this year.

The team can't afford a full engine development programme of its own of the kind seen at Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault. It could even decide to quit the sport if it can't find a solution to its engine supply headache for next season.

Read also: Red Bull says Ferrari U-turn on engine freeze 'positive news' for F1

Mercedes has described the plan as a "sensible proposal" while Ferrari has also backed it after reversing its initial resistance. However Renault is firmly opposed to the idea of a freeze as it is already planning on a major upgrade to its existing power unit in 12 months time.

The proposal will be discussed this week at a meeting of the F1 Commission on Thursday, and it has the backing of Domenicali who took over as F1 boss from Chase Carey last month.

"The freeze of the engine is a very important point," he told the media including Motorsport.com this week. "But I don't want to say only for Red Bull: it is for the entire F1."

A number of cost-cutting measures are currently being introduced to the sport. This season sees a new budget cap limiting the amount that teams can spend on their operation, and curbing the cost of engines is also top of the list.

"That is a priority for a lot of the manufacturers," Domenicali said of the current push to get expenditure under control. ""It is something that is for sure at the centre of the discussion in that meeting.

"The actual regulation and freezing is based on 2023," he explained. "We want to anticipate the freeze because we want to save money to make sure that the manufacturers and teams can invest in the new engine."

Domenicali said that he was cautiously optimistic a deal could be reached that would allow Red Bull and sister squad AlphaTauri to continue to take part in F1 after Honda's exit without being forced back into the Renault fold.

"The discussions that are in place are going in the right direction," he insisted. "I don't want to anticipate anything, but I'm confident that everyone will understand the importance of these things happening.

"I'm hoping that everyone realises that is the best choice - not only for Red Bull, but for the entire world of F1."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.