Engines should remain a performance differentiator - Lowe

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As discussions reach a head on engine regulations for the future, Mercedes tech boss Paddy Lowe power units should remain as a performance differentiator between manufacturers.

Current discussions over future engine regulations center mainly around cost and availability, but efforts to level the performance between F1's power units are also a main objective.

In Lowe's view, initiatives to reduce performance gaps between manufacturers are wrong, and engine development should be anything but stagnant.

"The interesting thing that has emerged from [the current engine regulations] is this notion that the power unit or engine shouldn't be a differentiator," Lowe explained to ESPN.

"We had this brief period in F1 history when engines were frozen, but for me that's the anomaly. The clue's in the name, it's called motor sport for a good reason!

"So why we should think that the motor shouldn't be a differentiator is beyond me, we've just restored the thing that always used to be the case and I think it's absolutely correct.

"If Formula 1 should be a competition about sports men and technology, then it should be about all the technology and not just the bit that people feel like."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.