Red Bull’s Christian Horner believes Renault and Honda should be given the chance to catch-up to rival engine manufacturers Ferrari and Mercedes.
At present, the two suppliers are at a performance deficit compared to the Ferrari engine and the dominant Mercedes unit, which isn’t good for the sport, according to Horner.
Therefore, like in 2008 when Renault was allowed special dispensation to upgrade its engine, the sport must once again relax the development rules to create a level playing field.
“I think we need to look at it for sure,” Horner is quoted by Autosport.
“Don’t get me wrong, Mercedes [have] done a super, super job, the problem is it’s totally out of kilter with where the other manufacturers are at the moment.
“We need them [Honda and Renault] to be there for there to be engines for other teams to compete with.
“I don’t think Formula 1 can afford for Honda and Renault to be in the situation they are,” he added.
“We had the new president of Honda here [in Austria] and I don’t think we put a great show on for him.
“For Renault, again it’s not a great encouragement for them to commit further to the sport when the penalties that we’re imposing, the public embarrassment that there is over engine failure.”
Engine development is permitted under a token system, however the number of tokens is strictly limited and each manufacturer is given an equal amount, allowing Mercedes to stretch its advantage further.