Next Thursday, Formula 1 will vote on the possible freezing of the engines for the coming years. This vote, introduced by Red Bull Racing, should prevent engine developments from 2022 to 2024. Not everyone agrees with this proposal, but the teams also see Red Bull's interest in freezing the engines.
According to the Italian arm of Motorsport.com, freezing the engines is not the only option being considered at next Thursday's meeting. Performance balancing is also one of the possibilities. That would mean that a team like Mercedes would have to sacrifice engine power to make it level with the rest of the teams.
What are the alternatives?
This form of 'Balance of Performance' (BoP) has long been kept out of the F1 paddock but is now seen as one of the possibilities. If such a BoP is introduced, the FIA still has two options. Either the strong engines will be limited, or the weak engines will be given opportunities to improve. With the latter option, Red Bull still has no advantage, because they cannot develop the engine themselves.
A complete engine freeze, therefore, seems to be the only option for the team from Austria. In any case, it is clear that the decision to be made on Thursday will cause many problems. A BoP is not set up in one go and the teams will still have many questions when a decision is made.