Horner urges F1 to ditch current engine before 2021

Ahead of a key meeting in Paris on Monday where manufacturers will be presented with a blueprint for future engine rules beyond 2021 by F1 and the FIA, there has been talk of potentially bringing the new powerunits potentially before that date.

Speaking at the Mexican Grand Prix, Horner said that introducing the new power unit – which is likely to be a simpler, more standardised version of the current engines – cannot come soon enough.

“I’d love to see it come in next year,” he said. “For me, these engines have done nothing but damage F1. They’ve done nothing to contribute to the sport.

"They’ve taken away the sound; the passion and they’ve added too much complexity. They’ve become far removed from road car technology; they’re effectively turning into diesel engines in some cases.

"I can’t see anything that they’ve contributed that’s been positive. So the sooner it goes, the better.

“Unfortunately there’s a contract between the existing manufacturers and the FIA that guarantees the engine will be in place until 2020, and I can’t see there being sufficient motive among all the manufacturers to get rid of this technology and this power unit before 2021.”

While Horner would relish a return to the noisy engines of the past, a move away from the current powerunit concept is unrealistic.

But the tweaks planned for the current V6 engines – which could include a standard KERS and getting rid of the MGU-H – do seem to be welcome.

Horner added: “I’d like to see a cheap, standard V12 engine at a 1000hp sounding fantastic – but I doubt we’re going to get that.

“I think that what’s potentially going to be presented sounds sensible. I don’t have any hard details. It seems like it’s the first significant move by Liberty about laying their stall out for the future.

"And of course that power unit is a crucial part of what F1 will be for the next 10 years, from 2021 onwards.”