Starting with 2013, the current V8 units will be replaced by 1.6-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged engines, aided by energy recovery systems. The move was made by the FIA in order to insure lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the future.
“I think it is great news. I am so happy about it,” Fernandes was quoted as saying in a recent interview with British magazine Autosport. “We've now got the scenario of F1 being very relevant to the car industry but most importantly, F1 being very relevant to the environment.”
“I always said that we have got some of the best brains in the sport in terms of engineers and technical people, and wouldn't it be great if they could use their brains to make the world a better place.”
“The fact that we can reduce fuel consumption by 35 per cent is phenomenal, imagine if we could transfer that to every car out there - it would be 'wow'. That is a massive number. Imagine also with the usage of KERS, we are recovering one per cent at the moment but we could be up to 50 per cent in years to come.”
Ferrari's main argument against the new engines was that they couldn't use 4-cylinder units in their road car industry. However, while the Scuderia is the only company that exclusively produces sports cars, the other carmakers involved in the series – or some others interested in joining in – could find the new regulations quite attractive.
“I hope the next step is to make the wheels and tyres the same size as [road] cars so tyre manufacturers benefit from the safety that is learned, and engineering that can be put onto a 1.6-litre, Toyota, or Hyundai or Renault,” concluded Fernandes, hinting that F1's direction of aligning itself to the car industry will help for the future.
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