What’s on the agenda at crunch F1 Commission meeting?

The Formula 1 Commission is meeting virtually today to debate a number of significant developments that will impact the sport.

F1’s stakeholders - F1, the FIA and the teams - will discuss several key topics. Among them are a potential engine freeze, the introduction of Saturday sprint races, and confirmation that Portimao will return to the calendar to host the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The outcomes of some of these issues will be important in helping to determine the future landscape of the sport, as well as having knock-on repercussions up and down the grid.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the main matters that will dominate the discussion…

Red Bull’s engine freeze push

Red Bull has called on F1 to introduce a freeze to engine development from 2022 in the wake of Honda’s decision to quit the sport. This is set to be the most complex of the matters up for discussion today.

With the Japanese manufacturer set to bow out at the end of the year, Red Bull and sister squad AlphaTauri will be left with no power unit supplier for the 2022 season.

Red Bull has made it clear that it wants to take over the Honda engine project but insists it can only do this if an engine freeze is imposed as it cannot afford to develop the power unit in-house at the same rate compared to manufacturers Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault.

While the call has drawn some support, namely from Mercedes and Ferrari, Renault was less keen as it is planning on developing a brand new power unit for 2022 after its previous push for an engine freeze was blocked by Red Bull.

There is the added complication that Red Bull and Ferrari have endorsed the idea of introducing a mechanism of equalisation for power units along with the engine freeze, something which Mercedes in particular fiercely opposes, with Toto Wolff warning that the introduction of a ‘balance of performance’ would be “the beginning of the end” for F1.

Red Bull has struck an initial agreement with Honda and is waiting on a vote which will finally come today following a number of delays.

Should an engine freeze be given the go-ahead, the next generation of power unit rules are likely to be pushed forward by a season to 2025. Teams are in favour of an earlier introduction of the next set of engine rules providing a solution can be found to lower costs.

If voted down, Renault would automatically be obliged to supply Red Bull with power units as the engine manufacturer with the fewest customer teams.

However, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko recently admitted the Milton Keynes squad has no ‘Plan B’ in place and made it clear the futures of both Red Bull and AlphaTauri could be in doubt if the deal ultimately falls through.

Saturday sprint races

A new F1 proposal for shorter Saturday ‘sprint’ races at certain rounds in 2021 is also on the table for discussion as part of the sport’s bid to shake up the traditional weekend format and increase entertainment.

F1 is pushing to trial run a Saturday 100-km sprint race - a third the length of a grand prix - that would determine the grid for Sunday’s main grand prix at rounds in Canada, Italy and Brazil this season.

For the selected events, Friday’s second practice session would be replaced by qualifying to set the grid for the shorter Saturday race, which in turn would sort the final grid for Sunday. The top-eight finishes in the sprint race would receive reduced championship points.

The Canadian, Italian and Brazilian Grands Prix have been targeted because they are venues known for producing exciting racing.

For the plan to be passed, it needs a ‘super majority’ of 28 of the 30 votes split between F1, the governing body the FIA and the teams. F1 and the FIA have 10 votes each, while the teams are allocated one apiece.

F1 has long been considering a format change and has devised the new sprint race idea after a previous bid to introduce reverse-grid qualifying races failed to get off the ground on three occasions, with Mercedes refusing to back the plan.

It is unclear how much support there is for F1’s new proposal, which if approved, would be used more widely in 2022.

The final 2021 F1 calendar

One of the simpler topics for discussion is the final confirmation of Portimao’s inclusion on the final 2021 F1 calendar.

F1 bosses and circuit organisers have agreed that the Algarve circuit can have the third round of the 2021 season on 2 May, filling the current vacant slot on the 23-round schedule.

The third race of the upcoming campaign was left as ‘TBC’ in the latest calendar update published in January, though Portugal was widely expected to return to the calendar after it proved a popular addition to the revised 2020 schedule when it staged a grand prix for the first time in October.

F1’s plan to race at Portimao faced some doubt because of the deteriorating coronavirus situation in Portugal, which remains in a national lockdown.

Portugal has also been added to the UK’s ‘red list’ of 33 countries, meaning that from Monday, UK residents and Irish nationals arriving into the country will have to quarantine for 10 days in specific hotels selected by the government.

F1 personnel heading to the Portuguese GP will therefore be prevented from returning to the UK before the Spanish GP, which takes place a week later on 9 May.

This means that staff attending those races are set for longer spells in Europe, and will either go straight to Monaco, or return to the UK after the 10-day restriction period has elapsed.

Teams are set to be informed of F1’s decision during the meeting of the F1 commission.