If the latest F1 meeting is any indication, the sport’s future is looking bright.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff headed to his native Austria for this weekend’s grand prix only after attending the engine group meeting, where the post-2020 rules are rapidly taking shape.
F1 has said it wants the next engine to be louder, cheaper and simpler, amid rumours it will be a 1.6 litre V6 with a bi-turbo and single KERS.
But what was surprising about this week’s meeting was the number of interested parties in attendance.
"There were surprising participants like Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Cosworth, Ilmor and AVL," Wolff is quoted by Speed Week.
Other sources report that Audi, Alfa Romeo, Zytek and others were also there.
The implication is that the current ’power unit’ regulations were simply putting off too many potential F1 participants for too long.
F1 legend Gerhard Berger told Servus TV: "Many companies can handle the technology of the current engine very well.
"But when it comes to the entire thing in its complexity with the hybrid systems, only a few are really able to do it very well."
F1 CEO Chase Carey agrees: "The engines should be louder but also less complicated, while at the same time keeping the costs down."