F1’s all-new engine regulations for 2025 must allow "a Cosworth or a Mario Illien" to enter the sport.
That is the view of Franz Tost, who leads the Alpha Tauri team that from 2022 will use Honda-based engines that are to be operated by team owner Red Bull.
Beyond that, though, Formula 1’s engine format will change completely for 2025, and a debate is raging about what it should be in light of the hybrid ’power unit’ era being utterly dominated by Mercedes.
"I would stick with the V6, and with turbo, but without the MGU-H," Tost told Auto Motor und Sport.
"We have to have the MGU-K because we need an energy recovery system. But then the main focus should be on the use of CO2-neutral e-fuels.
"This would mean that we meet the emissions requirements and are well positioned for the future."
A key focus of the new engine regulations, says Tost, is to attract more manufacturers to the sport.
"We need more manufacturers," the Austrian confirmed. "The new engine must therefore also be financially sustainable with a precisely defined budget.
"The regulations should also allow a Cosworth or a Mario Illien to build an engine. When the doors are open to new manufacturers, there will no longer be the constraints that we currently have.
"In order to save costs, the materials should be restricted and the engine should last a long time so that not as many have to be built," said Tost.