Cyril Abiteboul, Albert Park, 2019

Renault requested three MGU-Ks per season in exchange for 22-race calendar

2020 F1 season

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Formula 1 will allow teams to use more MGU-Ks after Renault demanded the change in exchange for approving an increase in the number of races on the 2020 F1 calendar.

Team principal Cyril Abiteboul confirmed he requested the increase from two to three MGU-Ks per driver, which beings forward a rules change which had already been agreed for 2021.

“I can confirm that we asked for the principle that is already agreed for 2021 to apply for 2020,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans during today’s FIA press conference.

“[In] the draft regulations, which are just draft regulations for 2021, there is a concept that if you go above 21 races there is extra component allocations. So that’s simply what we are asking on the simple basis that it’s very late to change the duty cycle of a component for next year.

“There was a bit of discussion as always in Formula 1 but eventually we reached a compromise in Budapest that everyone managed to stick to for once in Formula 1 and eventually it was good to confirm the 22 races.”

The change will bring the number of MGU-Ks each driver can use into line with the maximum number of engines, turbochargers and MGU-Hs.

“That’s going to make the life of the technicians and mechanics in the garage an awful lot simpler,” Abiteboul added. “Sometimes we don’t really think about these type of things but they do make a difference in addition to the prospect of penalty.”

All four Renault-powered drivers have already exceeded the maximum number of MGU-Ks they are allowed to use this year.

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2019 F1 season

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7 comments on “Renault requested three MGU-Ks per season in exchange for 22-race calendar”

  1. That is fascinating!

    1. Sorry, that’s a bit of a nonsense comment. But I wasn’t being sarcastic.

  2. So instead of making the engines more reliable by forcing the component survive little longer they add one more component so each mgu-k needs to do only maximum of 8 races (22/3) instead of 11 (21/2) like it is now and would have been 11 per each for 2020 (22/2). 1 more mgu-k per season equals 3 races less for that component and it is pretty naive to think the big teams are not spending some of the money to make these components little better now when they need to last 27% less or shorter.

    1. It’s only 1 extra for the team. Not for each driver!

      1. The article:

        The change will bring the number of MGU-Ks each driver can use into line with the maximum number of engines, turbochargers and MGU-Hs.

  3. It makes sense to bring the number of MGU-Ks in line with the number of MGU-Hs and ICEs. Engine development should be simpler as a result.

  4. Current regulation is 2 MGU-K? Renault is way past that. If they could make it last entire season they would have made it already.

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