Power politics
It became abundantly clear during the FIA conference that electricity is not the only alternative for future mobility, and that the internal combustion engine will be around for decades to come
Consider the plight of the FIA when formulating future power unit regulations for its various international series. Where once power units were restricted to internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels and the only options apart from ignition – spark (petrol) or compression (diesel) – were reciprocating or rotary pistons, configuration and two or four strokes, the choices have of late multiplied exponentially.
Indeed, the FIA’s secretary general for sport, Peter Bayer, runs out of fingers as he lists the number of potential options: fossil-or synthetic-fuelled spark, compression or rotary internal combustion engines (ICE); ditto with hybrid elements and/or powered by hydrogen or CNG (compressed natural gas); and purely electric motors, in turn energised by one of three variants, namely battery, hydrogen fuel cell or range-extended battery charged by any of the ICE types listed above.
That potentially makes for 10 basic power unit alternatives, each with at least one sub-option. It is, as Bayer freely admitted during the FIA’s recent annual member club conference in Monte Carlo, something of a power unit jungle out there, with none of the options providing a universal solution, whether for sporting, transportation or commuter applications.
Road relevance
Thus the FIA, which holds global responsibility for both motorsport and mobility disciplines, elevated road relevance at the top of its agenda and plans to formulate motorsport regulations that
