Formula 1 bosses confirm engines will not change until 2014

The decision to increase the rev limit was made on Thursday after the FIA received a letter from some of the F1 tracks expressing their concerns.

It was the latest compromise over the introduction of these rules, which were initially agreed by the world council last December.

Then, the plan was to introduce in 2013 four-cylinder engines with a maximum rev limit of 12,000, fitted with extensive hybrid technology.

But only Renault of F1’s current engine manufacturers were fully behind the rules and a period of negotiations began.

The switch to V6s was partly at the behest of Ferrari, who objected to the restriction to four cylinders.

The sport’s longest-serving and most powerful team had objected because the restriction had no relevance to any of their road cars.

The debate was made more difficult because Renault made clear that it would consider quitting F1 unless the new rules were introduced – the French company is planning for three-quarters of its road-car engines to be small-capacity turbo-hybrids by 2015.

This new rule, which requires engines to be in a V6 configuration, is a compromise that takes each party’s view into account.

The decision to limit the engine configuration to a V6 rather than stipulate a six-cylinder maximum and leave it up to individual manufacturers to decide the number of cylinders and layout, was made in a bid to keep costs under control and as a way to ensure engine performance remains as equal as possible.

The new engines will remain single-turbo units, with much more extensive use of energy recovery than exists with the ‘Kers’ units this year.

The new rules have been pushed by FIA president Jean Todt, who wants F1 to embrace sustainability and be more road-relevant in the future.

The aim is to improve the efficiency of F1 engines by as much as 35%, as well as to popularise hybrid and other energy-efficient technologies to speed up their adoption in road cars.

The hope is that the adoption of the new rules will insulate the sport from charges of wastefulness at a time when supplies of fossil fuels are diminishing and there is pressure for the world to cut its production of greenhouse gases.